How Many are Now Carrying a Cane?

Owen:

In answer to your question/comment:

Names for what designates them may depend on origin and use. Martial arts staffs are straight and are generally called 'Jo' (short staff) if the length is around 4 ft, and 'Bo' (Long staff) is generally around 6 ft (although shorter and much longer at times).

A long cane is staff with a crook (hook)- otherwise called a 'sheperd's crook' or 'sheep herder's cane'. IMHO one of these is able to do anything a Bo can do plus much more!
Brian

I heard somewhere that "cane" referring to a short, crooked walking aid is American English. In the UK they call canes and hiking-staff-length sticks "walking sticks."

On a similar note, longer sticks can be walking aids for the disabled too. I see a lot of folks around the hospital I work at with custom made wooden staves between 4 and 5.5 feet long. It just seems to be preference for some people I think. Also I think the nicer wooden sticks are empowering if their injury or illness is long term. Their stick becomes uniquely their's.

Experimental Blowgun Walking Stick

Speaking of staves, I just finished my newest one, and it has a trick up it's sleeve. It's a fully functional blowgun!

I'm a longtime fan of blowguns and I think a lot of people underestimate them, believing they require poison to be of any use. Not so; a regular dart can kill many types of small game and fish. And I have personally witnessed a blunt-nosed stun dart to the temple knocking an adult out cold for a few seconds (um...long story).

The reason I made this was an experiment, to see if a functional blowgun could be made that a) actually had a enough mass and durability to be used as an impact weapon and b) could pass casual observation as nothing more than a walking stick.

While I have not done any impact tests, I think this looks hopeful. It is 1 3/8 red oak around a .40 Teflon-coated aluminum tube. While I recently saw a fierce physics debate over the power of .40 vs .62, I chose this for different reasons. I wanted the walls to be as thick as possible for strength, and most of my shooting experience is with .40.

The staff is 48" long and weights 1.75 lbs. It is a little bit on the thick side for a staff, but is actually thinner than my 5 ft. Brazo's Ironwood staff (which weights 2.5 lbs.) It has enough heft that I think it would wreck someone's day if I hit them with it, but is light enough to be held in the proper blowgun shooting position (see pic). For those unfamiliar with blowgun shooting, you are supposed to keep your hands close together near your mouth; extending your arm out for support actually makes the gun jar slightly when exhaling due to the movement of your chest muscles.

Only thing left is a cap or top to cover the mouth piece, but so far I've not found a design I like.

I love canes they remind me of the best of the Victorian era.

My newest purchase was a "nice piece of hickory".

Tractor Supply, cattle cane, 1" in diameter, made in USA for $12.99 plus tax.

How raised, what you do.

Blowgun

Experimental Blowgun Walking Stick

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Deserves a thread of its own.

If you like, I can copy it into a new thread, or you can start one of your own.

I like this concept.

I carry a black locust cane. As hard as hickory. It is a whompin cane, for places where I can't carry my gun or knife. I got it at a farm store, they didn't know what type of wood it was. They gave me the manufacturer's name, I checked with them. That is how I found out it was black locust, and that black locust is as hard as hickory. It cost me around $ 12, too.

How heavy is black locust?

ArfinGreebly, thanks, and go right ahead and copy. I can't figure out how to move my attachments.

BL is very hard and about as heavy as Hickory.

My osage orange cane weighs in at one and a third pounds.

TSC stock canes are pert near bullet proof.

Anyone familure with the souvener canes from the German Volks Marche events?Been decades since I was in Germany, but a popular event was organized hikes for young and old, a real family event. It was common for folks to own a walking stick upon which they fastened little souvineer crests from Marches they had been on. One of the canes was confiscated in my Army unit as a "weapon" becasue that particular one had the rather common spiked tip. It was nelieved by the officer that took it that the little metal socket with a one and a half inch long spike on it made the stick a deadly weapon. Meanwhile our sharpened entrenching tools were stored openly ontop of everyones wall locker....go figure.

The Boy Scouts of America encourage the use a walking staff in the field. One might search various scouting supply sights to see if there may be a useful stick there.

