Walking Sticks

Walking sticks were first used for support and a bit of protection by men who couldn't afford swords. Later, they served the same function after swords were banned in cities. A century ago, no man of quality would leave his home without a cane.

The automobile began the cane's slide into obscurity, and, according to Esquire's Encyclopedia of 20th Century Men's Fashions, canes had essentially disappeared on city streets in the United States by 1970. But they are still useful in the country.

There are three levels of cane formality: the country stick, the city stick and the dress cane. The standard city length is 36" but they are, or were, routinely made in one inch increments ranging from 34" to 38". When standing with your arms at your sides, a properly sized cane comes up to your wrist just above the palm.

Dress canes tend to be of rosewood, maple or ebony, and are frequently adorned with silver or ivory handles. They are beautiful things, and I've collected a couple in the hope that they will be useful in my old age (perhaps I'm overly optimistic to think that I'll still be attending formal affairs when I need a stick to get around).

City sticks tend to be polished lengths of wood such as ash, bamboo, rattan and Malacca with crooked handles. There is a version with a built-in flask that could be useful on cold days when a quick nip would be appreciated, like any day this week in New York.

In the country, canes may have rustic decoration, like the curly rams horn topped stick carried by the Prince of Wales in the illustration, and are often made of root wood such as blackthorn (Swaine Adeney offers a horn topped stick for £300). The shooting stick variant with a folding seat comes in handy at spectator sports where seats are scarce, like PGA events and polo matches. UniqueCanes.com offers a couple styles as well as a versions with built-in flasks.

Carrying a stick in the country is an aid in rough terrain and a knobbed end can help beat off the odd rabid dog or, in California, mountain lion. In the city, they are a nuisance to carry as few establishments offer a place to put them once you've arrived. And the protection afforded by three feet of wood is minimal in an age when any serious threat on a city street is probably carrying a Glock.