- Joined
- Jan 5, 2001
- Messages
- 2,726
A while back I picked up a Grey Ghost walking stick and matching cane from Newt Livesay. Both are pretty much a section of 5/8" fiberglass rod in wood-grain grey with a golf club wrap on the top and a rubber cane foot on the bottom. The walking stick works very nicely, but I've never been happy with the cane. It really needs a proper head of some type to provide a comfortable grip.
Thanks to some help from the folks here, I was finally able to order a cane head to experiment with. I bought a brass eagle head grip from Lee Valley. The ferrule is designed to screw down over a 15/16" piece of wood, so it doesn't come anywhere near fitting the 5/8" Ghost. However, the smaller opening inside the actual head of the grip is close to the right diameter.
I cut away the rubber golf club wrap from the top few inches of my Ghost to expose the fiberglass rod. Then I sanded it down to a slightly smaller diameter, so it would fit snugly inside the cane head. (I did use my respirator during this phase, since the stuff is fiberglass...) I left a steep "shoulder" to control where it would stop from sliding in further. After a few adjustments I got everything fitted so that the ferrule lies snugly up against the remains of the rubber wrap. They are even the same diameter, looking as if they were intended to go together.
The grip seemed pretty solidly attached, but I wanted to make sure it could not come off. You never know when I may decide to whack someone with it. ..
So I drilled an 1/8" hole near the bottom of the ferrule that went in one side, through the fibergrlass rod, and came out the other. I countersunk the holes, cut a piece of 1/8" brass rod to fit, and peened it down into the countersinks to insure it wouldn't jiggle out. Finally, I ground my improvised rivet down smooth with the surface of the ferrule and used different grades of steel wool to restore the original shine of the brass.
The end result is actually pretty cool looking. My Grey Ghost is now a proper cane with a brass eagle head grip, 8" of narrowing black rubber wrap immediately under that, and the wood-grained grey shaft below, ending in a rubber foot. An odd combination, but fairly attractive.
It also has the potential to be a devastating impact weapon. The fiberglass shaft can smash cinder blocks and that brass head has just enough point at the end to be nasty. Not bad for something that looks rather stylish.
--Bob Q
Thanks to some help from the folks here, I was finally able to order a cane head to experiment with. I bought a brass eagle head grip from Lee Valley. The ferrule is designed to screw down over a 15/16" piece of wood, so it doesn't come anywhere near fitting the 5/8" Ghost. However, the smaller opening inside the actual head of the grip is close to the right diameter.
I cut away the rubber golf club wrap from the top few inches of my Ghost to expose the fiberglass rod. Then I sanded it down to a slightly smaller diameter, so it would fit snugly inside the cane head. (I did use my respirator during this phase, since the stuff is fiberglass...) I left a steep "shoulder" to control where it would stop from sliding in further. After a few adjustments I got everything fitted so that the ferrule lies snugly up against the remains of the rubber wrap. They are even the same diameter, looking as if they were intended to go together.
The grip seemed pretty solidly attached, but I wanted to make sure it could not come off. You never know when I may decide to whack someone with it. ..
So I drilled an 1/8" hole near the bottom of the ferrule that went in one side, through the fibergrlass rod, and came out the other. I countersunk the holes, cut a piece of 1/8" brass rod to fit, and peened it down into the countersinks to insure it wouldn't jiggle out. Finally, I ground my improvised rivet down smooth with the surface of the ferrule and used different grades of steel wool to restore the original shine of the brass.The end result is actually pretty cool looking. My Grey Ghost is now a proper cane with a brass eagle head grip, 8" of narrowing black rubber wrap immediately under that, and the wood-grained grey shaft below, ending in a rubber foot. An odd combination, but fairly attractive.
It also has the potential to be a devastating impact weapon. The fiberglass shaft can smash cinder blocks and that brass head has just enough point at the end to be nasty. Not bad for something that looks rather stylish.
--Bob Q
