I'm excited to offer my first couple canes with a newly sourced "sinker wood", shown on the shaft of this ancient cane. It's Japanese Elm wood that has been buried under the rubble of a volcanic eruption for 2,500 years!

The story of the Kisakata debris avalanche from Higashi-Chokaisan volcano, Japan: About 2600 years ago, the current summit area collapsed into a horseshoe shape during a massive eruption. The remains of this collapse are called the Higashi-Chokai horseshoe caldera. The rocks and soil that collapsed flowed north-northwestward at high speed and were deposited widely in the current Kisakata and Nikaho towns. The volume is estimated to be 3 to 4 billion cubic meters. It’s under all of this debris that the ancient forest has been preserved without decay from lack of oxygen, and some has been excavated.

Its very special, difficult to obtain, and a privilege to offer such unique timber in my work. This kind of material is called "Jindai" in Japan which translate to: "From the age of the Gods" The Elm wood is a warm light grey color, and its open grain cells are a slightly darker grey.

The handle on this piece is bog oak, considerably older than the Japanese Elm wood at approximately 5,000 years old! recovered from under the ground in the Ukraine, this tree fell and was covered in peat moss and perfectly preserved, its a dark warm greyish color.

Ancient timbers are not fragile, the wood has been so well preserved that it behaves like a regular piece of wood. This cane is medium in weight, a great daily user, the sort of cane that can be used on a long walk. Total length is 38" and can be shortened to fit.

For more information on this mountain and its volcanic activity, visit this Smithsonian Institute web page: https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=283220

The last image is of Mt. Chokaisan

M A T E R I A L S

Handle – Bog Oak from Ukraine

Divider – Jindai Nire - Japanese Elm

Shaft – Jindai Nire - Japanese Elm

Rubber Tip

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