When I was a lad (in the early 70s) I remember seeing older people with canes or as some of them called them “walking sticks.”
Some were simple and some were pretty cool carved of wood, with designs on them.
But I never see anyone using a cane anymore? Did we just reach a point in medicine where people who used to use canes, got cured of whatever they needed them for?
Or are people to proud to carry them? Or were they only (or bascially) used for style and not any real purpose?
I do notice more people today than in the past using walkers, motorized carts, and the like. I hope the walker didn’t replace the cane; it seems like overkill.
Nothing happened to them…I use them, make them, give them as gifts - I love walking sticks! I try and get the ones that have a good gnarlin them for charactor and a good story. I never sell them, I only give them away.
I use a cane. This one, simple and cheap. I do have my eye on a nice hickory cane when I get my coaching check later this year.
I do see many elderly using the scooters, very few canes. I usually see someone walking with difficulty but no cane or riding.
How odd, thats not how you would think it should go is it? Too many people go without. I have a good friend of mine who is 42, he had a stroke last year and I made him a beautiful cane out of an Apple tree branch. The handle was bent perfectly and the rest was straight. I just cleaned it up with some 80grit paper and then some linseed oil, he walked with it until he could go on his own…6 months maybe. I was proud of that one - he struggled a lot, and it never broke.
My mother had a stroke a few years ago. She told me that at the hospital they first wanted her to use a walker, but she said no, she wanted a cane. They got her a four pronged cane.
She’s been using that cane ever since.
Maybe others just meekly accept the walkers as doctor’s orders? Are walkers steadier than canes? I would think so. Of course, the rascal riding can be downright fun.
Still, I see plenty of older folks with canes.
Phlosphr, I have been questioned by several about my use of a cane, was I not embarrased? They didn’t want to use a cane as it would make them look crippled. This includes three of the elderly I mentioned.
My knees started giving me trouble when I was in college and I slowly acquired a small collection of walking sticks. I don’t use them much any more, since for some reason my knees haven’t been bothering me much the last ten years or so. Occasionally I have thought about carrying one as an accessory, though.
I know what you mean, I know several people who want nothign to do with a cane, I asked one of them if she’d consider a walking stick and she said maybe…
Porblem is you don’t walk with them the same way, and they have relatively little therapeutic value.
I always thought they looked like they would slip away from their user more easily than a cane. I also see a lot of walkers that are hacked with tennis balls at the feet, which tells me there’s something wrong with the design to begin with.
I used a walker, too. The slide pads on the back legs wear very quickly on concrete. The tennis balls provide a cheap and easily replaceable alternative.
ETA: I found the biggest problem with a walker was catching the front on something while going forward.(Like a carpet seam) Pitches you right on your face.
I saw an older gentleman on the street yesterday with an unusual cane. The top was bent in a standard cane half loop. Most of the rest of it was shaped like a baseball bat. The baseball bat shape ended abruptly (90 degrees) about two inches from the bottom of the cane. the last two inches on the bottom was a straight wooden peg an inch and a half in diameter with a rubber cup on it like many canes.
I assume you could make one by drilling out a baseball bat and inserting and then glueing a cane inside it. Part of the wide part of the bat was probably cut off to make it to the right length for that particular gentleman with the two inches of cane on the bottom.
I was driving and he was walking so I didn’t get the chance to examine it or to ask him how it was made. I assume he carries it to ward off dogs/hitmen/insurance salesmen.
Fun fact about canes and single crutches:
The correct way to use them is opposite the afflicted leg. So if your left knee is injured, you hold your cane in your right hand. Because when we walk naturally our hands and feet come forward on opposite sides. This way you maintain your natural gait while still taking weight off the bad leg/adding stability. Some people don’t get this concept, and they look like a lurching monster or peg legged pirate.
When I broke my ankle a few years ago, I used a cane. It was just a metal adjustable available at most pharmacies and discount stores but it did the job.
I also use a walking stick when I’m hiking. It’s simply a natural walnut branch about five feet high that I gathered while on a hiking / camping trip several years back. After forgetting about it for a few months in the bed of my truck, the bark came off. I then gave it a light sanding and a rubdown of tung oil and take better care of it now. It helps this fat middle aged woman up some of the hills when enjoying the great outdoors.
I think it’s just that fewer people walk and more drive these days.
I would love to have this walking stick. Some of those who like the Steampunk asthetic use them, and there are speciality Victorian shops that still sell them. There are also places that sell calling cards, and calling card cases as well. Pocket watches, and jewelry made using the gears and parts from old pocket watches are also quite popular in some circles.
Here’s an MTV news article (but other news outlets have done similar stories, one focused on calling cards) about how Steampunk looks poised to go mainstream.
One of the many minor regrets in my life is that I did not buy an old walking stick that I saw in a New Orleans shop about twenty years ago. It was just the right length for me (most canes seem to be an inch or two longer than is comfortable) and had an ivory head. But it was a bit out of my price range at the time.
Even simpler, some baseball bats are pre-drilled.
Cool site. I’m trying to decide if I could pull off any part of that look.
Check out Abney Park’s site for other takes on Steampunk. Some go more sci fi, others stick to the Victorian flair. For a glimpse of how people really work the look, take a look at the various sets in this polyvore group. (There are some outfits for guys in there, but not too many.)
