Wow! what an eye-catching cane. That handle is no less vibrant in person, its Pernambuco wood from Brazil, or “Brazil wood”. This is a very famous wood responsible for the naming of the country Brazil. This wood was so highly sought after by European explorers for hundreds of years that it is now near extinction and has been a protected species for decades. This is the only curl figured Pernambuco I have ever seen and its quality is outstanding! I have had this piece on my top shelf for 15 years waiting for the perfect project. Aside from its remarkable pumpkin orange color, its very chatoyant and shimmery and the effect is greatly accentuated by the curly grain. Even in dim light the curly grain dances and moves beautifully. I will truly be sad to see this beautiful wood leave my possession!

Adorning the ends of the handle are pieces of the Odessa meteor that impacted modern day Texas about 63,000 years ago. The large impact crater is still visible today and can be visited; collection of any rocks is prohibited, but this piece was taken long ago and kept in a collection before the site was managed for tourism. The unique patterns in the metal are called “Widmanstätten patterns” that formed over millions of years as iron and nickel slowly cooled within the cores of asteroids that formed with our solar system. These patterns can’t be recreated or replicated on earth! A piece of outer space in your hands.

A handsome snakewood divider and titanium pins harmoniously draw the cane together. The shaft is another very rare and special piece of timber, its Gidgee wood from Australia. Gidgee is basically tied for being the densest wood in the world and it feel like it! Its an arid region acacia species that grows around the fringes of the outback. Gidgee wood is very rare timber coming from small, stunted trees, but what really makes this a stand-out cane shaft is the super tight curl figuring from top to bottom! This is really the tightest and best curl figure that can be found in wood - period, and to get it in the size of a cane shaft is really special to offer. I wasn’t going to pair that Pernambuco handle with anything less.

A fairly heavy cane but not amung my heaviest, it could still be used by most anyone and enjoyed but has a dense, quality hardwood feel. Fully functional but probably best considered a special occasion cane. Total length measures 38” and can be shortened to fit.

For more information on the Odessa meteorite, follow this link to The Meteoritical Society website page for Odessa: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?code=17985

Or check out this page for information on the Odessa meteor crater location: https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/meteor-crater-at-odessa

M A T E R I A L S

Handle – Pernambuco wood from Brazil

Divider – Snakewood from Suriname

Shaft – Gidgee and Australia

Lapidary - Odessa Iron Meteorite

Rubber tip

Every Gillis Cane is a photographed original, you'll always receive the exact cane in the images.