As Sluggo suggested, the gimer stick must obviously not always been his cane, as it is no refered to.

By unlearning all I have learned, and reading that bit while pretending not to have ever heard the word before, it simply seems to me like Yoda is enjoying a nutritious and possibly delicious little snack while training his new pupil (or as Sluggo suggests, he might be enjoying himself some of the Shire's finest pipeweed).

And Gaffer's post almost caused me to die of suffocation I was laughing so hard.