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I have sold or given away most of my stockpile of canes, so I've started working on some just to have something to take on walks! This is a piece of sumac a friend gave me. It is a light-weight wood, with a shallow root that grows to the side, making a handle for a cane. The bark peeled easily when it was green, but I was glad I wore nitrile gloves to keep the sap off my hands. I kept it in a plastic bag between carving sessions, and gradually let it dry out for about a month. No cracks so far! I like twisty sticks that have been shaped by vines, and i decided to do a spiral pattern on the handle that somewhat imitates those sticks. I carved a scale pattern below that, mainly for practice, but it provides a good grip and looks good. Then I did a freehand styilized leaf pattern below that. The sumac was really nice to carve and was a nice white color, but I didn't want something quite that white….so I used a thin wash of gray acrylic paint to give it a weathered, silver color and used the same wash to darken some of the shadows. The last picture shows another piece that has been cl;eaned a bit, but gives you more of an idea how the cane started out. Thanks for looking!

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Mike ~ Gotta tell you that I really like this cane. There is something about it that is full of character. It looks to me like something you would see in a movie about wizards and hobbits… or the such. It just looks like it comes from another time or age…. or land. Very cool piece.
 

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Very cool - we are always on the look out for sumac - especially what we locally call stag horn sumac. It has the most unique yellow, light green color in its finished wood. Makes very nice jewelry.
 

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Beautiful and very creative this cane,Mike!!!
 

· In Loving Memory
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Fantasic cane Mike! I like everything about it. It looks both carved and natural at the same time. Quite a design trick and good inspiration as I actually need a cane now.
 

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You really transfomed that wood into something quite good looking. I can't imagine how ling it took to do all tose scales and I really like the carved leaves,
 

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Thanks all! I think I have less than 8 hours in this cane, in part because the wood carved easily. I used a 5mm wide #11 sweep gouge and just pushed it dtright in to form the outline of the scale. I did this in a spiral pattern around the shaft and tried to do it like a "bricklayer" pattern. It looks ok just like that, but I used the same gouge to dish out the surface of each scale, making a couple of additional cuts pushed up under the scale above it. Fish scales aren't too bad, but snake scales require about 5 cuts per scale (if I'm lucky)!
 

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Very kool kane
 

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one of the best canes on LJ's … the spiral handle is very creative,
 

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Like it lots!
 

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I agree that it looks are most whimsical like some thing out off Harry Potter . A most unique caine and wonderful carving.
 

· In Loving Memory
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NEAT-O--MIKE-O! Great Job!
 

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Count me in as one who likes this one… but I must admit I like almost all of your canes and carvings.
 

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Another great one bud - just keep them coming !!!
 

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very nice, you succeed to give the feeling like the cane was wrapped by a thick bandage or cloth.
 
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