Zebrawood Carved Folk-Art Walking Canes, Faces of Two Native American Historical Tribal Chiefs

These two walking canes have been sold.

If you would like something custom made for you, please email me at:
mark@decoustudio.com

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This is a matching set of walking canes that I built from African Zebrawood.

In this commission, the customer needed a cane in both hands, and has Native American heritage on both sides of his family, so he wanted me to carve the faces of two tribal chiefs from the represented tribes.

So, Here are a couple of photos showing how it all starts. A long board that is 2” thick, in this case African Zebrawood that I bought (invested in) from www.grizzly.com back when they used to sell wood once-in-awhile.

Then, the board is cut into a 2” x 2” by 38”-40” long block of wood.

The rest is all hard work. I use a Lathe, a Legacy Mill, two Dremels, a Pfingst flex shaft, and a variety of hand knives and gouges.

Here is a shot showing the unoiled zebrawood, with the raised lettering on the feathers. Each cane had the name of a Grandchild carved into it. A planned future heirloom.

A shot after the finish has been applied:

The wood is beautiful, but is definitely a difficult wood to carve, and it smells like a wet dog.

The “T” handles are also Zebrawood, with turquoise stone inlays.

There is a brass tip, with a replaceable rubber tip.

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More Walking Sticks & Canes:
If you go to my Mark DeCou Website you won’t find very many canes pictured there. I do realize that I need to invest in improving my website, but until that is accomplished, here are few more of my canes posted at lumberjocks, thanks for your patience.

New Cane Designs that are “In the Works”

1. Barak Obama for President 2008, Carved Bust Top Political Figure Collector Cane
2. Welsh-Inspired Market Crook Stick with Carved Border Collie Herding Dog
3. Folk-Art Walking Cane with Carved Face of Christ, in Figured Bubinga, Antler Handle
4. American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran

Folk Art Face Carved Canes

1. Sculpted Wood Spirit Face Cane
2. Folk-Art Wood Spirit Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle & Scrimshaw
3. Folk Art Mountain Man Face Cane
4. Shamrock Wood Spirit Irish-Theme Face Cane
5. Walnut Wood Spirit Face Cane with Antler & Turquoise
6. Collection of Face Carved Canes
7. Moses-Inspired Face Carved Cane w/ Antler & Turquoise

Native American Theme Canes

1. Folk Art Native American Face Cane Set
2. Apache Chief Cochise Folk-Art Face Cane
3. Folk Art Carved Cane of Shoshone Chief
4. Indian Guides Chief Big-Red-Cloud Hiking Stick
5. Apache Chief Cochise #2 Folk-Art Face Cane

Hand Carved Canes/Sticks

1. Carved Oak Leaf Walking Cane with Scrimshaw Artwork
2. Amazing Grace Music Notes Carved Cane
3. A Lady’s Elegant Red Long-Stem Rose Carved Cane
4. Prairie Fire Hand-Carved Hiking Thumb Sticks
5. A Folk-Art Carved Albatross Head & Snake Walnut Cane
6. Carved Folk-Art Walking Cane; 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' Story Stick with Scrimshaw Artwork

Scrimshaw Artwork Canes

1. Walnut & Curly Maple Cane with Scrimshaw
2. Scrimshaw Art Walnut Cane
3. Fancy Barley Twist with Scrimshaw Cane
4. Lady's Dress Cane, Red Oak, Walnut, Black Lacquer, & Scrimshaw Artwork of a Purple Cone Flower

Natural Sapling/Limb Canes/Sticks

1. Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Cane
2. Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Walking Stick
3. Shepherd's Crook Hiking Stick
4. Black Locust Tree Sapling Walking Stick
5. Red BirchTree Sapling Hiking Stick

Fancy Barley-Twist Style Dress Canes

1. White Oak Barley Twist Cane
2. Osage Orange Barley Twist Cane
3. Walnut & Figured Maple Barley Twist cane
4. Black Walnut and Spalted Sycamore Barley Twist
5. Red Oak Barley Twist with Black Lacquer
6. Red Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Handle
7. Bryan's Cane, The Start of my Cane Journey

Fancy Dress Style Canes

1. Mexican Bocote Wood, Elk Antler Handle with Hand-Wrought Fine Silver End Caps
2. Fancy Walking Cane, Camphor Burl, Maple, Bubinga, Whitetail Deer Antler, Inlays & Silver End Caps
3. Custom Dress-Up Walking Cane, Walnut shaft with a Camphor Burl Handle
4. Walnut & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
5. White Birch & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
6. Walnut Bamboo-Style Cane with Chrome Ball Top
7. Walnut & Buffalo Horn Dress Cane
8. Bird's Eye Maple Cane
9. Spalted Sycamore Walking Cane
10. Walnut Tall Knob Top Opera Cane
11. Zebrawood & Walnut Knob Top Opera Cane
12. Dress Cane Set, with several Material Options Shown

What is Scrimshaw Artwork?:
A Scrimshaw Art Journey: What it is & How to Do it; Five Simple Steps to Success

Click here to go to My Website page with Walking Canes

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I have a few canes in stock at:

1. Hatman Jack’s Wichita Hat Works in Wichita, KS
2. Hutchinson Art Center in Hutchinson, KS
3. Cottonwood Mercantile in Cottonwood Falls, KS

You can contact these gallery stores directly and see what they still have in stock. They will ship to you if you buy something. If you prefer, you can also email me, as I keep fairly current on what is “unsold.”

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Background: My Cane Making Story:

I enjoy sculpting walking canes. Some folks call them Folk-Art Canes, while others call them Artisan Canes, some call them Carved Canes, while others call them Walking Sticks. There is quite a bit of argument about whether something should be called Sculpture or Carving. They could be considered Functional-Art, which is the type of work that I am usually drawn to. No matter what these canes are called, they seem to bring joy to the owners, and I have been asked to make quite a few of them in the past 5-6 years.

I started making canes on the request of a nice married couple I met on a church-building short-term mission trip to Mexico City in the early 1990’s. Several years after our trip, their son-in-law was diagnosed with bone cancer, and so they wanted to get him a specially made cane that he would enjoy using. They had heard from others that I had quit my corporate office job and started doing woodworking full-time. So, they contacted me to make his cane.

Sadly, I also built him a casket, another first for me, about a year later

Since the time I did that first Cane for Bryan, I have enjoyed the work on the canes that I have been able to make, but more importantly, the people that I have been able to meet and help along the journey. I do make a bunch of unique items and furniture, but without a doubt, I receive more correspondence and thank-you cards from cane customers than any of the other items I make, combined. So, they are fun for me to build, and I look forward to each new person and situation.

To keep a handle on all of the memories, I engrave a small serial number on each brass cane tip, and then I keep a detailed database log of each cane, customer, and situation. The list always brings me warm memories each time I scan it and remember the folks that have supported my work over the years, and vice versa.

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(This text, all photos, project design, and anything else you want to steal, is protected by copyright 2008, M.A.DeCou, all rights reserved and protected, ask permission first! Weblinks to this page are permitted)

-- Mark DeCou - Kansas Flint Hill's Artisan