sword canes

[admin]

Very cool!

Anything you can tell us about it? Such as where it is from, from what period..etc?

It is difficult to be precise about them unless they have markings, but it is probably British and from the second half of the 19thC.

[Joeli]

Hey folks, I've been bit by the damn Victorian bug and am rather curious if there are known anecdotes as to the use of sword canes in Victorian times and what historical sword canes would've been like.

About a decade before Victorian times, but still a cool anecdote. It's not the length of the weapon, but how badass the dude wielding it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandbar_Fight

[Phil C]

Anything you can tell us about it? Such as where it is from, from what period..etc?

Looks like a "flicker" cane- the spike is inside the cane while it is carried normally but drops out when inverted, like a gravity knive.
Quicker on the draw, but weaker on the thrust

[Joolz]

Thought I would add to the thread with some sword canes I have been working on for the salle - I have gone through several variants (I think this is Mk IV!) trying to find a system that will hold together/release at will/not fall apart if used as a club! I settled on a simple bayonet fitting - the grip you see here goes completely inside the sleeved cane leaving just the ball showing, and is released with a twist and pull of the knob (!). Fittings are all stainless, blades are buttoned fencing foils (square section). The hilt will be secured so the blade cannot be replaced with a sharp (although I guess you could lop the button off, though I cannot advocate that for legal reasons - these have been designed from the get-go as fencing/sporting blunts). The little bayonet button on the grip is quite unobtrusive and acts as an indicator of the orientation of the blade (ie. the top) and also does double duty as a grub screw to stop any blade movement in the grip.

I have already ditched one set of woodwork, and have yet to turn the finished version (a job for later in the year, perhaps?). But it's already designed and the metalwork's mostly done......Then comes the job of putting it through its paces in the salle.

Already, because most of the weight is in the knob/pommel, if you grip the ball in the centre of your hand (ie. don't hold the handle like a proper sword grip), you get a huge amount of speed and control of the blade. If it were sharp, you could spear flies out of the air!!!

Joolz

[Phil C]

Just to add that Allanson-Wynne copvers swordsticks in his book. He generally deems them to be useless-none of the benefits of sword nor stick, and lots of the negatives of both. He, as others do, much prefers the umbrella.

[admin]

Very pretty work Joolz!

[Gerald]

Here's one I used to own. Solingen made spadroon blade, 28" dating from about 1790.

[J Marwood]

That's rather nice - robust looking blade as well.

[Phil C]

These swordsticks are everywhere and have regained popularity since one was used as a prop in the recent Sherlock Holmes film

They are North African imports and worth very little- once you look for them there are hundreds of them about still, no matter how rare dealers tell you they are. I've owned one in the past and handled a further three or four, seen yet more about the place, one even features in "The Black Alchemist" book as a ritual tool.

There is also the caveat that they are very unlikley to be old enough to count as antique so may actually be illegal to own under exemptions for such, as well as being really shoddily made

[admin]

If that's a lion on the pommel then they are probably made by the same Indian companies that churn out those nasty tourist kukris.

[Joolz]

Under the 1988 Criminal Justice (Offensive Weapons) Act, sword sticks/canes that are less than 100 years old are illegal to buy or sell. These Indian-made copies are therefore illegal. Any sword stick/cane is also illegal to carry out in the street, regardless of its age, without very, very, very good reason. Don't even be tempted!

Swordsticks make interesting curios that are readily available (I have handled many at auctions etc, and own a couple, as well as cane/walking stick guns) but care must be taken to respect the law, as it is particularly touchy about concealed weapons or weapons disguised as innocent objects.

Joolz

[Phil C]

My birthday pressie from my wife- a Georgian swordstick

[admin]

Lovely!

[Lyceum]

Wow. That spadroon blade in particular...wow.