Finished Taxus cane

[deweyrf91]

Great job, I like the old twisted sticks.

[nameless]

Nice the way that you 'enhanced' the natural topography of the wood, super colors!
A shame about that 'weak spot' at the bend at the tip, though (unless its 1 1/2" thick...).
I have had to reject so many fantastic stix just because the 'good stuff' didn't quite reach the ground. Sometimes I was able to 'fake it' with a long ferule and bolt (and plenty of epoxy).
With all the manzanita around here, I have the same problem, a very 'angular' growing wood, beautiful, but finding a usable piece of the appropriate length is quite the chore.
I had a bit of a 'crook' on the bottom of one, once, and was able to strengthen the bend by inserting a piece of threaded rod (after drilling a hole!) that extended a couple of inches on either side of the bend (and double dutied as the tip that hit the ground).

[W.duBois]

Originally Posted by nameless

Nice the way that you 'enhanced' the natural topography of the wood, super colors!
A shame about that 'weak spot' at the bend at the tip, though (unless its 1 1/2" thick...).

Thank you. And yes, you are right about the lower part of the stick. It is a bit thin compared to the higher parts, and distracts a bit from the overall shape. There wasn't a lot of wood there to begin with, but I could have been a bit more conservative with sanding in hindsight. Thankfully the stick is in no way impaired in strength, it holds weight no problem.

[nameless]

Although crooked stix have their beauty, as long as the pressure on a stick is compressionary down the center axis, any deviation from that axis is necessarily a 'weakness'. At the bend, the tendency is to 'bow' (and eventually 'snap') where the tendency in the straight stick is to compress, enabling it to remain in one piece where with the same pressure the 'bow' will snap. So there is 'weakness' but that weakness might never be manifested under 'normal' use.
I might emphasize the 'strengths' and 'weaknesses' a bit more than canes solely for simple perambulation, as the canes that I make are designed to remain intact should the need arise to use one to adjust the agressive attitude of a misanthropic gorilla!
Yew is a hella strong and tough wood and I'm sure that there would be no problem under 'normal' conditions.

[LBlake]

Just lovely. Nice use of the pretty, pretty yew.
And... hella elastic, too... the stuff of the famous Welsh longbow. makes me wonder what bamboo would be like for carving.
I digress... really is a pretty stick!