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Post by brothersteel on Apr 30, 2020 16:01:57 GMT
I've got a feel out for a good cane sword to carry once CCW permits are processed again, and I've come across a few interesting thoughts to consider. In a defense situation, is it better for the blade to have an edge and point, or just be point-centric? Will longer blades reduce effective use on the draw and in an emergency? I know what models are out there for the budget-minded swordsman, so I'm looking for what'll be best. Cheers!
PS: Of course I'm using a gun as the primary EDC! It just never hurts to have a reliable back up, right?
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Post by paulmuaddib on Apr 30, 2020 16:17:44 GMT
You need to search on this forum for sword cane reviews. Pgandy has done at least one and maybe more. And he has had to use one in a self defense situation against two opponents. I don’t own any but have seen several in person. The blades are not very wide so your not going to be able to cut/hack like a sword, so I think it’s going to be more of a stabbing weapon. Not saying they can’t cut if sharpened, it just doesn’t have any weight behind it. Personally, I’m staying away from sword canes because I don’t have or want a CCW permit and am just going with ‘regular’ canes Found out from reading pgandy’s posts then doing research you cannot be refused admittance anywhere with a cane because it’s a medical mobility device. If it’s metal it will be examined closely at security but should pass(cane not sword cane). I have a couple that are clearly more ‘weaponized’ looking so they wouldn’t pass. Sorry for all the extra info, I’m just bored spitless. Haha
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Post by El Chingon on Apr 30, 2020 16:35:07 GMT
I was always rather fond of the hanwei bird dog. Stylish, wood, blade is not too short. I will suggest putting in VERY small amounts of newspaper into the scabbard a bit at a time to silence the rattle. Mine is now completely silent. Do not oil the sword, use metal polish so as to not build up gunk where the newspaper is. It has a nice point, no edge sharpness, but that could be quite easily remedied. And I would also say to buy a good rubber tip, the one it has is nice to look at, but if you actually want to put your weight on it, you'll want something more substantial at the end. Have had mine for years and looks like new if you keep it polished with some of that bees wax based orange oil. I think it's called "wax n feed". KOA has em, but they're experiencing delays. I would say try knifecenter. Good hunting.
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Post by howler on Apr 30, 2020 21:30:10 GMT
CS heavy duty sword cane is pretty good.
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Post by brothersteel on Apr 30, 2020 21:33:54 GMT
CS heavy duty sword cane is pretty good. They went over to 440 stainless, so I'm looking at the Night Watchman series look alike, still made in 1060.
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Post by howler on Apr 30, 2020 22:48:56 GMT
CS heavy duty sword cane is pretty good. They went over to 440 stainless, so I'm looking at the Night Watchman series look alike, still made in 1060. Yikes. If so, maybe a 1055/1060 from Ebay is an option.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 1, 2020 16:10:31 GMT
CS heavy duty sword cane is pretty good. They went over to 440 stainless, so I'm looking at the Night Watchman series look alike, still made in 1060. I just checked their site and it is 3CR13 Stainless and not 440.
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Post by brothersteel on May 1, 2020 16:39:29 GMT
They went over to 440 stainless, so I'm looking at the Night Watchman series look alike, still made in 1060. I just checked their site and it is 3CR13 Stainless and not 440. Thanks for the correction, though I still prefer the carbon blades, myself.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 1, 2020 16:45:37 GMT
With respect to sword canes, I have five and an umbrella. I am not about to recommend any as I’ll leave that to you to sweat over. I will point out some things that you should consider.
You have the right idea about carrying a handgun as primary defense. That will trump a sword cane. A handgun is not an option in my country.
Pay attention to the overall length. I haven’t kept up with sword canes lately but at one time many, especially the cheaper ones were way too short, then 36” become more regularly advertised. 36” is the standard international length for a cane. I am 5’9” and can use that length but 37” feels better to me.
My normal edc is a Cane Masters’ wooden cane with an oversize crook as they are more versatile than a sword cane. However, they don’t completely replace a sword cane. And the only time I’ve drawn the blade I was glad that I had chosen a sword cane that night because there were two baddies. It was not necessary to draw blood because as they were still figuring out how to get around the point when help arrived.
