Sometimes You Can't Take A Gun

From time to time James at Hell-in-a-Hand-basket has talked about canes as a self defense option. I had mentioned my "Street Legle Mace" a couple of times and he said it was time to show the world what I kept talking about.

Of course, that's when the camera when down.

Now that we have a replacement camera I can start providing images to my blogs again, starting with these.

I first tore up my knee in junior high school PE class, a bad dislocation. To this day I hate anything remotely related to soccer. The knee continued to pop out of place for years afterward. If you have never experienced it, you wouldn't understand.

I had a couple of canes over the years but they weren't anything special. The Sheppard's crook style never felt right. A few years ago I stopped at a smoke shop to look at the pipes. I don't smoke but would love to find a nice 'Sherlock Holmes' pipe. They had a display of canes and this one jumped out at me.

From protective tip to brass head it is just less than 36 inches long. The round head is weighs one pound. The ball fit my hand perfectly and the lenght was excellent. This cane has been, if not a constant companion, a frenquent companion ever since.

For years I have done 'Weapon's for Writers programs'. At Science Fiction Conventions I sold swords and knives in the dealers rooms. Many of the folks who saw me with the cane assumed it packed a hidden surprise. It dose, but not what they expected.

When asked if there is a sword or dagger hidden inside I would simply hand them the cane in such a way they would take hold of it near the tip while I held the head. When I released the head, the unexpected weight would cause the head to slam into the table top. "This one dosen't need a blade." I would explaine.

For Christmas a couple of years ago my wife, Helene and son, Matt had the head engraved for me. I couldn't think of anything nicer to have done.

There are lots of ways to defend yourself with a cane. If nothing else they are useful for keeping problem folks at a distance. The brass head makes this one even more formidable when needed. With a 36 inch haft this becomes a mace. With the brass ball in my hand, the problem folks never expect it.

The beautiful thing about this is I am able to carry the cane anywhere. A couple of years ago I flew with it. This was a day I thought the security folks were going to have me strip to my shorts, but after making sure nothing was hidden inside the cane I was allowed to take it on the plane.

I don't feel that I pulled a fast one on the airport security folks, or the police for that matter. The cane is just a cane, until I need it to be something else.