Cane with handle featuring gripping aids

A cane comprising

• a cane shaft, said cane shaft having a longitudinal axis oriented vertically upright during normal use of said cane, and
• a one piece molded handle connected to said cane shaft, said handle having
• a hand grip of a generally egg-shaped configuration when viewed from the top, as well as from the side, to provide a broader cross-sectional area in the area of the middle of a user's hand in order to accommodate arthritic hands of the elderly, said hand grip having a roughened area on a top surface when said can shaft is vertically upright to increase gripping friction with the user's hand, said hand grip having an axis oriented at about 5.degree. relative to a line noraml to said can shaft's axis, and said hand grip having opposed ends substantially equidistantly spaced on opposite sides of said cane shaft's axis,
• upstanding shoulders at said hand grip's opposed ends, said shoulders functioning to prevent a user's hand from slipping off said handle during use,
• an index finger support rib oriented generally vertical to said hand grip's axis on each side of said hand grip at one of said handle's ends to enhance control of said can during during use, said index finger supports extending downwardly from said hand grip's axis a distance about one and one-half times the width of said hand grip when said cane shaft is vertically upright, said index finger support ribs each comprising a concave arcuate rib at the outer edge of said handle's one end, each finger support being curved inwardly from said rib when viewed from a top view to provide an index finger support area on both sides of said cane handle, said shoulder and vertical index finger support ribs being substantially symmetrical relative to said hand grip's longitudinal enter plane so said handle may be gripped equally conveniently by a user's left hand or right hand, and
• a brace connecting said support ribs to said can shaft so that said handle has an overall generally C-shaped configuration, said cane shaft's top end thereby being connected to one end of said hand grip and not to the middle thereof so a user's hand does not interfere with said cane shaft when the user is gripping said cane, and said brace being oriented so that the center of said hand grip is located approximately on said cane shaft's longitudinal axis so as to tend to ensure that downward pressure of a user's hand on said hand grip is generally co-axial with said cane shaft's axis when the shaft is vertically oriented.