Walking sticks with secrets...

[TristanRenn]

Or you could tell us as well...

well I suppose, but if I told you it would scarcely be a secret would it?






Hmm, I suppose I shall give it away, as the idea, though cool to my mind, does not warrant the building up inherent to the "I've got something awesome but I'm not going to tell you" format. Also a cursory view of my finances suggests that sharing the result will not be possible for some time.

The concept is a rather simple cane, nothing extravagant at all. Just some wood, a knob handle and an end piece. However, should a gentleman find himself out and about at the moment foul weather hits, with a twist of the knob, the cane becomes an umbrella. Take note here that I do not say an umbrella pulls out of the cane, but that the cane itself would convert into a protective canopy.

[Gazongola]

Not sure if I should make another topic, but if it helps here's this. These are my fathers walking sticks I was talking about as well as a necklace made of bear claws that my father worked on with a friend, and was allowed to keep in the end. To give a relevance of size I gave a large shot, the tallest is about 6' tall. Here you go:

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Any questions or comments appreciated. I do similar things as well.

I like them. I love that blood red colour of the wood.

[Gazongola]

Or you could tell us as well...

well I suppose, but if I told you it would scarcely be a secret would it?

Hmm, I suppose I shall give it away, as the idea, though cool to my mind, does not warrant the building up inherent to the "I've got something awesome but I'm not going to tell you" format. Also a cursory view of my finances suggests that sharing the result will not be possible for some time.

The concept is a rather simple cane, nothing extravagant at all. Just some wood, a knob handle and an end piece. However, should a gentleman find himself out and about at the moment foul weather hits, with a twist of the knob, the cane becomes an umbrella. Take note here that I do not say an umbrella pulls out of the cane, but that the cane itself would convert into a protective canopy.

Aha, I see. Now one would need a hollow cane that is relatively wide, as umbrellas are, and an automatic umbrella. Expensive.

[Atterton]

But you already have umbrellas which work great as canes.

[TristanRenn]

But you already have umbrellas which work great as canes.

Well yes, they work as canes, but walking about with an umbrella in hand on a sunny day feels a bit foolish if rain never strikes.

[Jemima Annabelle Clough]

Or you could tell us as well...

well I suppose, but if I told you it would scarcely be a secret would it?






Hmm, I suppose I shall give it away, as the idea, though cool to my mind, does not warrant the building up inherent to the "I've got something awesome but I'm not going to tell you" format. Also a cursory view of my finances suggests that sharing the result will not be possible for some time.

The concept is a rather simple cane, nothing extravagant at all. Just some wood, a knob handle and an end piece. However, should a gentleman find himself out and about at the moment foul weather hits, with a twist of the knob, the cane becomes an umbrella. Take note here that I do not say an umbrella pulls out of the cane, but that the cane itself would convert into a protective canopy.

OK - I can see how that would work. It would add a lot of flair to your average umbrella. I suspect it would work more easily if you used an umbrella opening mechanism rather than have it open with a twist.

And if you did that, you could mock up a working prototype fairly cheaply, with the cane made of bamboo (if you could get it wide enough) or metal tubing.

[Jake of All Trades]

I was also perusing some fine canes here http://www.antiquecanes.com/items.php?category_2=system ...

My Cogs, I want them all!!!  Out of curiosity, does anyone know what a "vinigarette grill" is?  It is the stated function of the third-from-last cane on that page, but Dr. Phineas T. Google's Aethernet Conciergery does not seem willing to reveal its purpose.  I do rather like the idea of a gentleman so particular about his salad dressings that he carries the facilities for preparing his own on his person, though I somehow doubt that's what it means...

In the old days of British cities when it stank like hell, one would use a vinigarette.  A small sponge soaked in vinegar and other things could be held under the nose. It was kept in a vinigarette, and you hold up the vinigarette to your nose to mask the smell.

Ah yes, I sometimes forget just how charming our beloved little century was

[groomporter]

Saw the Sweeny Todd movie again a couple days ago and was wondering if I can make myself a telescoping stick like the one the beadle had. I've been wondering if I could make it somehow so it I could twist the pieces to "lock" them in place so it would be solid to use as a walking stick, or maybe buy a modern one and steamify it...
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-8324621-4975361?ASIN=B000MGGQE6&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B000MGGQE6|Telescopic_Walking_Stick&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=B000MGGQE6&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SOONDI?smid=A3FTKNZ9RHYKG2&tag=dealtime-hpc-20&linkCode=asn

[Sir Nazin Von Drala]

I was also perusing some fine canes here http://www.antiquecanes.com/items.php?category_2=system ...

My Cogs, I want them all!!!  Out of curiosity, does anyone know what a "vinigarette grill" is?  It is the stated function of the third-from-last cane on that page, but Dr. Phineas T. Google's Aethernet Conciergery does not seem willing to reveal its purpose.  I do rather like the idea of a gentleman so particular about his salad dressings that he carries the facilities for preparing his own on his person, though I somehow doubt that's what it means...

In the old days of British cities when it stank like hell, one would use a vinigarette.  A small sponge soaked in vinegar and other things could be held under the nose. It was kept in a vinigarette, and you hold up the vinigarette to your nose to mask the smell.

Ah yes, I sometimes forget just how charming our beloved little century was

I don't know, that could be useful at some gaming conventions

[akumabito]

...those might be misinterpreted by your local law representatives as a telescopic baton, which are illegal in most places.

