Carved Canes Not Just A Cottage Industry
Handmade wooden canes were first made entirely of wood and the carvings were often elaborate. Later metals and stones were inlayed into beautiful patterns. Carved canes became more than a cottage industry — they became an art form and some demanded very high prices. After a time factories were started to meet increased demand. Canes were not only for aiding people in being mobile, they were often for display.
The anatomically correct cane has been in mankind's inventory since at least as far back as the Egyptians. Carved canes found in Egyptian tombs seem to have been carved to fit the hand of the user perfectly. The lengths of canes found in ancient 'digs' vary by as much as five inches so we are sure they were 'cut-to-fit' for the user.
You will be amazed by the ultimate fit that today's anatomically correct canes are finalized using the numbers generated by a computer. The computer is used to derive the final dimensions. These carved canes are designed to fit into your hand like a glove. The handle on a computer designed anatomically correct cane is so comfortable that the user need never develop calluses. The computer can design a cane for either the right or left hand. People usually use the cane in the hand opposite to their weak or injured side. Most often any lettering on a carved cane faces the user, not the audience.
The wood most often used in North America is from the hickory tree. Hickory wood can be steamed and bent easily when green. The bark slips off easily and the wood has high strength. The American Indian tended to make bows from hickory because of its resilience and the "memory" of the hickory wood. It tended to return to its original position without deformation.
Handmade and hand carved cane production is almost a lost art. The computer can generate countless patterns and drive tools to carve the wood, but it doesn't quite seem the same. Some of the few places left in America that still make hand carved fashionable canes are found in the Missouri-Arkansas Ozark Mountains. It is still a cottage industry and small shops have been set up along major tourist highways and byways to present the wooden wares to the tourists.
The hickory tree is still used as one of the prime carving woods for canes but the Bois De Arc (Hedge Apple or Osage Orange) is a close second. The American Indians also made bows from the wood of the tree, hence the name Bois De Arc. This tree grows profusely in the Ozark Mountains of both states. It is easy to work and remains stable over time. It can be stained to various hues and polished, and keeps its shape, rigidity, and strength for as long as a century. Carved canes are here to stay. People like the uniqueness of each cane and the warmth of the hand carved wood.
