Bass woods and canes - good for one, good for the other?

[whyseye]

As a person with chronic pain from an old ankle injury and reconstruction, I find myself increasingly dependent upon some kind of walking aid on the bad days, and hate the way that a regular aluminum crutch or cane makes one feel even less attractive and more orthopedically impaired...
So I found myself browsing a website with some nice wooden canes, and cool sculpted handles, etc., and noticed that many of the same woods used in bass-making were also used for the handles and shafts of the canes. I was halfway considering a nice maple-handled one (to match the neck and fingerboard of my Mustang) when I came across an ovangkol (and another boutique wood that escapes me) cane, in a child's size...gorgeous woods, and sculptural qualities approaching a finely made bass....

What is it about these woods that makes them good for both purposes? Do any luthiers also make canes? Have any of you folks bought a cane, or other item, because it matched a bass of yours? Anyone know of some nicely made, reasonably priced, non-dorky looking canes?

Is this a good time to mention that I also got maple cabinetry in the kitchen for similar reasons?

[whyseye]

Hmmm...I guess that the question was as lame as I am....

....figures....

[GeneralElectric]

I've seen questions lamer then you.








Probably.

I walk around with a cane sometimes. Its a mystery wood from a branch in the woods and has a sea lion/walrus/seal on the handle. Trippy stuff.

[cheesemonkey]

use your bass as your cane... nothing cooler than that

[Liist]

I know this violates gun safety rules and federal laws, but use an AK-47 as a cane. They are tough, reliable, have so decent-looking wood furniture, and are far more useful for defense than a cane gun.

[whyseye]

Originally Posted by cheesemonkey

use your bass as your cane... nothing cooler than that

...don't know why I didn't think of that!!

I'd better not use my EB copy, though - neck dive would not be desirable in a cane...

[Croox]

you can get one of those canes with a sword in it

http://www.swordcane.com/

[mjolnir]

Originally Posted by Croox

you can get one of those canes with a sword in it

http://www.swordcane.com/

Sword canes generally can't support a person's full weight, otherwise this would have been my first choice when I first had to walk with a cane in college.

Speaking as a regular cane user, here's a decent site you can look at:

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/

This is the one I personally use, wenge just like my 'wick :

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/80603.html

[WickedPissah]

Just stay away from this one

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/440.html

[GeneralElectric]

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/440.html

EDIT: Damnit, beat me too it

[whyseye]

Originally Posted by mjolnir

Sword canes generally can't support a person's full weight, otherwise this would have been my first choice when I first had to walk with a cane in college.

Speaking as a regular cane user, here's a decent site you can look at:

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/

This is the one I personally use, wenge just like my 'wick :

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/80603.html

That's the site that I was looking at - they have some cool stuff....I'll probably order one or two soon...

[mjolnir]

Originally Posted by whyseye

That's the site that I was looking at - they have some cool stuff....I'll probably order one or two soon...

They have great canes, I highly recommend them. I've ordered two from them so far and have nothing but good things to say about the entire process.

[Stanley Design]

My last cane was tight grain walnut and my current cane is cherrywood, start looking at heavy duty canes if you want something to support some actual weight. They generally make canes for old people who don't like lifting any weight so they are mostly lightweight and flex a fair amount. Personally my favourite handle is a derby handle or an anatomically correct derby. Try and make sure the handle is balanced on the top of the shaft too.

[dangnewt]

Maple is a magic wood. Strong, not too heavy, not too light, good looking, can have a variety of interesting figuring (I'm partial to birdseye).

Bass necks, fingerboards, baseball bats, canes, syrup, flooring, cabinets - its all good in maple.

Heck, even the maple leaf looks sharp when placed on a flag!

I figure that anything that can be used for a bass neck has got to be strong enough to make a fine cane.

[whyseye]

....as if bass GAS weren't bad enough...
...now I have birdseye maple, scorched maple, bubinga, wenge, rosewood, ebony, ovangkol and others to choose from....
....cool!

Thanks for the input, folks - am feeling less orthopedic and more styling all the time!