Unbreakable Umbrella / Ka-Bar TDI cane

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Madcap_Magician

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I have acquired both of these. Does anyone else have any experience with them? Particular question: Has anyone gone through a TSA checkpoint with the TDI cane?

Unbreakable Umbrella

Pros: Totally innocuous-looking. Handy secondary function. Very tough.
Cons: Not as good for walking. Using the shaft to strike from the double guard is less effective because of the padding from the umbrella fabric and frame.

Ka-Bar TDI Cane

Pros: Very tough. Designed primarily as a martial arts weapon.
Cons: Looks like a martial arts weapon to anyone with any experience.
 
Tough Brolly!

Madcap Magician--The vid on that brolly is really something! I bet the cane is that tough too.

Couple of thoughts: (1) If it's not raining and doesn't look like it's going to, "Sir, why are you carrying an umbrella? Come with us. You got some 'splainin' to do." (2) I think an entirely serviceable hickory cane would cost a great deal less than the metal one, and be just as useful. And not dependent on weather to be explainable. And doesn't look like a martial arts weapon. (3) While the brolly is dandy at beating up a heavy bag, isn't the best use of a cane or umbrella, as a poking rather than a striking weapon? Keep it in front of you, for defense as well as offense?

OK, three thoughts.
 
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I've handled the TDI and I own the umbrella.

I carry the umbrella everywhere and I've never had a problem anywhere. TSA passes it through without a blink.

I've used the umbrella on heavy bag and dummy and I didn't see any reduction in impact, but then it isn't always the easiest thing to gauge.

The problem with the TDI is adjusting it for your height. You'll need a handsaw, but that isn't insurmountable. They know that's a problem and they're not making the cane as a walking cane.
 
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I haven't handled the TDI cane, just my initial opinion, but is 1/8" thick aluminum tubing that sturdy for impact? Does it have enough weight? Will it dent & bend under impact and blocking?

Also, everyone needs a few octagonal hickory canes from eNasco for less than $10/per. Just cut-down the crook to remove excess and give it a point. You can buy 1/2 a dozen including shipping for the same price of one aluminum cane. What advantage of the TDI cane over good hickory?

Smokey Joe, I've carried my unbreakable umbrella on 3 continents and through some of the toughest airport security points in the world, never had a problem with mine. Unless you can show me proof that some guy with an umbrella is going to get "pinched", I don't think you are correct. - I have explained my preference of umbrellas for travel & business carry: it is because an umbrella does not give you an "appearance" of weakness or infirmity, like a cane might. It is just an unassuming part of one's accouterments during travel. To some predators, seeing someone with a cane might make you stand out as a target.
 
It is difficult to rationalize an $80 Al-alloy cane over a $15 hickory cane, but then that's why there are plain and fancy items to suite everyone's "fancy".
 
Honestly you guys are probably right about the TDI cane. I keep looking at it, and it just screams "martial arts weapon."

As to the idea that the umbrella is strange when it's sunny out, that's true, but when you're flying, it's not weird at all, since you're only worried about airport security's reaction, and nobody could say what the weather was like where you came from or are going. Plus, it doesn't actually look like a weapon, it simply is a very nice umbrella that happens to be tough as nails.

Hso, I think Ka-Bar is making those canes long on purpose, since you can always cut it down to size, but you can't make it any longer. 39" is a cane suitable for someone who'se something like 6' 6" or bigger. I would probably cut it to 35" or 36", which would just require some work with a pipe cutter or hacksaw and file.
 
Comments from a new cane user: Irish Blackthorn with a smooth finish is very nice. Passed through metal detector at the courthouse (as mentioned in another thread) with no problem.
Have beat the heck out of a birch tree and my heavy bag with it. Definitely passes the whack test.


Jim
 
+1 for the Irish Blackthorn. Google "Irish Stick Fighting" for a treat on how to use them. If I lived in Canada or the North East I would attend one of their classes. Canes and short staffs have been used all over the world for self protection.
 
I'm going to act the mean ol' moderator and remind everyone to not hijack the thread and go off on a blackthorn tangent. Comment and observation are find, hijacking not.
 
Hey "mean ol moderator" I thought that you opened the door with your comment regarding a hickory cane. Sorry for the perceived hijack......

Jim
 
That might fall into the "comment and observation", as your's was. I was focused on our not going beyond that point. ;)
 
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The Ka-Bar cane would be fine at a black tie event. But a Stock Cane is way cheaper and just as tough.

The umbrella is well loved and recommended here at the high road.
 
