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Been goof'n with a cane pole today. It's a 9.5 foot river cane, I sanded and smoothed all the rough places. I made a wine cork handle and butt cap. I put a stainless eye on the tip. What should I seal it with? I was thinking linseed oil or tung oil. Because of the small diameter of the cane the grip should make it comfortable to fish with.

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Either one should be fine.
Commercial canes are finished with urethane or something like it.
Whatever you can do to waterproof it.

Did you hang it vertically with a weight before finishing?

Looks great

Didn't hang it up. What is the purpose? Would like any tips you have.
Well, let me tell you how the old timers did it, from what I know. You can do it if you want.

You season the green cane by hanging it vertically from the tip, with a weight at the butt.
This pulls the fibers lengthwise and the cane dries with this set. This improves both the strength and gives a more supple tip section. If my memory serves, they called this "drawing."

If you don't do this, the cane is likely to dry with a bias due to uneven drying of the fibers - resulting In a bowed cane.
This hanging process is not quick, either. It takes a couple of months, as it should he done slowly. Bamboo is dense and it shouldn't be forced.
In the distant past, I hung mine in a shed well out of the weather.

Do you have to do it this way? Only if you are a perfectionist. I would be pretty rigorous about selecting long canes with the thinnest tips I could find. It strikes me as a waste to lose that effort by not seasoning them well.

But that's me, Keith. The fish don't care, from what I've learned.
I hope this helps clear things up.
This particular one was already dry, got herbicide overspray from a nearby field. Dried standing upright. Has slight bow. I have some green ones but don't have a area out of the weather that I can hang them from that's high enough.
Make the best of it. The fish won't know.

Looks great.

  I'm sure either oil would work just fine.

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