It’s getting into the home stretch, I think. I sanded off (using 220 grit) the excess white grain-filler, then hit the handle with a coat of Tru-Oil, trying to avoid the areas that will be part of the joint, though I’ll be doing some carving / shaping there, so a little oil won’t be the end of the world.

The handle will get smoothed with 0000 steel wool tomorrow, then another coat of Tru-Oil. I’m hoping for 8-10 coats, since that’s where it really starts to shine, based on previous experience. This probably means I’m going to need to get out to the shop two or three times a day the rest of this week. I’m thinking I’ll do the joinery on Wednesday, so I can get a few coats of finish on the areas of the handle and shaft I’ll be carving so they meet up smoothly.

Then I set up the shaft of the cane in the carving vise, and put two horizontal grooves around the top of the shaft, and connected them with lines in one direction using gunstock checkering tools. I haven’t decided if I’m going to complete the checkering tomorrow or what exactly, but even this will be a nice decorative touch. The lines were spaced with an 18tpi tool.