# old cane



## Finisher (May 24, 2018)

Hi folks, Many years ago while I was working a friend brought in a couple sticks to finish.. He had gotten them from a neighborhood garage, already cut. The guy told my friend the sticks were "canewood" and grew by the sides of rivers down South. Now I looked up "canewood" and it technically does not exist.. So I tried research, which eventually led me here. Now I have a strong suspicion that it is possibly American Hornbeam, aka Ironwood. As you can see by the pics, it has a slightly rounded top to feel good on your hand. I took 80 grit paper on a high powered oscillator sander and it took me over a hour to gently curve the hand area. Then another hour trying to get all the 80 grit scratches out! (in other words, it's hard as hell). The bark was a light gray and I was unable to remove it. The finish is done in Antique Red Lacquer.

Now my issue is that the American Hornbeam I've seen is somewhat less spectacular than the shape shown in my cane, but "musclewood" sure fits. That's another slang name for American Hornbeam. So folks, here I am, hat in hand. Any thoughts or ideas will be appreciated. If my guess is wrong, I can live with it. I'd rather know exactly what I have.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the assistance.


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## Travis (Oct 17, 2017)

That's American Hornbeam, aka blue beech, mussel wood, or iron wood depending where you live. You can go through lots of sandpaper working with it, it's as tough as nails.


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## Finisher (May 24, 2018)

Thanks Travis, it sure slowed my work down. I'm glad I only produced two of these!


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## Deltaboy84 (Jul 10, 2018)

Tough Wood but they look great!


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