Cane

I went to my first PT session today.  I walked with one crutch for a bit in front of the PT and he recommended sticking with the crutch for a bit.  He then rubbed my butt for awhile (the suture zone).  I was expecting some serious bending and stretching.  In time, I guess.

I finished my weekend project, making my own cane.  I think I spent too much time standing at the workbench this weekend and not enough time doing my PT exercises.  Back got sore.

The cane has a steel top that is shaped like the top of a human femur.  I used a hollow blacksmithy 2" ball for the head, welded on some thin-walled tubing for the neck and then added a piece of elliptical tubing from a crappy kid's donor bike for the main femur, then I had to go free-form on the top and add various 3/8" wire and 1/8" strap to make the greater trochanter and the lesser tochanter on the inside. I made kerf cuts in the bike tubing to bring it's diameter down consistantly as you move down the shaft.  I did a lot of welding and grinding, then some sanding and then some wire brushing.  The finish on the steel is simply olive oil burned in at high temp, like seasoning a cast iron pan.

I found a piece of hardwood in the shop for the "stick" of the cane. Rounded it down with a plane and sanded it.  It smelled like black locust but appeared more reddish, maybe osage orange.  It took danish oil well and just has a really nice smooth finish to it.  I completed it with a homemade steel ferrule, like the top.  Then I put one of the rubber crutch tips on the bottome  That doesn't go well with it, though, it's too medical-looking.  I'll try to find a thinner black rubber stopper.

It's a little heavy, but it reminds me of walking with my old-school Chounard laminated wood ice axe, or with my handy mini mattock that I used a bunch for soil sampling several years ago.  Plus, the kids reminded me, it can be used as a weapon.  Lovely.  Also, the piriformis (small top knot on the greater trochanter) adds a little massage to the hand if you want to mix it up a little. 

It looks pretty cool, but it's not exactly anatomically correct and hopefully Mr. PT won't tell me I can't use it.