Impulse purchase: KA-BAR cane

That's such an awesome piece! Until you posted it I'd never seen one before. Too bad their being discontinued those are cool!

I guess I'd have to grind down one of my ka-bar blades if I ever wanted to make one.

I plan to figure out the thread size and screw it into one of the two cedar sticks from my brother's place. I'll add a brass fitting with interchangeable rubber and steel tips. Then the mandatory unit pins and USMC insignia will be embedded with a forstner bit and epoxy (blackened if I improve my technique). Maybe leather bootlaces or camo paracord for a grip.

Finish planned is lots of WATCO Danish oil, one coat per day over many days, and a fair number of applications of really good wax.

Just found a unit pin on eBay that I never found before! Now I have all the meaningful ones for the stick.

Epoxy can be dyed, but it is very easy to add too much dye - it makes the epoxy cure extremely slowly and then the surface is dull and unattractive. I need to practice. Then, if Danish oil is applied before the forstner bit is used to sink the pins, any epoxy drips will be less likely to stain the wood. Guess the holes should be masked off too.

CAS said:

Finish planned is lots of WATCO Danish oil, one coat per day over many days, and a fair number of applications of really good wax.

Click to expand...

What kind/brand of "really good wax" do you use?

Rad said:

CAS said:

Finish planned is lots of WATCO Danish oil, one coat per day over many days, and a fair number of applications of really good wax.

Click to expand...

What kind/brand of "really good wax" do you use?

Click to expand...

I'll have to answer that when I get home from work. As a novice, I'll believe neary anything, and the sales guy at Woodcraft recommended a "museum quality" wax in a small tin that was pretty expensive. From what I've been reading on line of late, that may have been extreme overkill. However, I'll follow up in a few hours with the name of the wax.

I'm getting pretty excited about getting this done, but there are so many steps involved and so little time each week. We all must experience the same frustrations, but at least my sanding has sped up dramatically with the rotary orbital sander - my other guilty pleasure of the week.

CAS said:

Rad, here are photos of this can of wax:

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Thank you CAS! I frequently will use Johnson's Paste wax mixed with Stain to finish canes on the lathe.

The cane arrived and it is plain but nice, except that the KA-BAR handle is very nice - it is worth more than the discounted price of the soon to be out of stock cane.

Now I have to determine the thread type and size in order to adapt it to both my truck and my hiking stick in progress.

(Yes, I did wax it twice with the expensive wax. Call it OCD if you will.)