Looking for canes

/ hsoi

I’m wanting to buy a cane… fighting cane.

The following is no endorsement. Just me Googling and listing what I find. I have no direct experience with any of these products… yet. I’m hoping to find someone to buy a good cane from.

There’s Cane Masters. There’s Goju-Shorei. But I want to find something else. Just because I want to see if there’s anyone else out there producing good product at perhaps a better price.

All I want is something simple. Wood cane, of a strong hard wood that can take a beating (e.g. oak). Crook neck/handle. I’d like the opening to be “straight” (no crook going inwards and closing the opening off). Keeping it very simple so it blends in; think: can I take this onto an airplane? That I can use as an actual walking cane, but can use for self-defense purposes as well.

I just found this website, simply enough: walking canes. Lots of great selection, but unsure of the fitness for the purpose.

And The Walking Cane Store.

I do see a lot of the same canes listed at the 3 above sites. Not 100% overlap, but a decent amount.

In the end, wood is wood. If it’s oak, it’ll be strong. It’s then a matter of diameter and things like the size of the opening to ensure it can properly hook onto things.

This looks like a small-time shop doing their own thing: Kentucky Walking Sticks.

Hrm…. most other things I find are crap like umbrella canes, sword canes, rattan canes (I like rattan for my staffs, but not for my cane… too much flex to support my weight). I guess my Google-Fu is weak.

If you have any good suggestions or outlets for quality canes, please comment and let me know.

19 thoughts on “Looking for canes”

  1. Pingback: hellinahandbasket.net » Blog Archive » Cane You Do It

    • Thanx for the link.

      If you undertake that project, I’d love to see the results.

      If I may have input, what I’d evaluate are materials… the various woods, but also some of the metal canes (aluminum is probably the chief one). I’d also look at specific construction, such as the Cane Masters canes, which are geared towards such use, and then just whatever cane you happen to find at the corner drug store. It’s often been said the drug store canes won’t cut it, but if you can find a good wood one well… in a lot of respects wood is wood so why wouldn’t a good hickory cane from the drug store work out?

  3. As I said over at Jame’s:

    I’ve got a Cold Steel ‘City Stick’. It’s not hooked – simple straight cane with a plain metal knob.

    The cane is layers of fiberglass about 3/16″ thick and the head is about a pound of stainless steel. Bad guys will break long before it will.

    • I’ve always liked Cold Steel’s approach to things. I just wish it had a crook… that plays into a fair number of techniques in my Kuk Sool background. Still, it’s an option to consider for sure. Thanx!

    • I forgot about that one!

      That particular umbrella is very cool. Certain durable and purpose-built. I hadn’t seen their video before, so that was cool. Thank you for sharing it.

      As for suspicion, not sure about that. I mean, if you live in a place where rain is a typical issue sure… that makes for good camouflage. But if it rarely rains, like it does where I live (well, not right now but the current weather pattern is the exception, not the rule), then to carry an umbrella all the time looks a bit strange. So really, in such a case it’s a strange look either way, cane or umbrella.

  5. Try your local Ren faire or possibly local state or harvest fair. I recently purchesed a cane that almost perfectly matches the above description at my local Ren faire (and saw them again at the state fair), with the only exception being that I don’t know what kind of wood it is. Its not something too soft though, dispite taking a beating around my house its got minimal dents. The cane creater was running the booth and undoubtedly could have told me what kind of wood if I asked.

    These cane’s don’t come sealed in any way (though I sealed mine as soon as I got home), though the handle is leather wrapped. The length of the can is turned decoratively with bark left in places to add accent. The result is a nice, slightly rustic looking cane thats very sturdy, and though eye catching for its style is accepted pretty much anywhere as just a cane.

      • I quick glance at the listing for artisens at the Texas faire shows two listings for places that carry canes & staffs. Note: If you’ve never been to a ren faire before be prepaired to spend money just to get in the door, and nothing in cheap inside, bring a friend or two and plan to spend the day wandering & watching the entertainment. They’re quite a bit of fun.

        • Never been to one, always wanted to attend one. I’ll have to see if I can schedule a family trip… cane or not, just always looked like fun.

          • Definetly a lot of fun, just not cheap, even if you don’t buy more than entrance fee & food, just to warn you!

            a quick shot of the cane laying on my couch:

            The handle is from a different peice of wood, but is well attached. I’ve never cared for the curved headed canes, and find the ones with the ball type head to hard to hold onto when something upsets the balance.

          • I like that cane. Distinctive appearance.

            Well, I’ve got a lot to go on here regarding cane shopping. Just a matter of finding time to go do it. 🙂

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