The ConceptIn the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, nobles carry what are called "Dueling Canes". I'm not too far along in the first book, but the idea intrigued me. What if nobility could settle differences via nonlethal combat, with something like a classy Shillelagh? I decided to make a walking stick with some swordlike qualities. It had to look like an inconspicuous cane, be comfortable to grip in an offensive stance, and be durable enough to last through (at least) one good walloping. The MaterialsI'm running on a tight budget, so this was gonna be a hardware store build. No fancy exotic woods for me. My choices were a hickory sledge hammer handle ($10ish) or a 1 1/8" red oak dowel ($7ish). I went for the oak dowel, partly because it was cheaper, but also because I got a full three feet out of it, where the hammer handle would have needed cutting to remove the accommodations for the hammer head. I also wasn't crazy about the rough finish on the hickory handle, which would have meant sanding it off. On the way home from Home MegaLowe's, I stopped off at the hobby shop for a 2" hardwood ball to act as the topper/handle/pommel for the cane. Cost about $1.50. So all in all, we're down about $8.50. The only other materials I used were scrounged in my garage. A lag bolt for the bottom end to keep the wood from banging on concrete surfaces, some polyurethane to shine and seal, and a couple dabs of wood glue. The BuildI started off with the ball, since that had the greatest chance for disaster. Without any kind of good jig or vice to use in my drill press, I was gonna have to go it by hand. I started the hole with a 1" hole saw, then hogged out the material left in the core with a 1" spade bit. I probably could have gotten away with just the spade bit, but those things tend to leave really rough edges. It was nerve wracking, but it worked pretty well. Yeesh. Next was shaping the body of the cane itself. Most of this happened out back on my bootleg shaving horse. I did almost all the work with my half-round spokeshave. I needed to reduce the diameter of the dowel by 1/8 inch at the end so it would fit the 1" hole in the ball, so I did that first. I'd say the spokeshave has paid for itself, but it was an XMas gift. Thanks, Mom-in-law! Then, I needed to add a sword-like handle just below the ball. I worked the next 6-7 inches into a pleasing oval profile that fit my hand well. Next was the body of the thing. I flattened out the middle third-ish of the dowel, aligned with the grip to lighten the cane and give it a bit of a sword-ish profile. If you land a hit, even in the middle, the reduced surface area of the narrowed edge will transfer more force to a smaller area, and the lower mass should make for a swifter swing. Lookit those cute curly shavings! Finally, for the end, I tapered the last 8ish inches from 1 1/8" to about 3/4", making sure to keep the cone even all the way around. This is where the shaving horse comes in really handy. It allows you to very quickly turn the piece you're working without having to fiddle over and over with a vise, giving you more opportunity to keep things even. Once I was happy with the overall shape, I glued the ball in place, then started sanding. The spoke shave did a pretty good job of leaving an even surface, so I started with 150 grit, then went to 220 after I leveled out all the high spots and dings. Sanding is basically the worst thing, but it makes stuff look so pretty. Once it was all smooth, I started the finishing process. I bent a finish nail into a U shape, and hung the cane upside down from the ceiling of my garage, and brushed on three layers of polyurethane, with a 220 sanding between each. Once it was dry, the last step was to add a tip to the end, so that repeated banging against hard surfaces wouldn't chowder the wood up too bad. I don't much like the look of rubber chair tips, so I cut the top off of a 5/16" lag bolt I had laying around, and glued it into a 5/16" hole I drilled in the center of the cane's bottom. It gives a very satisfying *CLACK* when it touches down. The Final ProductI'm really happy with how this cane came out. It feels great in the hand in cane mode and in sword mode. The finish is very hard, and can baseball-swing a pine cone into the bleachers with nary a scratch. Yes, that's my very scientific method for testing wood finish. The finished cane En garde!
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AuthorI'm Dan, and I make things. Jewelry, food, carvings, Viking knotwork, and at least one child (so far). This is where I document all that stuff. Archives
May 2017
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