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WWII Swagger Stick Concealed Spike - Anyone ever see one before?


gauthieb3sxz
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Hey Gang,

 

I just picked up an incredibly interesting photo album and swagger stick that belonged to the commander of the 204th AAA in WWII. What's interesting about the stick is that there is a 22 inch long spike inside. This guy landed on Omaha (there are shots from the landing craft) and served throughout the war as commander of the 204th. His name was Pardon Watson. Has anyone seen one of these before? There's even a shot of him holding the stick in France in 1944.

 

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I have my Great Uncle's. Very similar "blade"with some slight handle differences. He got it in North Africa while the C.O. of a signal Corps battalion...

 

Leather has shrunk and stitching broken aroune part of spike but it is still "sharp".

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That's one nice item. I've never seen one before but inventive folks put blades and spikes in canes, and I'm sure other items, so this is a logical extension.

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I have one similar made by Knife Crafters. It has an 18 1/4" blade made from a #5 Brunon A. Gotatay fencing foil blade. It is more like a riding crop though.

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Thanks for posting yours made by Knife Crafters. I just saw one that sold on eBay that was made by them. Is there a button on yours? Mine has a button made by Derby and that's the only identifying mark on it.

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After closely comparing the details I'm 99% certain that mine was made by Knife Crafters but never marked. Also, mine is actually 22 inches with only 18 1/2 of the spike exposed so it matches pretty well with Mikes blade.

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Thanks for posting yours made by Knife Crafters. I just saw one that sold on eBay that was made by them. Is there a button on yours? Mine has a button made by Derby and that's the only identifying mark on it.

My Knife Crafters riding crop sword does not have a button on it.

I do have a Knife Crafters sword knife made with a blade from the mid-section of an 1860 Civil War Cavalry saber that does have a Derby button on it. I would think it is very possible yours was made by Knife Crafters also. The handle on yours looks very similar to Knife Crafters type handle if it has a seam on the other side.

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Awesome- thanks for sharing. It sounds like Knife Crafters would often repurpose older items into new knives? Like the Civil War sword and the fencing foil. The details on the Derby button are pretty much narrowing this down for me. Thanks! Here are a few other shots of the handle on mine.

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Is that a Coca Cola signature I see on the blade? Seems a bit odd - a Coke ad on a riding crop-knife.

 

I'm guessing that's the name of the company that made the fencing foil?

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I'm guessing that's the name of the company that made the fencing foil?

Yes, the name of the French company that made the foil, "Brunon A. Catatay". I misspelled it on my first post.

 

After I got my Knife Crafters riding crop sword, I found a matched pair of Catatay foils.

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Sword canes were quite common in the 19th century and into the 1920s and 30s as self defense weapons. They are also seen as riding crops and swagger sticks. I think they are now illegal in some places. Nice item and story. Bobgee

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While Swagger Sticks became sort of a fad in the Marine Corps around the turn of the XIX century, it faded away and it came back in the late 50's. I'll try to find some pictures I have of Marine officers with them. I read somewhere years back that a lot of U.S. military that had been around the British military strongly disliked them because it reminded them of snobbish British officers with aristocratic background. Apparently they used their swagger sticks for corporal punishment of the Tommies for the smallest infractions (up to a dozen whacks) like scratching themselves, sneezing, etc.

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Are these a desirable WWII edged weapon? It's hard to gauge the # of these that are in existance since they they're mainly attributed to commanders of units.

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Are these a desirable WWII edged weapon? It's hard to gauge the # of these that are in existance since they they're mainly attributed to commanders of units.

 

To my knowledge the use of sword swagger sticks or any swagger stick for that matter was never restricted to commanders. In the USMC swagger sticks were regularly carried by officers until their use was verbally restricted by CMC Gen David Shoup in the early 60s. SNCOs carried them as well. The hidden sword version was popular among China Marines in the 30s. In the 1950s, while on Okinawa, many Marines purchased and carried "short-timer" sticks as we approached our departure date. No hidden daggers but they were decorated with name, rank & serial number and other designs of note. Semper Fi......Bobgee

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I just found one in an attic clean up, black leather I thought it was just a crop of some type or swagger stick, the wife gave it a pull and it had a very tight fitting spike about 14 inches long in it. Probably was part of some old socket bayonet.

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