Dropped by because my back is acting up again and it got me three legged again as in riddle of the Shpinx. Local Hardware and feed stores have of late been carrying a crappy looking round stock cane made in ....wait for it..... Red China. It feeels light for its size and none of the clerks can guess what it is made of.

I keep swearing I am gonna get a set of "rifle rack" hooks for the back window of my Pickup to hang my walking stick in so I can be an official crumudgeon.

-kBob

lol , old guy living in the old South West Africa (german) had a walking cane that was actually a 12 guage shotgun barrel , it was a one shot deal , but it saved his life three times , once from a snake , once from 3 attackers and once it changed the minds of a pride of lions.

I still use my cane from time to time since my ankle is more like the weather with each passing year. I predict in 10 more years I will be using it full time. I just did too much damage to the joint.

Any body got some new Canes????

I got a lead on hand crafted wood canes that will hold up. Even have brass on the grip great for both therapeutic and self defense. Pm me and I can find the link he is out of Michigan though.

DeltaBoy asked,

Any body got some new Canes????

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Yep, just made a bunch. going to start a new thread soon.

Good to hear. I get lots of fun comments about my Hammer head Cane.

or a D cell mag light, it's also legal to carry most places a cane is.

Brockak47 said:

or a D cell mag light, it's also legal to carry most places a cane is.

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Someone could give you grief about the mag light, but thanks to the ADA, they cannot prevent you from carrying a cane. I just figure that the TSA took away the pen knife that I used to carry on a plane, but gave me a hickory club instead. Unfortunately, the hickory club is not really all that good for opening letters and similar type operations. From a defense standpoint, it's definitely better than the small pocket knife that I used to carry.

I made a couple new ones over the weekend. I'll have to bump my old thread from my last one when I get pictures taken of the new ones.

One of my FAVORITE threads EVER!

As I've grown older the world seems increasingly dangerous yet, at the same time, more restrictive regarding my right to self-defense. I began carrying a cane a dozen years ago. After 9/11 I found it humorously ironic that TSA Screeners were confiscating nail-clippers from Granny's purse while letting a backwoods Kentucky Redneck board International Flights with a BIG OAK STICK in his hand ! It became immediately clear that no regulatory agency nor members of the general public understood how perfectly happy that made me. Since then I have bought & modified several canes, trained in cane-defense technique, researched stick-fighting from all corners of the globe (sticks are almost everywhere), and have read countless internet opinions on the subject. Now, this thread lets me voice my own TFC ("Tao of Cane Fu").

The heavy vs. light cane debate is like .45 vs. 9mm & Mayo vs. Miracle Whip. Heavier always hits harder & lighter always hits faster. Everyone is right & it will NOT be settled here. As long as your cane HITS... you can defend yourself.

Best places to get canes? Ask Old People, they know these things. Me, I like scouring antique shops. The older (well-used) your cane appears, the less attention it draws. Oak, Hickory & flame-hardened Rattan are among my favorites. Go with a standard hook. Skulls & Derby handles are for Bond Villans.

Use BASIC techniques. Complicated moves only work on TV. You are NOT a Cane Ninja. Grip with both hands when you can. Thrusts at soft tissue & Strikes at hard structure will always carry the day. Hooks, sweeps & throws are merciful & you don't have that luxury.

Once you decide to fight... (this is VERY important) forget ANYTHING about self-defense and immediately become your attacker's WORST PROBLEM EVER!!! Do NOT hesitate once this decision is made. Get yourself quickly & clearly in whatever mindset you personally need to severely injure this person. DO NOT try to stop the attack with your skill. The attack will stop by itself when your attacker can no longer proceed. Your attention therefore MUST be solely dedicated to fast, hard thrusts & strikes in locations that cause your attacker the MOST amount of pain & injury. In short, Mother Teresa never packed a cane.

Great Post Ghost Tracker.

I made a cane out of a 3' stick of glass reinforced nylon from fastenall, a pool ball, and a rubber cane tip. Gun drilled and cross drilled the nylon, bored a 5/8" hole in the 8 Ball and then set it up with some gorilla glue. wrapped the white nylon in electrical tape and capped it. It rides in my Jeep at all times, works great in the ice, but I don't carry it otherwise.

Stick fighting seemed like second nature growing up, so substitute a cane and have at it.

Justin