Madcap Magician,

I saw your comment:

"Hso, I think Ka-Bar is making those canes long on purpose, since you can always cut it down to size, but you can't make it any longer. 39" is a cane suitable for someone who'se something like 6' 6" or bigger. I would probably cut it to 35" or 36", which would just require some work with a pipe cutter or hacksaw and file."

I'm 6 ft., but find that the most likely length of a cane/walking umbrella for my height is too short for my liking. I prefer one up to 39 inches long. I can choke up on it if I need to when using it to prop me up when walking. I just like the extra length for some reason, for "pokng" at things, I guess.

If that Ka-bar cane was an umbrella, I'd spring for it for sure. That cane is listed at 2.2 lbs! Holy Smoke! I don't need to use a cane for walking these days (for now), or I'd definitely by checking it out. Must be made from aluminum roundstock. (OK, I see that it has a 1/8 inch wall thickness...so, not roundstock).
 
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I think I am going to return the TDI cane and get another Canemasters for the less conspicuous look.
 
The Ka-Bar cane would be fine at a black tie event.
Click to expand...

I've handled them and they "say" industrial instead of industrialist. You'd only look more out of place at a black tied event with a cane made from PVC and Duct tape. They look like they were made in an industrial fab shop.
 
Honestly you guys are probably right about the TDI cane. I keep looking at it, and it just screams "martial arts weapon."
Click to expand...
To around 1% of the population, perhaps. ;)

I really think that we, as people with a wide interest in weapons and self defense, vastly overstate how "conspicuous" many SD items are. Yeah, we recognize fighting canes, concealed carry vests, fanny pack holster, etc. but given the natural obliviousness of the public at large I just really doubt most people do.
 
I returned the TDI cane and ordered a second Canemasters in hickory with the only 'tactical' concession being a pointed crook tip - not sharpened like some of their offerings, but not round or chisel tipped either.
 
hso said:
I've handled them and they "say" industrial instead of industrialist. You'd only look more out of place at a black tied event with a cane made from PVC and Duct tape. They look like they were made in an industrial fab shop.
Click to expand...
Thanks HSO I based my comment purely upon the picture. The nearest thing I have seen to that is a Rebar one made from 3/4 rebar that a Ole 6.4 300 pound General Contractor had one some jobs I worked on when I was young. It was a chunk of steel.
 
Just got the Cane Masters replacement for my TDI cane and couldn't be more pleased. The TDI cane was admittedly built like a tank. It weighed like one, too, and I didn't like the apparent weight balance. It didn't seem 'fast' in the hand, though I admit it would have hit with some authority.

The Cane Masters replacement I got was actually a one-off cane, I think. I called their Nevada shop on Monday to see if I could get a cane by next Monday before I fly. I asked if they had a standard street cane with a soft bird's head crook tip. The guy who answered honestly didn't seem too with it, but he was friendly, and I gather he actually makes at least some of the canes himself, since the first thing he said after I told him what I was looking for was "Oh, funny, I made something exactly like that myself for fun just the other night..."

So I bought the cane he made. It is not a standard model, I think. It arrived today, and it's even better than my first Cane Masters, which was a tad long for me and also had a heavy feel. This cane has a great crook tip that is pointy without being sharp, which I feel gives up minimal effectiveness for a substantially more innocuous appearance.

Almost as importantly, the little brand or engraving of the Cane Masters logo is not present on this cane. I like the sterile appearance, because Cane Masters, while not widely recognized, has a logo that looks like a martial arts company logo (unsurprisingly). As this one-off cane is, it looks like a slightly odd stock cane from any Farm and Fleet store with a generic rubber tip.

The best thing about it, though, is something undefinable about the balance. It swings fast, and it seems to balance lightly in the hand in several different grips. It feels lighter than my other Cane Masters cane, but it's still a hefty 1" of solid hickory. Total length is 34 3/4". Just about perfect fit for me at 5' 10", perhaps a tiny bit long, but that's more than made up for by the light feeling and exquisite balance.
 
Had the TDI cane briefly. It was cumbersome and felt clunky and gimmicky. Kinda like tryin' too hard to come out with a black "tactical" cane. I was actually insulted when I opened it and promptly sent the stupid thing back. YMMV.
 
I agree. Some sticks feel 'live' in the hand despite being full-weight instead of rattan, the TDI cane was not one of them.
 
The Cold Steel Blackthorn replica falls into that TDI cane dead feel, too cumbersome category.
Way too much for the purpose. Might be good to drive nails in oak.

Jim
 
Glad to hear I didn't make a mistake by buying one. I did look at them for a bit, but I've always been a Cold Steel hater.
 
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