Walking sticks

[Jerry]

I moved this from Robert's post about swords because I didn't wish to appear to be hijacking his thread. If anyone here is interested in a great cane or walking stick, try this compamy. I have bought several Walking sticks and tree root canes from them. Most of their products are one of a kind, and compared to the prices I have seen at festivals and faires, they are inexpensive, ranging from about 35 dollars to 70 or 80. Here is the link.

http://www.thewalkingcanestore.com

[Doc Hudson]

Here is a link to a more substantial, utilitarian custom cane, it is called CaneMasters: http://www.canemasters.com

These canes are made to measure, and are designed for martial arts use. I bought mine before a trip to Itally five years ago, and it is the first cane I've ever owned that actually FIT me.

In addition to the canes, which can range from plain to extra-fancy (with engraving and jeweled enlays) Cane Masters sells training tapes and training aids for people learning the cane as a martial arts weapon.

I strongly reccomend CaneMasters. If you order one, tell Master Mark Shuey that Doc Hudson sends his regards. BTW, he is a good man to do business with.

[Dreadbelly]

Here is a link to a more substantial, utilitarian custom cane, it is called CaneMasters: http://www.canemasters.com

These canes are made to measure, and are designed for martial arts use. I bought mine before a trip to Itally five years ago, and it is the first cane I've ever owned that actually FIT me.

In addition to the canes, which can range from plain to extra-fancy (with engraving and jeweled enlays) Cane Masters sells training tapes and training aids for people learning the cane as a martial arts weapon.

I strongly reccomend CaneMasters. If you order one, tell Master Mark Shuey that Doc Hudson sends his regards. BTW, he is a good man to do business with.

I covet one of those. I think of the carnage I could cause and I get shivers up and down me spine.


Ooooh just got them right now.

[James]

For an excellent walking stick-'Cold Steel' do a first class 'city stick' with a white metal knob-black body and a good weight---no not their sword stick.

James

[Doc Hudson]

The problem with standard sticks is that they don't fit everyone.

To find out what length stick you should use requires the assistance of another person.

First stand upright in more or less the position of attention, with your thumbs along your thigh. If wearing trousers, align the thumbs with the seam.

Then have your friend measure from the floor to the wrist-bone on the outside of your arm. That is the length you need.

When my CaneMaster cane first arrived, it felt odd because it was several inches longer than any other cane I'd ever used. After a day or two getting used to the CaneMaster, I could never go back to the old canes, including one I'd inherited and used often in the past. Without a proper fit, you actually cause yourself more discomfort than you alleviate.

I'm betting that Dr. Douglas will verify my methodology.

BTW, Dr. Douglas, my cane is what Master Mark calls a teardrop shape. As he says, if you whack someone across the shins with that striking edge, it will bring tears, and probably blood.

[Dreadbelly]

The problem with standard sticks is that they don't fit everyone.

To find out what length stick you should use requires the assistance of another person.

First stand upright in more or less the position of attention, with your thumbs along your thigh. If wearing trousers, align the thumbs with the seam.

Then have your friend measure from the floor to the wrist-bone on the outside of your arm. That is the length you need.

When my CaneMaster cane first arrived, it felt odd because it was several inches longer than any other cane I'd ever used. After a day or two getting used to the CaneMaster, I could never go back to the old canes, including one I'd inherited and used often in the past. Without a proper fit, you actually cause yourself more discomfort than you alleviate.

I'm betting that Dr. Douglas will verify my methodology.

BTW, Dr. Douglas, my cane is what Master Mark calls a teardrop shape. As he says, if you whack someone across the shins with that striking edge, it will bring tears, and probably blood.

My canes require a short shaft because of my hight. And Doc Hudson is correct for cane measurements. Most people suffer from canes being far to long or far to short. I have short legs and extremely long arms that almost hang down to my knees. (You folk have seen my pictures, ahem) I am practically a primate in my body proportions.

When walking and you require a cane as I do, it should be an extension of your arm that reaches the ground. You should be able to stand straight armed, hand at a slight angle, and support all of your weight on your cane.

My cane was custom made for me, at a time when I weighed in at well over 350 pounds. It is brass cored with a mohagany outer shaft. It has an amber resin knob at the top that is molded to my left hand to keep my hand from getting stress fractures that crook topped canes can cause. It was designed to hold hundreds, even thousands of pounds of stress with out breaking. As you can see in some of the pictures I have of it, it is quite nice. When I got it, I suspected it would be a good weapon. In the city where I used to live, somebody tried to mug me coming out of the drug store. I found out through first hand experience that it is an excellent, and fearsome weapon. It didn't just bring tears or draw blood... It caused a compound fracture in the mugger's upper arm. And this was at a time in my life when I was still quite feeble, had limited movement, and the act of walking was still quite challenging.

The only part I don't like about my cane?

Well, there was one time I had it leaning in the corner of the kitchen counter while I was hobbling around trying to fix something to eat. I bumped it. It fell over. Landed on my big toe, knob first. Big toe broke in three places. OW. And it was my good walking foot too... That set me back a long long way in my physical therapy.

I am looking at another custom cane, this one made from recycled golf clubs. Carbon fibre, titanium cored, magnesium and other metals for strength and rigidity. From my understanding, when swung, it vibrates a great deal as it travels through the air, much like a golf club. All that energy is discharged on striking. On a golf ball, it travels as far as the eye can see. On a human body, from what I have been told, the shockwave causes the bones in a wide area to turn into jelly and it will pulp internal organs in the event of a torso strike. Even a medium strength blow directly to the stomach or the spine would be fatal. Not instantly. You would have time to think about the error of your ways before you expired.

[Doc Hudson]

For an excellent walking stick-'Cold Steel' do a first class 'city stick' with a white metal knob-black body and a good weight---no not their sword stick.

James

After James mention of the Cold Steel City Stick, I looked at a video on the subject. The video showed Lynn Thompson, Cold Steel's president and founder, demolishing an 8" concrete block with a City Stick.

BTW, had some great scenes of an automobile being demolished by a War Hammer, Dr. Douglas. You really ought to go the the Cold Steel site and get the catalog and DVD (both are free in the US).