I think this is just one of those regional things. Just to be on the safe side, and to be polite, I always ask before I touch someone else's cane unless I know them and know that it's cool. And I expect people to ask before they grab mine. It's just about manners, if you were at someone's house that you don't know that well, you don't go digging through their stuff, you ASK if you need something.
PS - When you come out to CA, you could borrow mine.
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