[Difference Engineer]

You could make it hollow with some lenses at either end and use it as a telescope.

The concern here is that normal use of such a walking stick would eventually jar the lenses out of alignment and render that particular functionality unusable.

[Difference Engineer]

I think a cane pez dispenser would be cool. just tilt the head of the cane back and pez pops out.

*laughter*

I rather like that idea.

[Von Gast]

I'm now thinking seriously about this idea. At the moment I have the following ideas: A built-in flash memory unit of some sort and a compass.

As for the memory part of it, I'm contemplating using a Micro SD card and one of those tiny USB stick readers. The reason for this being that memory prices come down on a yearly basis, so come next year when 10gb Micro SD cards can be had for less than a lump of coal I'll be able to plug a new, larger card in place of the existing one.

[akumabito]

...perhaps a small digital camera could be worked into the handle.. the opportuities would be endless.. you'll always have a monopod to steady the cam, if you can rig a remote shutter control near the bottom of the cane you could also use it to take pictures over crowds, around corners, over walls, perhaps even under water if the housing is watertight. It'd be pretty good for nature photography, especially since you could still use it as a cane to help keep your balance over uneven terrain..

[groomporter]

Ideas I've kicked around

-A cane with a compartment for a portable USB drive?
-A compartment to store an IPod or mp3 player and earphones?
-A cane with a hidden electric stunner in the handle to repel muggers? (probably as illegal to carry as a concealed weapon in most areas as a sword cane is.)
-A hidden pepper spray canister? (Again illegal in many areas)
-A hidden dugout and one-hitter for those over-the-hill potheads, or for treating their glaucoma or chemotherapy nausea?
-A compartment for other medical needs like nitro pills for heart patients.
-Maybe a space to hide a lighter and cigarettes/cigars as smoking tobacco becomes less socially acceptable?

Any women's cane ideas? historically there were canes with makeup compacts and such built into the handle. (The wife is hardly ever without some Carmex in her purse...)

I suppose with RIF chips being built into credit cards for fast transactions there may be eventually something small that might be able to be stored in a walking stick handle.

[hexidecima]

I was also perusing some fine canes here http://www.antiquecanes.com/items.php?category_2=system ...

My Cogs, I want them all!!!  Out of curiosity, does anyone know what a "vinigarette grill" is?  It is the stated function of the third-from-last cane on that page, but Dr. Phineas T. Google's Aethernet Conciergery does not seem willing to reveal its purpose.  I do rather like the idea of a gentleman so particular about his salad dressings that he carries the facilities for preparing his own on his person, though I somehow doubt that's what it means...

In the old days of British cities when it stank like hell, one would use a vinigarette.  A small sponge soaked in vinegar and other things could be held under the nose. It was kept in a vinigarette, and you hold up the vinigarette to your nose to mask the smell.

Ah yes, I sometimes forget just how charming our beloved little century was

I don't know, that could be useful at some gaming conventions

Oh, the truth in that.   I also understand that a "vinigarette" could also be a way to attend a lady who has tighented her corset too tight and has swooned.  I've seen a couple meant for hanging on a chatelaine.  

[Hyren von Henry]

There was one cane which had a map inside that could be pulled out, a bit like a rullegardin. Meant for walks around London.

Excuse me Atterton. But what does "rullegardin" mean to you? In danish it is a sort of curtain, which is rolled up and down using a springloaded mechanism...

I didn't know what it meant either, and google was no help to me, but I knew what he meant from the context.

errr, a piece of cloth rolled up an forced down using a spring-loaded mechanism....

sort of like the one in the stick then....the map will have been on cloth...



alternativly, how about a blowgun?

[BridgeBuilder]

Smoke bombs. for quick getaways. Most likely illegal under one law or other though.

[Atterton]

I liked the idea of a pez dispenser, just for the sheer banality of it.

[Von Gast]

A brief rummage on Amazon has turned up large numbers of tiny Micro SD card readers - many scarcely larger than a standard USB plug. One of these would fit perfectly inside a cane. I would also be tempted to rig it so there is a USB socket in the side of the cane and a cable in the users pocket, rather than dismantling the cane to use the memory card.

[Hyren von Henry]

how about a walking stick?

[Maggoty Anne]

how about a walking stick?

What a capital idea! Just think how people would react to seeing a walking stick that's actually a walking stick. No one would suspect it!

[Atterton]

Perhaps a walking stick with some flashing red lights across the top, which you can talk to and is called Kitt.

[Maggoty Anne]

you can already talk to your walking sticks, they just can't talk back. And would it be such a good thing if they could? I'd imagine the majority of their conversation would consist of "Stop leaning on me! Learn to stand on your own two feet!" and "Stop hitting me with people!."

[akumabito]

you can already talk to your walking sticks, they just can't talk back. And would it be such a good thing if they could? I'd imagine the majority of their conversation would consist of "Stop leaning on me! Learn to stand on your own two feet!" and "Stop hitting me with people!."

I'd imagine they'd make continuous observations about the people around you - most of which you probably do not need or want to hear about, considering their heads are at just about crotch level...

I don't need to walk down the street and the cane yelling at the top of its electromechancal lungs;

"OOHHH!!! GROSS!!! We got a workaholic at 11 o'clock! Workaholic! WORKAHOLIC!!! Jeesh! Definitely a single-shake man, FAR too busy for the follow up jiggle!!"