Cold Steel’s Stainless Steel Head Sword Cane, with its state of the art carbon fiber cane sheath and nearly 26 inch long carbon steel blade, combines modern technology with the atmosphere of a high rolling Old West saloon. It’s definitely a classy weapon, and the choice of materials shows that the maker knew the practical side of the craft and was willing to make things better.
My grandfather owned a sword cane, although not one made from such refined materials. It was much like Cold Steel’s model, a rounded hilt that slipped a long steel spike from its cane styled sheath with a flick of the wrist. It wasn’t a weapon that could double as a utility or survival knife; the only conceivable use of it was to stab something–which made it very unwise to leave me, an eight year old with a great imagination, alone with it for even a moment.
Today it’s hard to imagine that this cane wouldn’t draw attention, and if you chose this for self defense reasons that might not be good. If you use it for other reasons, it may make more sense. Some of the drawbacks of the old models like Grandpa’s still apply to this one. The handle is small and slick; the blade lacks a hand guard and is too light to effectively swing or parry a blow; and if you actually use it you’d better have a very good reason and no other options. The average user will need it less than once in a lifetime, unless you really do have a bad leg. Nice to have if you need it that one time.
