So I recently started reading the Waid/Samnee run on Daredevil and I've fallen in love with it. In particular the design of the cane really stood out to me - something about how Samnee makes the transition between cane, billy clubs and grappling hook (and the squared-off design of the hook especially) seem believable despite the fact that's it's very much a goofy silver age idea really struck a chord. I decided that this is a prop I'd really like to tackle, but I've set three rules for myself:
So with those rules in place, this is where I am so far:
I'm designing the cane to be made out of aluminum, painted white with a few spaces left unpainted for accents. I haven't done the elastic or wrist strap yet (because things like that are hard in Maya), but the basic shape of the sections has been established and I've begun work on some of the mechanical bits (like how to get all 4 sections to stay together, yet break into 2 halves via a twist locking mechanism.) I'll post some more images once I've worked out a few of the kinks, but I'm really looking forward to this one. If nothing else it's an interesting engineering exercise
- It must function like a standard white cane. That means it has to be lightweight, able to separate into 4 sections connected by elastic cord, and appear more or less unremarkable to the average person. It also needs to be significantly longer than it appears in the comics. I'm 6 ft tall, so I need my cane to be 52" long (I realize that different people use different length canes, but I followed the "the top should come up to the center of your chest" rule)
- It must be able to break into two unconnected clubs. That means no long rope in between - in the comics the cane can separate into halves, so mine has to be able to as well. Since the cane is 52" long each half will be 26". It's a bit long for a billy club, but about in the right range for eskrima sticks so I'm not complaining.
- The toughest requirement of all. The head of the cane must be able to transform into a square grappling hook that can disconnect from the rest of the club, yet remain attached by some sort of cable or string. I realize that I'm not going to be swinging from flagpoles anytime soon, but I want it to at least have about a 2 foot line just for the effect
So with those rules in place, this is where I am so far:
I'm designing the cane to be made out of aluminum, painted white with a few spaces left unpainted for accents. I haven't done the elastic or wrist strap yet (because things like that are hard in Maya), but the basic shape of the sections has been established and I've begun work on some of the mechanical bits (like how to get all 4 sections to stay together, yet break into 2 halves via a twist locking mechanism.) I'll post some more images once I've worked out a few of the kinks, but I'm really looking forward to this one. If nothing else it's an interesting engineering exercise