Ian Edwards' Otter Cane

On Sunday 10th July, I received an email from Mark Davies (aka Country Sticks) to let me know that the hand carving of the head for my otter cane for the wedding is complete. The order was very last minute as I only saw his work for the first time last week. Usually he wouldn't take on an order at short notice, but he was very kind to take this on, and worked all through the weekend to complete it.

I created a mock up of the head with both brass and silver collars on a number of shanks, and then tested with the grey wedding suit that we're hiring.

In the end, the brass collar was the clear winner. The straight, shiny black cane will not be an option, but we've asked Mark to use the darkest shank that he has and it should work out really well.

I've requested the total height (from top of head to bottom of ferrule) to be 37.5 inches as this is the height of the umbrella that I most often use as a stick.


The next day, Mark sent through photos of the otter with brass collar mounted on the final stick. In the end, he made a special trip to his supplier to find this chestnut shank, and the finished stick just looks fantastic. The glue will dry over night, and then he will apply a final coat of varnish on Tuesday, before posting it out to us special delivery on Wednesday.

The cane should arrive by 1pm on Thursday, and I have to admit that I can't wait to see it!

I think Mark's work is incredible, and it is wonderful that the stick will be in our wedding photos. I'll enjoy the otter stick for many years and I hope that it will remain in the family for generations to come.