Since serious and useful replies have been a-plenty, I just thought I’d drop in and mention that as soon as I read the title, the Silent E song/cartoon segment from The Electric Company rose unbidden up from the recesses of my childhood memories, and now it’s stuck in my head.
Who can turn a CAN… into a CANE
Who can turn a PAN… into a PANE
It’s not too hard to see
It’s Silent E
With a picture of a lowercase E with arms and legs and a magic wand.
…And what do you know, in this modern age, Google leads me to YouTube which leads me to this link.
And holy moly, now that I’m All Grown Up, I recognize that musical style and voice as Tom Lehrer’s! And yes, a Wikipedia check on Mr. Lehrer confirms that he did work on the Electric Company, including many of my other childhood favorites!
Ah… SDMB… Google… YouTube… Wikipedia… Gosh darn it, 'tis truly a Golden Age we live in, that lets us waddle in nostalgia so readily!
I noted the reference to “craft fairs” and thought I’d mention that some of the nicer canes and walking sticks I have seen were at a crafts exhibit at a school that specializes in folk crafts. Whether such a school is near and easily accessible to you or not, if you can locate one there might be something exotic enough to buy for when its use has been filled and you still want a nice piece of work.
My wife has a collection of canes and sticks, some of them quite nice. None was overly expensive, but they weren’t really cheap either.
You might consider making your own out a sturdy piece of hardwood like oak or hickory. I made one on a hiking trip out of some mountain laurel. Not all that much to it; just some whittling.
I agree. I’ve been on crutches enough to know first-hand, a ski-pole-like trekking pole will only really help you balance. While this can help reduce impact on a slightly sore or weak leg (especially going downhill or on rough terrain), it’s not going to really take weight off like a cane or single crutch will.