# Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran



## decoustudio (May 4, 2006)

*Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran*

If you are just surfing through the internet and want to see some actual canes I've carved, click on the Widget Picture of the cane here, and it also has more than 40 other links to other unique carved walking canes I've built.



This blog entry is for showing a couple of new concept sketches of carved walking cane designs that I am working on so that the prospective customer can view the concept drawings and provide his input, or approval.

thanks for reading,
Mark DeCou
http://www.decoustudio.com

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*Customer Project Story:*

This prospective customer is a disabled Air Force veteran who wants a custom walking cane, due to a right leg injury he suffered during the war in Iraq.

I have had several weeks, maybe a couple of months now, to think through this design, and it has been quite an honor for me to be considered to carve such a cane. I'm hopeful that the design will give him something he can feel honored to carry, and something that will allow him to tell others his story as they ask him about the cane he is carrying. I have studied historical canes for a few years now in connection with my work building them. Some of the most collectible, and valuable heirloom antique canes are ones that were made for war veterans. I am humbled when I consider the amount of valor, bravery, and honor that is required to leave a family and fight a war, and then to return home permanently disabled. I designed this cane with that thought in mind.

The main feature of either cane option is an American Bald Eagle with trailing Red, White, & Blue banners that will be carved protruding from the walnut shaft of the cane. I will use thinned acrylic paints, an air brush, and an antiquing medium to put the colors on the cane. The finish will be clear lacquer, with air-brushed tinted lacquers.

Height: 37" 
Handle Size: XXL (left hand carry)
Cane Heft: Large Sized Cane for a big guy needing a lot of leg support.

The tips will be brass with a replaceable rubber tip.

Carved down the *White Banner *are letters spelling:
"Global War on Terror"

Carved down the *Red Banner *are letters spelling:
"United States Air Force"

Carved down the *Blue Banner *are letters spelling:
(not yet determined) The customer's name and rank, or maybe something in Latin that means "We Came, We Saw, We Conquered" or something else typical of a phrase the Air Force commonly uses.

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*Cane Option #1*









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*Cane Option #2*









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*Cane Sample Slideshow*: To hear Music, click the Speaker Icon

  

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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.

*Handmade Finished Canes For Sale, Ready to Ship Now:*

*ETSY.com Online Shop Inventory*: Click Here to Visit my Cane Inventory Page

*Some Cane that are Unsold:*

Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick, Serial N0. 2009-06
Folk-Art Carved Pirate Face Cane -Serial No. 2005-16
Folk-Art Carved Mountain Man Face Cane -Serial No. 2006-03
Fancy Barley Twisted Ebonized Oak & Elk Antler Cane, Serial No. 2009-05
Rustic Natural Walking Stick, Nanny McPhee Movie Inspired, Serial No. 2009-07
Fancy Dress Cane, Curly Ambrosia Maple Handle with Black Spiral Shaft, Serial No. 2008-21
Fancy Dress Cane, Walnut Bamboo Inspired Shaft, Buffalo Horn Laminated Handle, Serial No. 2008-23
Scrimshaw Artwork Walnut Cane -Serial No. 2008-08
Red Oak/Black Lacquered Twisted Cane -Serial No. 2008-14
Red Oak Barley Twist Walking Cane -Serial No. 2008-15
Walnut Ball-Top Dress Cane -Serial No. 2008-06
Walnut Cane with Chrome Ball Knob -Serial No. 2008-20
Carved Thumbstick Hiking Sticks with Composite Malachite -Serial No. 2008-24

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*Folk Art & Pop-Art Carved Canes*

 Bishop's Carved Walnut Crosier
 Nascar's Jimmie Johnson Themed Walking Cane
 Carved Oak Leaf Walking Stick
 Folk-Art Smiling Wood Spirit Face Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle
 Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick
 Folk-Art Pirate Carved Face Cane w/ Deer Antler Handle
 Cartoon Character Taz, Folk Art One-of-a-kind Art Cane
 Sculpted Wood Spirit Face Cane 
 Folk-Art Wood Spirit Cane w/ Elk Antler Handle & Scrimshaw
 Folk Art Mountain Man Face Cane
 Shamrock Wood Spirit Irish-Theme Face Cane
 Walnut Wood Spirit Face Cane with Antler & Turquoise
 Collection of Face Carved Canes 
 Moses-Inspired Face Carved Cane w/ Antler & Turquoise
 Shepherd's Stick, Carved Border Collie Welsh-Style Dog Show Trial Stick
 Carved Oak Leaf Walking Cane with Scrimshaw Artwork
 Amazing Grace Music Notes Carved Cane 
 A Lady's Elegant Red Long-Stem Rose Carved Cane 
 Prairie Fire Hand-Carved Hiking Thumb Sticks
 A Folk-Art Carved Albatross Head & Snake Walnut Cane
 Carved Folk-Art Walking Cane; 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' Story Stick with Scrimshaw Artwork-
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*Native American Indian Theme Folk-Art Canes*

 Apache Chief Geronimo Folk-Art Face Cane
 Folk Art Native American Face Cane Set
 Apache Chief Cochise Folk-Art Face Cane
 Folk Art Carved Cane of Shoshone Chief
 Indian Guides Chief Big-Red-Cloud Hiking Stick
 Apache Chief Cochise #2 Folk-Art Face Cane
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*Scrimshaw Artwork Canes*

