Custom Canes #3 Snake-ish

This custom cane is in North Carolina.  This was one of the first canes that I made for someone else. 

I mixed the blue with gold flake - it doesn't show up well on my photos.  It is also painted in a diamond pattern under the blue.  Then, I thinned the blue to make a wash over the first layer.   The "horns" get their color because it is the inner bark of the stick. 

On my Etsy site, I use this cane as the placeholder for requesting custom canes.

This cane took about 40 hours to complete. 

Custom Canes #2. MUSKIE

Muskie

I call the Muskie the barracuda of fresh water in North America. If you don't know what it looks like, just do  search on "muskie."  It is a beautiful predator at the top of the food chain in the water. 

This cane was for my brother, an avid fisherman and all around great guy.  He passed away and I miss him.  He didn't get to see this cane as he passed before it was completed. 

I wanted to show the Muskie lurking in the weeds, ready to strike.  The carving wrapped around the shaft.  I carved weeds at the base and around the carving.  Each scale was individually carved and proportioned for the location on the fish.  The carving was a single piece.

 

Not counting the research time, this cane took about 70 hours to complete.  It now resides in Illinois. You can order a custom cane at my etsy shop.

Custom Canes.

Just want to chronicle the canes that I've sold and still have for sale.  And, there are a couple that are not for sale.

First is the custom Nittany Lions cane for a Penn State fan in Florida.
This statue is on the main Penn State campus and was the inspiration for the cane.

The Nitany Lion Shrine at Penn State

I choose a piece of oak for the handle which would be carved like the head of the Nitany Lion.  I took measurements from the pictures of the statue and then transferred them to the block of oak.  I then carved away the wood that did not look like the Nitany Lion's head!.

Starting to rouh in the handle shape.

Work looking over progress

The Penn State campus is known for its elm trees.  It is recognized world wide because of its efforts to cure elm diseases.  I carved an elm branch on the staff of the cane. 

The leaves are white on  field of dark royal blue stain.

It took about 60 hours to complete the cane over several weeks.  Here is the result.

The cane currently resides in Florida.  It will attend Penn State booster meetings with its proud owner.