Custom Canes #5. Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often

Sometimes a custom cane can look simple, but it takes a long time to create it.  The grandaughter wanted to surprise her grandma.  The lettering took me a long time to complete.  It was done with knife and chisel.  I didn't have a press plate large enough. 

The "Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often" vinery cane is made from red/cinnamon Sweetgum.

Here are few things about the cane:

- Made of a single stick of Sweetgum. The handle and shaft are from the same piece.

- The leaves of the vine are modelled after wandering jew that sits in a pot in our kitchen.
- The vine is polished with 400 grit sandpaper. In contrast, the shaft has a rough texture from sanding with 60 grit sandpaper.
- I mix a custom golden oak stain for the vine which will darken a bit with age. In contrast, the shaft has a neutral strain.
- The stains are applied separately and the shaft is sanded after its first application of stain. After it dries for a day, I use 60 grit sandpaper to roughen the stain. Then, I apply a natural stain over it.
- There are 5 layers of polyacrylic and a hard finishing wax to protect the surface.

An early form of the handle on the left and its template on the right.
The customer wanted the handle a bit larger than the original.

The shaft had three sides. The sides had the engravings,
Live Well, Love Much, Laugh Often

The shaft fit inside the handle. 

This is early picture.  When finished, the leaves were inscribed and had a glossy finish.
The shaft had a darker matte finish than the vine.

You should treat the cane like a piece of fine furniture. It is weather resistant but since it is real wood it is not waterproof.

This took about 35 hours.  This cane was ordered for a grandma in California, USA.