Choosing a cane

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lloveless

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Hi,
I am currently working in Cali and unable to lawfully carry concealed. I will be flying some. Do I get an extendable aluminum cane(easily collapses to a size able to be put out of way on plane) or just go with a discreet wooden cane.
lloveless
 
MY 2 pennies.
Aluminium in general, and collapsables in particular, are not anything I would use.

Any good tight grained wood, coupled with some training, will serve you well.
 
Do you have a feed store near you?

If so, a stock cane can be a very nice thing to have. Looks like a standard cane, but a little more robust and made from Hickory or ash.

If you can get an Irish blackthorn stick, they are nice looking and very tough.

A standard wood cane from a medical supply can work well. A little cutting to open up the crook, and you have a nice self defense tool.
 
Do I get an extendable aluminum cane
Click to expand...
No, that would be less than useless for your stated purpose.

Read the several threads on canes here and you'll find all the advice, and then some, that you'll ever want.

I disagree that you'll find a good defensive cane at a medical supply, but completely agree that a stout hickory stock cane from the farm/feed supply will do the job well.
 
I got a unfinished heavy duty 1"+ Hickory Cane from a Feed Store Supply. I sanded, stained, and hand rubbed it with Boiled Linseed oil. It looks good and you could knock a Bull down with it. I can carry it on a plane, in a courthouse, and where you can't other things that are classified as weapons. ;)
 
I have the training, and I have a 7 foot hook of hickory on the farm in Tn. I don't know where a feed store can be found here. Guess I'll have to look up in yellow pages. Thanks for the responses. I tried out a few of the aluminum expandable's tonight at work in the ER and came up with the same thoughts-too light, and probably collapse at the wrong moment!
ll
 
not to hijack the thread (because hijacking anything that contains people that more than likely are carrying concealed is a mistake :) ) but could anybody point me in the direction of some training? any particular programs that are effective?
 
http://gutterfighting.org/Umbrella.html

That works great with any stick of 18-20" or more. Canes included. And you can also use the "bayonet style" thrust to great effect.

You can practice that stuff at home, on a heavy bag or just free standing...don't forget how important footwork is.
 
Texas knife supply offers cane making materials--I just recovered from knee replacement and am blessed to be able to set my cane aside, but rely on an extendable hiking staff when I'm turkey hunting here in the North Carolina ridges and hollers--
Hope you're able to throw your cane away soon--
Warshard
 
I love carrying my cane it gets into places my Pistol, knife or pepper spray can't go! Since I lost weight and started weigth lifting I don't need it but still carry it for it's security factor.
 
I'm going on a couple of trips next spring, NYC in April and Washington D.C./NYC in May, both for a week. A friend of a friend lives in NYC, she's a liberal artsy youngster. I suggested bringing a cane with me and she recoiled in horror and told me that if I didn't have an obvious medical need, a cop would take me in. She cited some stories of kids her age being taken in for carrying baseball bats.

I pointed out to her that canes are covered in the Americans with Disabilities Act, if they took my cane, the ACLU and AARP will be all over it. I have a ruptured disk and an ankle spur that give me problems but not often enough to get special parking. Is she being overly paranoid? I don't like the idea at all of having to leave my Spyderco at home for a week, I need something.

I'm a tad over 6 feet, are the 3 foot stock canes long enough? I would really like one with a harness knob on top, they look pretty sharp, but would they receive undue attention?
 
wittzo, I wouldn't worry about it all. If her friends have been hastled for carrying baseball bats, maybe they weren't play ball? From what I hear, they have a problem in NYC with gangs and bats being a favored weapon. I don't think a man is going to have any trouble with a cane. Bats and canes have a whole different aurra.

I live here in the northern suburbs of Washington D.C., just over the Maryland line a few miles. I haven't had any problems in any of the federal buildings in D.C. or the museums. We go downtown very often to the Smithsonian and the National Gallery Of Art, for the traveling exibits that come through. Security is fairly tight, and my cane of choice is one of my collection of knarley Irish Blackthorn sticks or one of my own home made hornbeam sticks. Rustic and rough looking. No problems.

On our trips to NYC that we make about once a month, I've never had a cop stop me with my walking stick.

I can't believe in this day and age, and the Americans With Disabilites act common knowledge, any LEO in his right mind is going to hastle you.

The only thing in D.C. is keep the large knives home. I generaly carry a small sak or regullar pocket knife with no problems.
 
I'll be flying there, so knives are out unless I buy one there and mail it home at the airport on my return trip. I think a three foot cane would be more intimidating than a knife, anyway. :)

I read a few years ago that so many gangs in the Czech republic were using baseball bats, they banned their import. I assume no one plays baseball there. I'm a fat white guy with a gray beard, not a 20 year old gang banger. I'm the opposite of what cops watch out for. I reckon she hangs out with shady types, being a liberal artist and what not.

I've never flown before, I despise going to places with metal detectors and having to leave my knife (any knife) in the car to attend a concert, visit the ER, or go to the courthouse. One guy did a youtube video discussing the stupidity of metal detectors at public events. He went to the stadium to watch a ballgame, they had garbage cans where the cops and security were throwing people's knives. He went through and it was Bat Day, on the other side of the metal detectors, they were handing out bats after confiscating weapons. :) He suggested that if they had Bat Days at airports, 9/11 wouldn't have happened.
 
"I'm a tad over 6 feet, are the 3 foot stock canes long enough? I would really like one with a harness knob on top, they look pretty sharp, but would they receive undue attention? "


Forgot to add;

The proper cane fit is to stand relaxed wearing the shoes you wear most of the time. Hands hanging naturaly at your sides. Have a person put one end of a stick on the ground, and mark the other end where it is even with the inside of your wrist. At least that's what they told me at Walter Reed Army hospital where I did my rehab.

You have to have another person fit you, because if you lean at all, it throws the measurement off.

This may help you deceide if the 3 foot stick is long enough.
 
Wittzo,

You can take your knife with you so long as it's legal in NYC. Just don't carry it on your person or in your carry-on bags when you fly: Pack it in your checked baggage. That's what I did flying to and from Florida, which includes a couple stops for customs for me.

Checked baggage for knives. Observe the local laws once you arrive, and you're golden!

J
 
I just made a fighting walking stick for a fellow that will take it to the 2A march next year in DC. A bunch of us have decided not to be unarmed just because there's no CCW there...
 
OK, I called six feed stores in Riverside, Perris, Moreno Valley. MOST HAD NEVER HEARD OF A STOCK HOOK! One knew what they were, but didn't have and had no access to them. Now this sucks. OOps sorry. Guess I'll look at Lowes.
ll
 
Thanks wittzo. Actually for less than $12. I went to Lowes today and they have 1" diam dowels of oak 36 " long for $3.98, but couldn't find anything appropriate to put on the top like a wood ball, metal etc.
ll
 
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