There is no one sword cane that will do it all, in some conditions one will have the advantage and another time another.
Above all choose one that will not rattle. And stay away from those that need to be unscrewed.
The best blade length will depend on the immediate situation which will unfortunately be unknown until it happens. I think most unfamiliar with those canes go for a longer blade in the beginning. I did. That longer blade best serves when your target is low such as an animal or you have some advanced warning. My preference is with a shorter blade about 17”, possibly slightly longer. The longer blade is cumbersome, slower to draw, and useless if your attacker is adjacent to you such grabbing you from behind. In a real life situation the bad guy is not going to call out before hand “here I come, ready or not”. You will find the longer blade about useless in a car, bus, or other tight quarters.
All blades are thrust orientated as they are too light and narrow to be good cutters, even CS HDSC but of the lot it is the best cutter. But works best with those YouTubers that think they know more than they do cutting bottles. For one, to put a load on the blade that will began to cut you have to draw it WAY off line and works best on those back yard soft targets. However you can bring the scabbard into play at this point. The blade is stiff and with the sharpened false edge and spear point makes the best thruster of the batch save CS pre 2007 cruciform blade. More on that later. This is by no means saying the others are poor thrusters by any means, far from it. The CS HDSC is the most miserable of the batch to carry. The handle is poorly designed for a cane, you can’t even hook it over a shopping cart’s handle and feels like a heavy dead weight. The blade by itself is better, not bad. I was excited to finally get a cane w/o a release button. That is now my least favourite style. It is slower to draw and comes out with a pop, if that sort of thing bothers you. I understand the blade is now of SS. While SS has a bad reputation for sword blade due to flexing characteristics or lack thereof without trying one I’d say not to worry as the carbon steel blade has no detectable flex, it’s quiet stiff. My $700 Burger has a 17” SS blade and I almost didn’t order because of that. 15 years later I’ve had no problem with the blade. The humidity here did cause swelling making it difficult and at one time nearly impossible to draw and I’ve had to work on that several times. Too much precision on that one, if there is such a thing.
The CS pre 2007 cruciform blade is extremely stiff and should easily penetrate anything you will come up against but the edges are about 3/32” est. across and completely dull. That should push such things as tendons, veins, etc. aside as oppose to cutting them. It’s doubtful that you will come across one of those but there are long pointy blades out there with a square or round cross section that should do likewise.
I hid the release buttons and they work well for me being fast and silent. I especially like that last part.
All of mine came with rubber tips. All quietened the cane’s tap, tap. But some weren’t worth a flip when it came to friction especially in the wet. They are easily replaced with good working rubber tips. Just be aware some tips are more of a safety hazard than an aid when it comes to a secure support.
One last thing that came as an afterthought. It is not uncommon for someone not use to canes to set it aside to free their hand and forgetting the cane. One good example is placing the cane on the car’s top while fumbling for keys then driving off forgetting the cane. Grocery carts are another. I had a friend that set his down in a casino and walking off losing it. A wrist strap is a simple device that will prevent this. They are commercially available but I have since learned to make mine and they make a good excuse to hide the release button.
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Post by paulmuaddib on May 1, 2020 17:39:32 GMT
Told ya pgandy was the man to ask.
