My granddaughter and I were walking through the woods at her great grandparent’s place. She does not like to stay on the beaten path. so we were struggling through the wood and up rocks, inclines and over fallen trees. She told me she wanted to make a cane for her Nana. Thus began the idea of making a cane.
She came over a few weekends ago and brought a branch with her. Unfortunately, it was too brittle and had already broken before she got to our house. I took her into my backyard shed, which is attached to her play house, and let her look through the many branches I had stored there. There was walnut and maple. They were all peeled and dry. She made her pick and it really was the only suitable stick there for that purpose. She found another stick which had a Y at the top and she proceeded to make a crutch for her little brother (he really doesn’t need one). I asked her later if she wanted to see the handles and cane tips that we could order from Lee Valley Tools. She was very excited and made her pick. The parts came and I quickly mounted them on the stick to see what it would look like.
Well, there it is. My granddaughter will be here this weekend and she can sand, stain, wood burn, or embellish the cane in any manner she chooses. Then she will varnish it and I can glue on the head and tip. I’ll post a picture of her finished project when we are done.
It will be interesting to see how she will finish the project.
I’m not sure who’s luckier to have to have the other: you or your granddaughter!
Was this ever finished?
I was told by an expert that, to determine the proper length for a cane, the intended user should stand (while wearing ‘walking shoes’) and let their arms hang by their sides. The top of the cane should be level with the bony ‘knob’ on the side of the wrist.
You probably knew that already, but I didn’t know what else to say… well… other than that I’m going to steal your rhubarb-leaf idea and adapt it for use with hosta ‘Elegans’ leaves stolen from my friend’s yard.
Keep blogging!
[...] 2009 by Ted Wiebe I tend not to push my grandchildren on the projects we do together, so this cane took some time to [...]