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So, I recently had my left hip replaced and needed to acquire a cane to help with the first week or so of recovery. Somewhat surprisingly, this was a very speedy recovery as most people with the experience had said it would be.
This experience was inspiring none the less. I found it incredibly fascinating! As I sat in my hospital bed or stood by the window, watching traffic pass on the freeway just outside, all nearly pain free, I had a clever idea for a walking cane.
The next day I set out onto the Internet to see if I could find any out dated or perhaps defective components used in the process. I ended up winning the bid for this beauty, the femur component. I'm not sure of the date it was manufactured but it is made of an alloy called Vitallium (Cobalt, Chromium, and Molybdenum). It's extremely hard and heavy!
I then hunted down several photos of a femur to use as a reference for the sculpture. I wanted to keep the proportions of the bone somewhat accurate for a human but the length needed to be usable for a cane. I had to elongate the length of my templates before gluing up the stock to make the carving.
Unfortunately I didn't take any photos once the cutting/carving began. I will be taking more photos tonight as I put the finish on it though. My plan is to give it an as-real-as-possible look using a faux finish that looks like real bone.
Here are a few shots of the rough carving.
This experience was inspiring none the less. I found it incredibly fascinating! As I sat in my hospital bed or stood by the window, watching traffic pass on the freeway just outside, all nearly pain free, I had a clever idea for a walking cane.
The next day I set out onto the Internet to see if I could find any out dated or perhaps defective components used in the process. I ended up winning the bid for this beauty, the femur component. I'm not sure of the date it was manufactured but it is made of an alloy called Vitallium (Cobalt, Chromium, and Molybdenum). It's extremely hard and heavy!

I then hunted down several photos of a femur to use as a reference for the sculpture. I wanted to keep the proportions of the bone somewhat accurate for a human but the length needed to be usable for a cane. I had to elongate the length of my templates before gluing up the stock to make the carving.




Unfortunately I didn't take any photos once the cutting/carving began. I will be taking more photos tonight as I put the finish on it though. My plan is to give it an as-real-as-possible look using a faux finish that looks like real bone.
Here are a few shots of the rough carving.




