I know this from the household canes of the family of my best friend. They always had at least two canes — one, bent and floppy like a whip, the other in regular condition — and they were used frequently. In my house, we had one for years which stayed in the same condition, but it was only used once.
Does this mean that these canes were made from inferior rattan? I would guess that these canes were made from leftover rattan — most rattan plantations and factories use the rattan for furniture-making — and I think the left bits become the domestic canes. But there are rather a lot of these canes at all the markets everywhere.