Sword Canes

[GeneChing]

I did a cover story on Sword Canes last year. See THE CANE SWORD OF KUNG FU (JUL+AUG 2013). I've always been fascinated by cane swords, so I'm starting this specific thread just to see if it goes anywhere.

Which leads me to wonder about the article below. Do people really find a lot of second-hand canes concealing blades and not know? Or is that just something they tell TSA in a panic?

‘Sword cane' discovered at Fairbanks airport
BY TEGAN HANLON
thanlon@adn.comMay 5, 2014 Updated 13 hours ago


A "cane sword" discovered in the possession of an airline passenger by TSA agents in Fairbanks.
TSA

TSA agents say a blade found inside an airline passenger's cane last week at the Fairbanks International Airport is part of a national trend.

A few "cane swords," bayonet-like weapons, appear every month to TSA screeners, said agency spokeswoman Lorie Dankers.

"The majority of people who possess them had no idea there was a sword in their cane," the TSA said in a blog post on the subject. "Tip -- if you have a second-hand cane try pulling it apart. You might be surprised." In Fairbanks, the man attempted to board a flight to Anchorage around 7 a.m. on May 1, but was temporarily halted at security when screeners detected a rusty dagger inside of his hollow red cane, Dankers said.

The man had three choices, she said, check the item, give it to someone not ticketed for a flight or voluntarily abandon it. The man chose to leave it behind and get on the airplane, Dankers said.

She said she didn't know if he was aware that his cane housed a five-inch blade.

Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.

[Faux Newbie]

Fortunately, he still had a sap hidden under his deerstalker cap.

[GeneChing]

Hmpf. I guess this just goes to show...

[GeneChing]

Is your grandpa bad-ass enough for these epic, blade-concealing walking sticks?
Jessica yesterday



Christmas is coming up, and if you are wondering whether you should get gramps another boring old tie pin or golf shirt, may we humbly suggest a skull- or dragon-shaped walking stick of death?!

This ad was spotted by a user of the message board Agohige Kaizokudan (The Bearded Pirate Collective).



▼ He’s smiling because he could totally cut you if he wanted to.



For the low, low price of 6,458 yen with tax (about US$60), your grandpa can hobble around in style with one of these aluminium-topped canes with concealed stabbing device inside! The dragon apparently also has a button to make the eyes flash. Gramps be the envy of every fellow at the senior center and you can bet those **** kids will get off his lawn when he starts waving this thing at them!

We tried to find more information about where one might purchase such a thing, and there appear to be similar models on the popular online shopping site Rakuten.

▼ Also this gem of an ad.



▼ Man: “I didn’t know they made walking sticks that cool!” Woman: “Yeah, walking would be so fun with one of those!”



This shop also has a gun version. Because why shoot something when you can shoot-stab it?!



Ah, internet, so full of treasures. No need to thank us for finding these awesome canes. The look on your grandpa’s face when he opens his present this year will be thanks enough.

Source: Agohige Kaizokudan
Images: Agohige Kaizokudan, Sunpro Net Shop

The dragon is a little cheesy but I do like the skull one.

[Jimbo]

I remember that Cold Steel used to sell sword canes, and AFAIK might still be. Although they are highly illegal in CA.

[GeneChing]

I'm just imagining his son saying "Dad, don't embarrass me."

It's kind of a cool sword cane in that cheesey B-movie villain sort of style.

Father, 52, arrested for carrying sword inside his cane to visit inmate son in San Antonio
BY ELIZABETH ZAVALA, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS : MARCH 3, 2015 : Updated: March 3, 2015 5:33pm


Photo By Courtesy Photo/Bexar County Sheriff's Office
Jose Gonzalez, 52, was arrested and charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon after a cane he carried into the Bexar County Jail was found to have a sword inside.

SAN ANTONIO — Note to self, if you’re going to jail to visit someone, don’t take a weapon.

That’s the lesson Jose Gonzalez learned Monday when he went to the Bexar County jail to see his son, who currently is an inmate.

According to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, Gonzalez, 52, placed his cane in the scanner at the security check upon arrival to the Bexar County Jail. It was then that a sheriff’s deputy noticed “an anomaly through the scanner,” so she decided to take a closer look.

“Upon doing so, she found a sword enclosed in the cane,” Bexar County Chief Communications Officer James Keith said Tuesday.

Keith said Gonzalez was arrested and charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon.

ezavala@express-news.net

[GeneChing]

I've been seeing a lot of these for sale lately, especially at the music festivals that I work (oddly enough). I remember having few pair back in the day when they were still under the radar and available through mail order (we're talking like the 80s now). I think we used to call them 'mystical cats' or something like that. I remember giving my college gf one and she was delighted.

What are ‘cat eyes’? TSA issues warning over uptick in passengers carrying prohibited item to checkpoints
by: George Gandy, Michael Bartiromo
Posted: Sep 7, 2024 / 06:38 PM PDT
Updated: Sep 7, 2024 / 06:38 PM PDT
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An increase in the number of “cat eyes” being carried through airport checkpoints in Upstate New York has prompted a warning from TSA officials.

“The frequency in which we are seeing these items among carry-on items is disappointing,” said Bart R. Johnson, a federal security director for the TSA, said in a statement included with a recent TSA news release.

Cat eyes are a weapon similar to brass knuckles, albeit with points shaped like a cat’s ears. Users place their fingers through the “eye”-shaped portion of the weapon — often kept on keychains for self-defense — and close their fists so the sharp edges are pointed outward, allowing one to slash or gouge with a swing of their fists.

Like brass knuckles, cat eyes are also prohibited from carry-on bags. In 2023, the TSA also clarified that cat eyes are classified as “club-like items” in response to TSA officers confused over their permissibility.



“Clarifying that TSA considers cat-eyes to be a type of brass knuckle will simplify training and operational requirements and provide clarity to the public,” reads a section of a 2023 amendment to a larger interpretive rule regarding prohibited items.

If discovered in a carry-on, passengers can either choose to re-pack cat eyes in a checked bag, return them to their home or car, or surrender them to the TSA.

But, also like brass knuckles, cat eyes may be illegal to carry in certain states or jurisdictions.

“Should the bag need to be opened for some reason and there is an illegal item in the bag, TSA will be required to report it to local law enforcement,” the TSA writes in its rules surrounding brass knuckles.

The TSA said the cat eyes discovered in Upstate New York are either made of metal or hard plastic, both of which are banned from carry-on bags.

“Our officers are diligent in their duties and are good at spotting these weapons using the technologies at our checkpoints,” said Johnson. “I commend them for their continued vigilance and ask travelers to be equally diligent themselves and leave these items at home when packing for a flight.”

A representative for the TSA could not confirm the exact number of cat eyes detected at Upstate New York checkpoints as these types of items are “not individually tracked,” but that the agency is seeing “a lot” in Upstate New York. They are also “common elsewhere,” she added.

Some day this might need it's own indie thread but for now I'm posting them here: Chinese-Brass-Knuckles-or-a-bag-of-coins-to-the-face-lol and on the Sword-Canes because it's such a TSA thing.