Time was, not all that long ago, when the well-turned-out gentleman, urban, rural, or anything else, would carry with him a walking stick as a matter of course. Not only could it help negotiate uneven terrain, but most walking sticks had a stout knob on one end, so that if one was set upon, one could deliver a right good rap to the head of his attacker.
My father used to make walking sticks out of a small local tree he called "ironwood" but was actually a hornbeam; they were stout, flexible, tough, and Dad left the big root-ball on to serve as a handle - and the aforementioned head-rapping knob. My mother used to carry one, especially as her unfortunate arthritis in her back and legs grew worse; she never was concerned about aggression from anyone in their rural Allamakee County home, but it was useful not only for walking in the woods but for killing the occasional rattlesnake. I still have one or two of Dad's hand-made shillelaghs around, but a few years back, I decided something more modern might be in order. This was during a nearly two-year project I was working on back in my jacket-and-tie days, which had me maintaining a second household in New Jersey.
New Jersey, you almost certainly know, is not firearms-friendly.
Given the unrest so common across the country even then, and more so now, and given that not all venues allow sidearms, some time ago, I found myself a good, upgraded modern version of the handy old walking stick: a Cold Steel City Stick. After all, even in venues that do allow sidearms, a non-lethal and immediately-to-hand alternative never hurts. In New Jersey, I would take the City Stick along while strolling to downtown Raritan, where we were staying, to enjoy a Saturday afternoon platter of chicken wings and a few beers, and having the stick along lent a certain level of assurance that I could handle anyone who got out of line.
This is something of a throwback, of course; in the event one has to deal harshly with a drunken lout, a strong-arm robber, or some low masher who offended the honor of a lady. But nowadays, the prospect of being accosted and beaten for paying insufficient homage to any number of leftist fever dreams should result in a resurgence of this sort of accessorizing.
Cold Steel describes the City Stick thusly:
The Cold Steel City Stick features a glossy black shaft made out of eleven layers of fiberglass which, in impact tests, proved to be virtually unbreakable. The stick is topped with a 6160 Aluminum head that’s been given a mirror polish finish. The head is removable so it can be easily engraved or modified to suit your taste. The base is fitted with thick rubber ferule to keep you from slipping on the mean streets and cracked sidewalks.
From my days of handling and using it, I can attest that the City Stick lives up to its intended purpose. It’s a solid, stout fiberglass shaft with just enough flex to allow for one sockdologer of a blow to the noggin of any aggressive goblin, and a stout, heavy aluminum head (detachable for engraving!) to administer a well-deserved attitude adjustment to the cranium of a miscreant.
Best of all, few folks will question a man of my age, with a fair amount of visibly gray and, yes, even white hair, will think twice about that man carrying a walking stick. I most assuredly need no assistance walking, as loyal sidekick Rat will attest after a decade or so of elk hunts; but the casual observer won’t know that, and neither would an aggressive thug, until the aluminum knob lends him a concussion.
I've taken a few test whacks with my City Stick, mostly against the local black spruce and birch trees. The stick will leave a mark, even in the bark of a healthy white birch. The fiberglass stick absorbs most of the feedback of the blow, while the aluminum knob leaves a healthy dent, as, I suspect, it would leave in the skull of an aggressive goblin.
I have been toting this thing around a lot. It's light, it's handy, and nobody thinks anything of it.
See Also: Two Bills in Congress Could Be Huge Wins for the Second Amendment
Alaska is, mind you, one of the most firearms-friendly states. I can carry, open or concealed, almost anywhere. In the fall, when out wandering around in the woods looking for spruce and ruffed grouse, I carry one of my favored .45 Colt sixguns at all times, in case I run across an ornery bear or moose. But there are times and places where it's easier to turn out with the walking stick - and it's always a good idea to have alternatives. We do, after all, have a right to self-defense as well as to defense of others, and it can never hurt to have a variety of tools with which to defend that right.
