He started from a branch with, in most cases, the attached joint and trunk. Joe preferred pear wood, but made canes from just about everything except oak (which he said was dangerous to carve). He would trim this blank and let it season for a while. He would strip off all the bark and smooth and shape the chunk of wood that had been the base of the branch until it fit the hand naturally. He then studied the possibilities of the natural shape and settled on the design.

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