Hickory Floral & Leaf Cane finally finished

Finally finished it after putting it aside for a month. It is based on the patterns and design styles I used to use in leatherwork, like saddles and holsters and such. The handle is actually the root-ball of the sapling that I harvested at my Mom's place back in Alabama. It has a neat burled look to it ans I tried to keep a lot of the original shape. It has finger gooves and such carved specifically to fit the hand. I was trying for kind of a melted wax look for the handle that is repeated in the natural shapes and the carved stems at the bottom of the cane. I used gouges, knives, and my flex shaft to relief carve (?) the patterns to make them stand out from the shaft. Then I broke out my wood burner and shaded, scribbled, and cross-hatched it to add depth and details. I finiished with some light painting with thinned burnt umber acrylic to complement the wood burning and try and add to the leather/leaf look. I'm kinda glad to be through! More pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mpounders1/10_04_27_00#