Retired dentist crafts canes, walking sticks
By Judy Hayworth Journal correspondent | Posted: Sunday, October 28, 2007
Larry Harman sands sticks he has picked up in Midwest timbers. He estimates he has made 50-plus canes and walking sticks since his retirement in 2000. (Photo by Judy Hayworth)
KINGSLEY, Iowa -- Five nestle in a chair's arm at the kitchen table. A few steps away, at the basement landing, four more lean into a nook. Walking sticks and canes all, they are crafted by retired dentist Larry Harman.
In the basement are stacked many more in varying shades of beige and brown and in his shop are those in sundry stages of crafting.
Harman scouts out fallen limbs that are close to the shape he wants -- some with a natural crook for a cane -- and his finished "sticks" vary little from their natural shape, a bend here, a curve there.
The woods he uses are many -- locust, apple, aspen, mulberry, Osage orange, willow, hackberry, oak, diseased elm.
"Any wood will work," he says. "If I like the grain I will use it."
Harman has trekked the timbers of Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota to find the right piece and receives wood from relatives in Idaho and Iowa. Fellow wood artisans of Kingsley, Gene Moser and Robert Powell, have given him bamboo from Central America.
"Once you get into doing this, everywhere you go you look for sticks. I look for nice color and nice character."
His crafting of walking pieces evolved over several years. With his dexterous and skillful hands, prime tools for a dentist, his wife had a different project in mind when he retired in 2000 after 40 years in dentistry.
"My first job was refinishing woodwork for Mrs. Harman, which I had done some before retiring," Harman says."But as my legs got worse (with CMT), I slowly went to making canes and walking sticks. It took me a while to decide it's OK to use them. Now I have trouble getting back to the refinishing."
One part of Harman's shop, originally used to store Model As and snowmobiles, has been retrofitted for his wood crafting. A dental chair base from his former office is the pedestal for the worktable, ideal as it allows him to rotate the table.
The process is not complicated but is time consuming. He removes the bark and lets the piece cure up to six months, depending upon whether he is working with green or dead wood. Next, the wood is sanded down.
"The more you sand it, the more it will shine when done" is Harman's take on that step and his preference for finishing is ultra-fine sand. The final step is applying oil or several coats of polyurethane and allowing two to three weeks for thorough drying.
In the winter, he works in his shop three to four hours a day. Other months he heeds the call of the golf course, so his working hours are fewer.
People are attracted to the sticks, and Harman gives many canes and some walking sticks to family and friends and some who ask him to make one.
"My uncle, retired superintendent Bill DeVine of Moville, Iowa, picks up a walking stick whenever he's here and takes it with him. One-year-old grandson, Cooper, takes a walking stick in each hand and crawls all over with them. If I'm holding one, he crawls over and grabs it."
Harman admits he has preferences. "In the pickup," he says, "I have a walking stick and each car has one to three canes. If I'm in rough terrain, I use a walking stick."
Ginger, Harman's wife, adds, with a laugh, "They're like rabbits, they multiply."
"Being by myself," Harman says, is a major reason he likes his hobby. "It's something you can do by yourself. You can start and stop when you want; I leave pieces in the shop for several weeks and go back and pick them up. People stop and visit while I'm working, I like that too. Each piece I make is different with its own grain and personality. This is what I like to do."
In the basement are stacked many more in varying shades of beige and brown and in his shop are those in sundry stages of crafting.
Harman scouts out fallen limbs that are close to the shape he wants -- some with a natural crook for a cane -- and his finished "sticks" vary little from their natural shape, a bend here, a curve there.
The woods he uses are many -- locust, apple, aspen, mulberry, Osage orange, willow, hackberry, oak, diseased elm.
"Any wood will work," he says. "If I like the grain I will use it."
Harman has trekked the timbers of Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota to find the right piece and receives wood from relatives in Idaho and Iowa. Fellow wood artisans of Kingsley, Gene Moser and Robert Powell, have given him bamboo from Central America.
"Once you get into doing this, everywhere you go you look for sticks. I look for nice color and nice character."
His crafting of walking pieces evolved over several years. With his dexterous and skillful hands, prime tools for a dentist, his wife had a different project in mind when he retired in 2000 after 40 years in dentistry.
"My first job was refinishing woodwork for Mrs. Harman, which I had done some before retiring," Harman says."But as my legs got worse (with CMT), I slowly went to making canes and walking sticks. It took me a while to decide it's OK to use them. Now I have trouble getting back to the refinishing."
One part of Harman's shop, originally used to store Model As and snowmobiles, has been retrofitted for his wood crafting. A dental chair base from his former office is the pedestal for the worktable, ideal as it allows him to rotate the table.
The process is not complicated but is time consuming. He removes the bark and lets the piece cure up to six months, depending upon whether he is working with green or dead wood. Next, the wood is sanded down.
"The more you sand it, the more it will shine when done" is Harman's take on that step and his preference for finishing is ultra-fine sand. The final step is applying oil or several coats of polyurethane and allowing two to three weeks for thorough drying.
In the winter, he works in his shop three to four hours a day. Other months he heeds the call of the golf course, so his working hours are fewer.
People are attracted to the sticks, and Harman gives many canes and some walking sticks to family and friends and some who ask him to make one.
"My uncle, retired superintendent Bill DeVine of Moville, Iowa, picks up a walking stick whenever he's here and takes it with him. One-year-old grandson, Cooper, takes a walking stick in each hand and crawls all over with them. If I'm holding one, he crawls over and grabs it."
Harman admits he has preferences. "In the pickup," he says, "I have a walking stick and each car has one to three canes. If I'm in rough terrain, I use a walking stick."
Ginger, Harman's wife, adds, with a laugh, "They're like rabbits, they multiply."
"Being by myself," Harman says, is a major reason he likes his hobby. "It's something you can do by yourself. You can start and stop when you want; I leave pieces in the shop for several weeks and go back and pick them up. People stop and visit while I'm working, I like that too. Each piece I make is different with its own grain and personality. This is what I like to do."
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Robert Baran wrote on Dec 18, 2007 4:33 PM:
d and k wrote on Oct 29, 2007 11:24 AM: