Walking Stick-Spear

I use a Jacob staff in the woods frequently. There's nothing concealed about it.

Made of Ash. Steel spear head meant for steadying a staff compass back when we did things the hard way. Next to one of my blackthorn shillelaghs.

Local laws really apply here.
I've never seen a "deploy-able" system I'd call fast. And most need considerable stand off distance to do well.
Which would call into doubt one's need for self defense against immediate threat.

Now, the staff, itself as both utility object and item of self defense, to my mind, at least, already work in SD situations. Adding pointy bits and sharp things is unlikely to add any intimidation to the tool used.

But, that's just my 2¢; others' will differ.

After seeing another person attacked from behind at the Trump rally something like that might come in handy on any animal.

Why not just carry... a spear?
Hear me out, a sharp stick out in the open when hiking on trails that may be frequented by dangerous animals is not going to turn THAT many heads.

I have actually thought about this sort of thing for hiking around the foothills of my family cabin or taking along mountain trails the next time I head to the Smokeys. I have a Cold Steel Leaf Spear that I have cut down to about 5'5". It makes it handier for me to use, and I think if I modified it further with a metal tip to protect the shaft for walking and made a large leather slip to cover the head to both protect the point and sort of "smooth out" the weapony feel of the spear, I would be left with a sturdy hiking staff that would not only help me traverse the paths but would require nothing more than a quick tug of the leather "sock" to yield a formidable weapon.

Much faster and less of a legal gray area than a hidden blade in a staff. Sturdier too.

Reading this thread brought back an old memory from my childhood (Army brat - my brother and I lived in lots of different places / countries while growing up). My family's last overseas tour was in the late fifties -two years in France. On any Saturday the flea markets (the one I remember most was in Paris) had lots of folks selling anything that they could bring to market (and I remember my Dad saying that the locals said the flea market was where you went on Saturday to buy back what was stolen from you on Wednesday...). At any rate as a kid I was absolutely fascinated by all the old swords and stuff that some vendors displayed. Most weapons displays included a variety of concealed blades - of very design... worked into canes of one sort or another... as well as canes that had a a simple firearm of some sort included in the design... Of course my brother was 10 and I was 11 so there was no way our folks were going to allow us to buy any of them....


My guess is that whenever someone on this forum has an idea for a bit of tinkering on weapons of one sort or another - it was probably already done before in places where folks wanted to be armed without being noticed... My own fantasy design would be something along the lines of a straight stick that concealed a short 6 to 7 " blade at the street end that you deployed by simply removing the last 8 to 10" of the cane - leaving a short spear with a nasty bite... Of course such a weapon wouldn't be legal anywhere that I'm familiar with so it will remain a fantasy...

With training, one can do immense damage with a blunt end of a walking stick or cane. Blows to drop the attacker, then jabs to the groin, kidney, neck or temple will eliminate the threat. There are videos that demonstrate. No need for a spear which can be disabled once stuck in an opponent. Take a look at the offerings of Cold Steel.

After I bough a good round cross section "live stock cane" for a walking stick for the bad hip and knee at tractor supply, I learned my scout troop was going to The Great Smokey Mountains to rent a cabin for a week and would be doing a bit of hiking. Back in the early 1900's a walking staff was an importing piece of recommended scouting gear which seemed to fall in disuse during the late 1950's. At an Adult training class in around 2013 (Yes Wood Badge) a number of the folks had hiking staffs and they seemed useful.

So I went back to Tractor Supply and found basically the same thing I was using as a walking stick but long enough to use for a shepards crook in the Christmas plays. I use it for walking on un improved ground and such. I can not imagine it being less useful that a martial arts Bo Stave for self defense. I even used it on steep sections of trail to hook a tree up hill and pull myself up the shaft. or turn and give a kid a "hand" by extending the crook to him. Might not get away with AWDA onto planes and such with a stick that long though.

-kBob

Short spear a.k.a. half-pike a.k.a. spontoon.

They were used in the Revolutionary War, carried by members of the Lewis & Clark expedition, etc. Later they evolved more to ceremonial use in the military and eventually phased out.

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Spontoon

Kenneth Kramm is a gentleman with several Youtube videos on historical camping. In at least one of his videos, he discusses the spontoon. His modern version was a Cold Steel Bushman knife on the end of his walking stick, same as was mentioned previously. FWIW yes the Bushman still has a fastening hole near the end of the folded grip section.

Cold Steel makes an actual spontoon... as well as several other spears e.g. American hunting spear, boar spear, Assegai and MAA classic leaf shape.

Packing something like that nowadays might raise some eyebrows. I'd at least get one with a sheath, or make a sheath.

My favorite would be the regular length Assegai spear. I'd never pack such a thing around. Firstly, I'd feel like a real dork (nothing new, maybe, but still). Secondly, I am a clod. I'd probably trip, cut myself and bleed out on the trail.

I'd also check local laws before packing a double edged, "fixed blade" spear.

As for actually using one defensively, it's enough out of the mainstream (so to speak) that it's almost a guarantee of a write-up in the local news and an opportunity for the prosecuting attorney to paint the spear wielder as some sort of nut job "weapon fanatic". Which is why we have stuff like shillelagh and similar sturdy walking sticks.

I’ve handled a number of historic spears, and occasionally stabbed myself with them, too. Lightly, nothing serious, but the point still remains -Nothing I want to use as a hiking staff, thank you very much.

On the other hand, the CS Bushman idea sounds really good. A legitimate hiking staff, no blade dancing around a foot in front of my vitals on rough ground, but could be converted into a real and viable defensive spear without much trouble.

You could wrap the spear tip in a plastic grocery bag. Would conceal the spear point. Would still be able to poke what needs to be poked. Without having a karen call the law on you. Just a thought if you are set on carrying one.

Just a thought:

1. Three pvc pipe tubes one inside the other
2. Spear head or spike attached to the end of the inner pvc tube.
3. The end of the middle pvc tube is collapsible to expose the spike which would otherwise be hidden from view. moves between the two other tubes.
4. You could use something like a tubular shotgun magazine spring to spring load the end of the middle pvc tube to keep it extended until needed

So if you pushed the spear into something the middle tube would retract and expose the spike.