Ribbon
Canes - Made To Order
Ribbon Canes are fairly easy to
personalize just the way you want them if you follow the guidelines below. This
allows you to pick exactly the ribbon and accent stripes you want at a local fabric store,
send it to us for fabrication, and receive just what you wanted.
- HOW IT WORKS - IN A NUTSHELL
You pick out a ribbon and accents
You send us the ribbon, specifications, and a check
We make the cane and Air-ship it back to you
- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Handle type is either the traditional crook neck "shephard's
cane" or the T-handle derby, shown below. All the canes are wood, either
natural or black, 36" long. We ship them full length so you can gradually
adjust to your comfort, however we will cut to fit if you are pretty sure of the proper
length. Crook neck canes are one piece. The Derby handle canes are two-piece,
with a silver band at the joint of handle and shaft. The band is cosmetic, serving to
conceal the seam of handle and shaft, and can be removed in the two headband versions. The
cane shaft and/or handle can be painted at
extra charge. Feet are either tan, black, or a greyish color.
- FABRIC APPLICATION
There are three options of ways to apply fabric to a cane.
- Spiral Style
The typical spiral pattern is shown on derby and crook neck handled
canes below. The ribbon spirals from the silver accent band all the way down the
shaft. Termination at the head end on a crook neck cane is a bit more
problematic, so I suggest selecting a small portion of ribbon for an accent band
I need at least 72 continuous inches of ribbon, with a margin of error
of 12 inches, foir a long spiral as shown below. If a distinctive pattern element
needs a specific alignment, such as on the face of the cane, allow extra. To repeat
the pattern element in the same position al the way down the cane, the spiral may need to
be adjusted. This also gives me enough ribbon so if I mess up (which does happen), I
can just start over on another cane. However I could also be wildly successful, in which
case, "Such A Deal I Have For You".
If you wanted the cane completely ribbonized, so even the wood bands are covered, I
need twice as much ribbon.
Head Band Style
There are wo ways to apply headbands. If the ribbon is wide
enough, (3.14 inches) it can be applied longwise and run down the shaft as far as you
want, though usually 8 inches looks right, with a straight seam down the back. For this I
generally need double the distance y0ou want the ribbon to extend, plus a bit more for
pattern and accent adjustment.
You probably want to select an accent band to wrap around the top and
bottom like the gold painted bands, and along the long rear seam,
If you find a nice, but not-so-wide ribbon, multiple bands can be
applied, one below the other, to create a similar headband. For this, the edge seams might
not look so nice, so you might want to find a real narrow complementary accent stripe
which can be applied to hide the seams.
- A NOTE ON FINISHING
The ribbon can have a urethane finish applied for a glossy, easy to
clean finish for $5 more. More longlasting, but might not be the effect you are looking
for. Also note that this won't work on all ribbons; sometimes the urethane
interacts with the ribbon inks and bleaches or smears them. (We test for that in
advance to make sure we don't ruin a cane.)
- WHY DO I NEED SO MUCH RIBBON?
There are a number of reasons why I need lots more ribbon that might
actually get applied to a cane. Foremost is adjustment of the pattern for pleasing
presentation. This can easily eat up 4 or 5 inches. Plus, there is sometimes
an adverse reaction between ribbon and glue, or ribbon and finish coat. So we need
test patches. Plus, to be honest, sometimes things don't turn out as nicely as
planned. Then we just start over.
- COST, SHIPPING, TIME TO DELIVER
The cost for a typical ribbon cane is $50 total, including 2 Day
air-shipping. Also included is a spare foot so you don't have to hunt for one later.
If we have enough material to make a second cane we'll make another.
Then select the best and ship it to you. However, we give you first dibs on
the second cane. If it's perfect, we'll toss in a second one at 80%. If it's
not quite perfekt, but you want a distinctive Kickabout. the price could be much less.
But it's hard to know with these things til they are actually produced. Custom painting the shaft and/or handle is another $20, and requires a
paint chip from you. Seems like a lot? Well, there's a bunch of extra
processing involved, and it's almost guaranteed that special color you want is a special
order in one of those dinky, overpriced cans. And will never be quite right for
anybody else. However, we hope to offer a standard set of colors in the future to
substantially cut this down.
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