Sword Sticks

[Mervyn Mitton]

I suspect that these two items are Indian in origin - at least the sticks. The probablility is that they are pre-war

(WW2) and were carried by an Army officer.

I say this because the leaf carving is identical on both sticks - possibly a BanYan tree - and they screw in for the top

of the blade , and the blades themselves may well have been made in a base engineering workshop.

The mechanism is a little slow if you were in an emergency situation - however, you will notice at the base of the big

stick that the ferrule is a sharpened point of aluminium. This would certainly act as a sword point for quick action.

The workmanship is of quite a high standard and each leaf has been carved separately. Comments - and alternative

suggestions of origin will be welcomed. I did also think of Canada - the Maple leaf is similar.

I will show a number of pictures - to have a walking-out stick and a swagger stick , both identical and with blades is

rare.

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

This is the matching swagger stick

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Mervyn Mitton]

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[Robin Lumsden]

Look good to me. I agree they seem Indian in origin.

I have a couple of UK swordsticks from the Victorian era ..................

Edited February 10, 2013 by Robin Lumsden

[Robin Lumsden]

Left - Bamboo Swordstick, c. 1890. Epee blade.
Right - Wooden Swordstick, c. 1890. Blade marked ‘Toledo’.

(Bottom - WW1 Trench Art Shell Vase).

Edited February 10, 2013 by Robin Lumsden

[Mervyn Mitton]

Nice pair, Robin. From the days when a Gentleman carried one - although the 1864 Act had theoretically banned them.

I still carry a 200 year old one that a Captain in the Gordon Highlanders used in the 1879 Zulu War battle at Ulundi. This

one has an old Levee sword blade - an ideal size for a stick. I carry it with me in the chair in case of attack - I have it

planned with my assistant that I will hold it up with the handle towards him and he can draw it and charge. I fear though,

that he would have run for his life and I will have to do battle on mine own. I have actually used it - but, that's another

story. Mervyn

[Chris Boonzaier]

I think they still make these by the boatload in india, a friend bought a riding crop at a souvenir shop there a couple of years ago, took it to germany, through customs... And only at home realised it was with a sword blade. Apparently the whole shop was specialised in what he realised in retrospect were such or similar weapons. Depending where you live, these can cause you mucho problemo

[Spasm]

"I have it planned with my assistant that I will hold it up with the handle towards him and he can draw it and charge. I fear though,

that he would have run for his life and I will have to do battle on my own"

And you just left holding the scabbard!

[peter monahan]

In Canada these are classed as 'concealed weapons' and very illegal. I once came off a flight from Amsterdam with a guy who'd bought one but none of the crew, who had taken custody for the flight, thought he had any chance of getting it through Customs, and I had to agree.

A chap I knew many years ago had an ancestor who'd actually killed a man with a sword cane. He was a small town chemist [pharmacist] in the late 1800s and was accosted one night as he left his shop with the day's receipts He promptly ran the would be thief through, but was not charged as it was deemed self defence. Some of us cynics figured he probably spent years trailing his coat round town, just praying for a chance to use his infernal device.

Mervyn, it has been suggested to me that the optimum method for unsheathing the sword is to poke your assailant with the sheathed blade. He [or she] will, quite naturally, grab the scabbard to pull it out of your hand and, voila, naked balde at the ready! But do tell us about the time you used yours. Inquiring minds wish to know.

[Mervyn Mitton]

There are few 'developed' countries that allow a sword stick. For the UK it is an offence to own one , to carry one, or, even to make one.

For SA it is not an offence to carry one - the offence would be to use-it.

The Indians have been making sword sticks and concealed daggers for a long time - however, that does not mean that the military

did not make use of them. This set is unusual by having a matching swagger stick - my opinion and dating makes me think that it

probably was carried by an officer and possibly pre WW2.

Peter - you are quite right - let them unsheath the blade and then you carry forward. I had a lovely example for an early Victorian

Police officer. The handle and stick were made from cast iron - so, it was a weapon in it's own right. The top was a brass polished

knop and when pulled there was a good sword blade inside. The word Police and the Royal Cypher 'VR' were on the sheath. But then in England and Wales it wasn't an offence until The Offences Against the Person Act of 1864. Until that time you could carry a pistol or sword. Mervyn

[peter monahan]

Its been a few years since I checked but I can't imagine that here in the frozen North the laws on illegal weapons has loosened up. Quite the reverse in fact, with the current government. And, at the risk of sounding like a bleeding heart liberal [or Liberal], I don't think this bunch has been watching the news from south of the border, where the evidence that 'tough on crime' doesn't work is getting well nigh irrefutable. Peter

[Robin Lumsden]

As regards legality, it is legal in the UK to own an ANTIQUE swordstick.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Hi Robin - yes, you're right. But just try carrying it outside the front door........................

[Robin Lumsden]

Hi Robin - yes, you're right. But just try carrying it outside the front door........................