 Scrimshaw Art Trophy Buck Deer Head
 Scrimshaw Art Walking Cane: Praying Mantis Insect
 Scrimshaw Art Walking Cane: Floppy Eared Bunny Face & Walnut Barley Twist
 Big & Tall Barley Twisted Oak with Scrimshawn Handle
 Walnut & Curly Maple Cane with Scrimshaw
 Scrimshaw Art Walnut Cane
 Fancy Barley Twist with Scrimshaw Cane
 Lady's Dress Cane, Red Oak, Walnut, Black Lacquer, & Scrimshaw Artwork of a Purple Cone Flower
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*Natural Sapling/Limb Canes/Sticks*

Folk-Art Carved Wood Spirit Hiking Stick
Nanny McPhee Movie-Inspired Crooked Walking Stick
Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Cane 
Naturally Twisted Tree Sapling Walking Stick
Shepherd's Crook Hiking Stick
Black Locust Tree Sapling Walking Stick
Red BirchTree Sapling Hiking Stick
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*Fancy Barley-Twist Style Dress Canes*

Fancy Barley Twisted Ebonized Oak & Elk Antler Cane, Serial No. 2009-05
 Big & Tall Walnut & Maple Barley Twist Custom Cane
 Big & Tall Red Oak and Antler with Scrimshaw Monogram
 White Oak Barley Twist Cane
 Osage Orange Barley Twist Cane
 Walnut & Figured Maple Barley Twist cane
 Black Walnut and Spalted Sycamore Barley Twist
 Red Oak Barley Twist with Black Lacquer
 Red Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Handle
 Dress Cane, Oak Barley Twist with Walnut Ring
 Bryan's Cane, The Start of my Cane Journey
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*Fancy Dress Style Canes*

 Pink Ivory and Elk Antler Dress Walking Stick
 Coiled Ribbon Twisted Spalted White Oak with Walnut Handle
 Polished Black Steer Horn Upright Walking Stick
 Mexican Bocote Wood, Elk Antler Handle with Hand-Wrought Fine Silver End Caps
 Fancy Walking Cane, Camphor Burl, Maple, Bubinga, Whitetail Deer Antler, Inlays & Silver End Caps
 Custom Dress-Up Walking Cane, Walnut shaft with a Camphor Burl Handle
 Walnut & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
 White Birch & Buffalo Horn Twisted Cane
 Walnut Bamboo-Style Cane with Chrome Ball Top
 Walnut & Buffalo Horn Dress Cane
 Bird's Eye Maple Cane
 Spalted Sycamore Walking Cane
 Walnut Tall Knob Top Opera Cane
 Zebrawood & Walnut Knob Top Opera Cane
 Dress Cane Set, with several Material Options Shown
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*What is Scrimshaw Artwork?:*
A Scrimshaw Art Journey: What it is & How to Do it; Five Simple Steps to Success
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Click here to go to *My Website page with Walking Canes*

I usually have a few canes in stock at:

 Hatman Jack's Wichita Hat Works in Wichita, Kansas
 Hutchinson Art Center in Hutchinson, Kansas
 Prairie Past Times Antiques & Crafts in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas

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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*Still Want to See more of my work?*

Start with each of these links, and they will take you to other organized lists of my other niche products:


Custom Knives
Custom Art-Furniture I've Built
Artisan Hat Making Tools

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*(This text, all photos, project design, are protected by copyright 2007-2009, M.A.DeCou, all rights reserved and protected, ask permission first! Weblinks to this page are permitted)*


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## trifern (Feb 1, 2008)

decoustudio said:


> *Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran*
> 
> If you are just surfing through the internet and want to see some actual canes I've carved, click on the Widget Picture of the cane here, and it also has more than 40 other links to other unique carved walking canes I've built.
> 
> ...


Great looking thumbnails Mark. The local wood turning club I belong to is teaming up with a local carving club to make some canes for disabled veterans. I hope to be able to share a small token of my appreciation these brave warriors do for our country.

Keep up the great work.


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

decoustudio said:


> *Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran*
> 
> If you are just surfing through the internet and want to see some actual canes I've carved, click on the Widget Picture of the cane here, and it also has more than 40 other links to other unique carved walking canes I've built.
> 
> ...


Mark A good looking cane.


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## jeanmarc (Mar 23, 2008)

decoustudio said:


> *Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran*
> 
> If you are just surfing through the internet and want to see some actual canes I've carved, click on the Widget Picture of the cane here, and it also has more than 40 other links to other unique carved walking canes I've built.
> 
> ...


Great looking thumbnails


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## Minuteman (Feb 26, 2009)

decoustudio said:


> *Design Sketches for an American Eagle Carved Walking Cane for an Injured Iraqi War Air Force Veteran*
> 
> If you are just surfing through the internet and want to see some actual canes I've carved, click on the Widget Picture of the cane here, and it also has more than 40 other links to other unique carved walking canes I've built.
> 
> ...


Great Cane Design like 1 but with the but end of where a cap with his name and rank would be nice at the back of number 1


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