A couple new canes

1623 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Gloops, May 27, 2017

Rodney

Discussion Starter · May 22, 2017

I've been making a bunch of canes for my Etsy store all spring. Most are just variations on stuff I've already posted here. I did just finish a couple yesterday and thought I'd share.

The first one is a market stick with a peeled shank.

Peeled western red maple shank with a cherry handle and raintree wood spacers.

It's a fairly heavy shank and has a bt of a curve that puts the bottom of the cane an inch or so closer to the center of the handle. I also opened up the crook a bit compared to my other market sticks so it's easier to hang on your arm when you want both hands free. I went with the market stick style because I think it's a good match for larger shanks like this one.

The second one is my latest Cardigan stick.

Elm handle with raintree wood and spalted maple spacers with a western red maple shank.

I've been pretty busy in the shop and have been playing with different forms lately. I have a couple hiking sticks and a couple more rustic canes in the works.

Thanks for looking.

Rodney

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CV3

· #2 · May 22, 2017

Well done Rodney. Good looking sticks. I like the way you did your collars. Is it walnut?

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LilysDad

· #3 · May 22, 2017 (Edited by Moderator)

Rodney, how do you get your spacers sanded down so nice without bruising the bark-on staff?

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cobalt

· #4 · May 22, 2017

most people will get the collar and shank to a good fit before fitting it . then wrap insulation /masking tape aournd the shank to protect it the sand it down just removing a layer of tape by sanding but not enougth to damage the bark . its slow time consuming . but the only way to do it well

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Rodney

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 22, 2017

Pretty much what Cobalt said. Wrap the shank with tape and finalize your fit with a lot of careful filing and sanding. I don't know an easy way to do it.

Every now and then I do nick the bark. For darker colors a black Sharpie actually makes a pretty good touch up pen. Sharpie also makes other colors including brown but I haven't found one locally other than in a set. The Sharpies appear to be alcohol (at least not oil or water based) dyes. They don't run when exposed to oil.

I also have a brown wood stain pen. The stain pen is oil based and kind of a pain because it will bleed when I oil my sticks.

Mark the dark wood was sold to me as Raintree wood about twenty years ago for a book case project. These are the scraps from that. (Did I mention I'm a wood hoarder? I don't throw as much out as I should, especially when I paid good money for it.) I don't know the real species. It's a South American tropical that does look similar to walnut though probably a bit more porous. It also tends to be a little on the brittle and chippy side but it's not oily like a lot of other tropicals so it glues well.

Rodney

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dww2

· #6 · May 23, 2017

Great sticks, Rodney. I like the prominent heel on the market stick; looks like it would be really comfortable in the hand.

I've been thinking about doing an Etsy shop myself. How are they to work with?

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Rodney

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 23, 2017

Etsy isn't bad. I'm selling a stick every 2 1/2 weeks on average so far. Not a great way to get rich but it's a little extra cash,

The fees are $0.20 to list then 3.5% when it sells and another 3.5% financial transaction fee. It works out to a little over 7% total.

You can also buy and print shipping labels through Etsy at a small discount from USPS. My understanding is it's cheaper than Ebay. My only complaint is Etsy is pretty lax about what they consider hand made.

Using good titles and tags in your descriptions is everything in getting found on Etsy.

Rodney

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dww2

· #8 · May 24, 2017

I think I am going to have to try it. I just need to take some decent pictures of my sticks first. Maybe build a little stand to display them on. Thanks for the info, Rodney! Dana

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Gloops

· #9 · May 27, 2017

Nice sticks Rodney I also like the double spacers, re catching the bark I have in the past used acrylic paint mixed to match the bark for touching up, as worked well for me.

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