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Post by brothersteel on May 2, 2020 0:08:52 GMT
With respect to sword canes, I have five and an umbrella. I am not about to recommend any as I’ll leave that to you to sweat over. I will point out some things that you should consider. You have the right idea about carrying a handgun as primary defense. That will trump a sword cane. A handgun is not an option in my country. Pay attention to the overall length. I haven’t kept up with sword canes lately but at one time many, especially the cheaper ones were way too short, then 36” become more regularly advertised. 36” is the standard international length for a cane. I am 5’9” and can use that length but 37” feels better to me. My normal edc is a Cane Masters’ wooden cane with an oversize crook as they are more versatile than a sword cane. However, they don’t completely replace a sword cane. And the only time I’ve drawn the blade I was glad that I had chosen a sword cane that night because there were two baddies. It was not necessary to draw blood because as they were still figuring out how to get around the point when help arrived. There is no one sword cane that will do it all, in some conditions one will have the advantage and another time another. Above all choose one that will not rattle. And stay away from those that need to be unscrewed. The best blade length will depend on the immediate situation which will unfortunately be unknown until it happens. I think most unfamiliar with those canes go for a longer blade in the beginning. I did. That longer blade best serves when your target is low such as an animal or you have some advanced warning. My preference is with a shorter blade about 17”, possibly slightly longer. The longer blade is cumbersome, slower to draw, and useless if your attacker is adjacent to you such grabbing you from behind. In a real life situation the bad guy is not going to call out before hand “here I come, ready or not”. You will find the longer blade about useless in a car, bus, or other tight quarters. All blades are thrust orientated as they are too light and narrow to be good cutters, even CS HDSC but of the lot it is the best cutter. But works best with those YouTubers that think they know more than they do cutting bottles. For one, to put a load on the blade that will began to cut you have to draw it WAY off line and works best on those back yard soft targets. However you can bring the scabbard into play at this point. The blade is stiff and with the sharpened false edge and spear point makes the best thruster of the batch save CS pre 2007 cruciform blade. More on that later. This is by no means saying the others are poor thrusters by any means, far from it. The CS HDSC is the most miserable of the batch to carry. The handle is poorly designed for a cane, you can’t even hook it over a shopping cart’s handle and feels like a heavy dead weight. The blade by itself is better, not bad. I was excited to finally get a cane w/o a release button. That is now my least favourite style. It is slower to draw and comes out with a pop, if that sort of thing bothers you. I understand the blade is now of SS. While SS has a bad reputation for sword blade due to flexing characteristics or lack thereof without trying one I’d say not to worry as the carbon steel blade has no detectable flex, it’s quiet stiff. My $700 Burger has a 17” SS blade and I almost didn’t order because of that. 15 years later I’ve had no problem with the blade. The humidity here did cause swelling making it difficult and at one time nearly impossible to draw and I’ve had to work on that several times. Too much precision on that one, if there is such a thing. The CS pre 2007 cruciform blade is extremely stiff and should easily penetrate anything you will come up against but the edges are about 3/32” est. across and completely dull. That should push such things as tendons, veins, etc. aside as oppose to cutting them. It’s doubtful that you will come across one of those but there are long pointy blades out there with a square or round cross section that should do likewise. I hid the release buttons and they work well for me being fast and silent. I especially like that last part. All of mine came with rubber tips. All quietened the cane’s tap, tap. But some weren’t worth a flip when it came to friction especially in the wet. They are easily replaced with good working rubber tips. Just be aware some tips are more of a safety hazard than an aid when it comes to a secure support. One last thing that came as an afterthought. It is not uncommon for someone not use to canes to set it aside to free their hand and forgetting the cane. One good example is placing the cane on the car’s top while fumbling for keys then driving off forgetting the cane. Grocery carts are another. I had a friend that set his down in a casino and walking off losing it. A wrist strap is a simple device that will prevent this. They are commercially available but I have since learned to make mine and they make a good excuse to hide the release button. You do your reputation credit! Thanks for great insight on the matter!
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Post by El Chingon on May 2, 2020 0:36:48 GMT
The one I mentioned does not use a release button and does not screw on. And the rattle is easily fixed.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on May 2, 2020 1:53:02 GMT
The one I mentioned does not use a release button and does not screw on. And the rattle is easily fixed. Sorry to say that I missed your original post. Glad you corrected the rattle. I had a similar issue with a sword stick but I used foam, the spongy compressible type. It worked for some years then one day I noticed a sliver of bright metal at the junction of the saya and tsuka. I thought that I was careless when seating the blade and thought no more of it. To cut a long story short this got continually worse. What had happened over the years the blade had pushed the foam, little by little to the bottom of the saya and would push the blade back out after seating it. I had a devil of a time getting the foam out.
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Post by El Chingon on May 2, 2020 23:44:40 GMT
I read your original post concerning that. Haven't had that issue with mine. I also had come to the same conclusion about using a strap, but I want to find one that matches the cane. That being brown with chrome. I'd rather buy one than try to make it as I don't have much for tools or materials here.
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