Noah’s Ark Cane
by Hershal Borders
Top to bottom:
Rainbow handle, ark
with eight people, two
elephants, two lions,
two grizzlies, two rhinos,
two polar bears, two bison,
two zebra, two tigers
and two giraffes.

CANE CORNER
Hershal Borders: Canes with a Theme                          By Ayleen Stellhorn

“I guess I do just about everything backwards,” laughs Hershal Borders.

But for this Middletown, Ohio, resident, “backwards” may well be the key to his growing notoriety as canemaker-extraordinaire.

“I start with a block of basswood and a pattern, which is a little backwards from the way most people make canes. Most people find a branch or some piece of naturally shaped wood and carve whatever they see in the wood. I’ve done that too,” Hershal says, “and it depends on what you like as a carver... I find my way a little bit more rewarding for me.”

Hershal began carving in the mid-50s when carving was just beginning to gain popularity as a nation-wide pastime. Over the years, he has carved everything from animals to human caricatures. He enjoys all aspects of carving — most of them end up in his canes in one form or another — but finds that he has become known for his cane making above all else.

That recognition as a canemaker has been boosted by several coveted blue-ribbon wins in cane-making competitions across the country. Since 1990, Hershal has entered his “theme” canes and won blue ribbons at shows in Davenport, Iowa; Dover, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Gatlenberg, Tennessee; and Middletown, Ohio. Most recently, he won two second best of show awards: the first for his Noah’s Ark Cane at the Cincinnati Carvers Guild show in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the second for his National Holiday Cane at the Miami Valley Wood Carvers Association show in Middletown, Ohio.

One of the many highlights of his carving career to date was having two canes win first in category at the Wonders in Wood Show in Dover, Ohio. The National Holiday Cane won in 1995 and the American Indian Cane won in 1994. Both canes were placed in the Warther Museum in Dover for a year as a result of the wins.

“I enjoy working with a theme,” Hershal says. “The American Indian Cane is my interpretation of highlights of American Indian culture. Indians are a favorite topic among many people. They played a big part in our nation’s history, and many of us have Indian blood in our veins.”

Carved in basswood and painted with oils, Hershal’s American Indian Cane is topped with a likeness of Sitting Bull, the Sioux Indian who took part in the defeat of General George Custer at Little Big Horn in 1876. Other great Indian leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph, are pictured farther down on the cane, along with a Kachina doll, a totem pole and an Indian girl pounding corn.

“The ideas come in an instant,” says Hershal, who spends about 25 hours each week carving. “It’s the actual carving that takes the time and the effort.”

The American Indian Cane took about 500 hours to complete and sold for $5,000. That’s a hefty sum, but broken down to an hourly rate, comes to a mere $10 an hour.

Most often, Hershal will carve a new version of one of his existing canes and then sell the old cane to someone on his waiting list. Occasionally, he takes commissions. He finds that carving for someone else is very rewarding.

“I don’t like to take orders for my canes,” Hershal says. “The pressure of having a backlog of orders to fill takes a lot of joy out of carving. But I do have a waiting list. If someone really wants one of my canes, I’ll take their name and give them a call when I’m ready to start a new project.”