Sword as cane

[skip.knox]

Yes, I know there are cane swords. That's not what I have in mind.

Would it be practical for a wounded battlemage (serious wound, long recovery) to adapt sword+scabbard to serve as a cane. This would be for real support, as he has suffered a fairly catastrophic injury. He will not leave the sword and use a regular cane because that sword is magical and valuable and he's not really among friends right now. He has money, so he could pay a dwarf to engineer something.

I'm more concerned about weight and maneuverability. I can make both sword and scabbard unnaturally light and strong (*waves hands*) but would prefer not to have to do that. Maybe a craftsman could affix the sword to the scabbard. A round pommel could serve well enough as a cane head, and the end of the scabbard would not have to be so pointy that it would stick in the ground. I was also thinking of affixing sword to scabbard via a spell, making it quick release in case of need.

 

[pmmg]

Sometimes, you just use what you got. I dont see why this would not work.

I think the issue is not really that a sword could not serve in this role, but that care for the weapon would make one not think it ideal, and the reaction of others to one walking around with a sword in such a way.

By wear, I meant, the scabbard might not hold up after prolonged use and start to come apart, and the tip might start to show wear and rust from having its tip stuck in the ground so often. Also, its not like it has a rubber end, it might be more prone to slipping.

 

[skip.knox]

Good comments. It's a small matter, but I will have this fellow moving around some. It's clearly (clear to other characters) that it's makeshift. Maybe a bit of unrealistic expectation that he won't need to do this for very long. An opportunity to gain a bit of empathy, so any difficulties he might encounter are worth a mention in the narrative. Eventually he will hand this treasure over to my MC for a final battle, so it needs to be seen on the mantle, as it were.

 

[Queshire]

Some searching on YouTube when I'm supposed to be working turns up this;

From it the concerns I see come down to ensuring the sword is a proper length for a cane, the fact that you'd have the sword's butt digging into your palm the entire time (even with a round pommel it'd have to be pretty big to be confortable) and wear to the tip of the sheathe from being used as a cane.

 

[Rexenm]

It might do good for the sword to have a name. He might get attached to it in a way, that he relied on it. Like Castaway of Wilson. So he is endeared.

 

[Finchbearer]

The weight would be the biggest issue for me.

 

[Mad Swede]

Yes, I know there are cane swords. That's not what I have in mind.

Would it be practical for a wounded battlemage (serious wound, long recovery) to adapt sword+scabbard to serve as a cane. This would be for real support, as he has suffered a fairly catastrophic injury. He will not leave the sword and use a regular cane because that sword is magical and valuable and he's not really among friends right now. He has money, so he could pay a dwarf to engineer something.

I'm more concerned about weight and maneuverability. I can make both sword and scabbard unnaturally light and strong (*waves hands*) but would prefer not to have to do that. Maybe a craftsman could affix the sword to the scabbard. A round pommel could serve well enough as a cane head, and the end of the scabbard would not have to be so pointy that it would stick in the ground. I was also thinking of affixing sword to scabbard via a spell, making it quick release in case of need.

OK, a good cane weighs around 1kg (about 2-2.5 pounds). A good quality sword weighs about four times that. To be able to use the sword and scabbard as a walking stick you'd need a fairly stiff scabbard, probably one in metal and it would need quite a strong shoe (the tip of the scabbard). That's going to add another 1-2kg. Note that metal scabbards first became common in the 19th century.

To hold the sword in you might consider the simple sort of clip-strap we use on pistol holsters, which nothing more than a loop of metal or plastic which slides over the back of the pistol and keeps it in place in the holster. In your case you'd probably need two straps (one looped over each side of the cross-guard) and they'd need to hold the cross-guard hard down against the top of the scabbard so that the mage could use the sword and scabbard as a cane. That wouldn't be a quick-release though, and it would be fairly obvious (if only from the weight) that it wasn't an ordinary cane.

Provided the mage can cope with the weight it would be possible to use a sword and scabbard as a cane. Mind you, I'd be inclined to use a spell to reduce the weight a little, and possibly cast an illusion to make it look like a cane.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

It'd work. I have two 1700's axes from the Carpathian region that were designed to double as walking sticks, to the point you can screw off the steel cap to reveal spikes for ice or self-defense.

 

[skip.knox]

I think this gets me to a good, usable point; namely, that such a makeshift cane would be clumsy to the point of being unusable for any sensible sort of fellow. But this battlemage was recently (a month or two ago) wounded and he's a cranky, headstrong sort, and he doesn't need your damned cane, he'll use his sword-and-scabbard.

No matter how clumsy it is.

That's exactly the sort of touch I like because it illustrates character, provides opportunity for a moment (comic or pathetic), and gives an excuse for detail (describing said sword and scabbard). That sword has a role to play, latter. Even the scabbard does. This lets me give descriptions earlier, piecemeal, rather than having to provide the description at the dramatic point where he hands the sword off to the MC.

While I have your attention, since the sword will get strapped onto the MC's back, and I have a bit of narrative where he struggles to fit it on, does that apparatus have its own name or terminology? That is, there's the scabbard, but then there's the straps and buckles by which the scabbard is attached. I don't really need terms, but I always like to know if they exist.

 

[Mad Swede]

In its most basic form the scabbard is attached to the baldric (that is sword belt) using what in English is called a locket. There may be one or two lockets, at the throat (top) of the scabbard and sometimes one mid-way down the scabbard. If there are two lockets then the lower locket is attached to one or two hangars (short short leather straps) which are then attached to the baldric, so holding the sword at a fixed angle. For short swords the upper locket may also be attached to the baldric using short hangars so putting the grip slightly lower. Note that the idea of carrying a sword across your back is very modern and was almost never used historically in the western world.

 

[skip.knox]

>Note that the idea of carrying a sword across your back is very modern and was almost never used historically in the western world.
Good to know. I think I will still need to do that, as I need my MC with both hands free to scale ... well, a monster. It would be tricky even burdened. The MC has some special abilities to help out, but making him do the climb while holding a sword, or even while having one buckled at his side (swinging, I presume, independently from the movement of his leg as he climbs) would make the narrative even trickier than the climb.

That's why I opted for strapped onto the back.

But that in turn raises a further matter, for me at least. If the back strap was unusual (let us presume it was), then there would be nothing ready to hand, in a moment of crisis, with which to attack it to Our Hero. I was picturing (indeed, have written) where he fumbles with straps and buckles, and has to be helped by the sword owner, who is familiar with how the rigging is properly fitted.

If it's all ad hoc and fumbly, that's ok too. The sword will come out of its scabbard soon enough, and all that other will be just a brief moment prior to the action. I reckon I could also make it work that none of the rigging is right and in frustration he just grabs the naked sword and starts the climb. He has acrobatic skills, after all, supplemented by magical skills. I'm mainly looking for narrative opportunities without introducing anything that might cause someone to be jolted out of the scene. It's coming amid action and prior to more action. It's worth a moment and maybe a smile, and that's about it.

 

[Rexenm]

A good rule of thumb, is when the boon becomes a weapon; and how to adjust, with that.

 

[Prince of Spires]

The Youtube channel Shadiversity has a few videos that might be useful. He's got a few where he digs into back scabbards and designs one that can actually be used to draw the sword. I think he's also got a few about what equipment an adventurer would take along and how he would carry all that stuff. It might not fit your precise situation, it might give you a few ideas.

As for using it as a cane, I don't think weight is too much of an issue. You can get a good quality longswords for 1 - 2kg, which isn't that much heavier than a cane, and (with scabbard) it would be comparable to a larger walking stick. The two main issues I would imagine are the flex in the sword, and the point digging into the ground. Both can be somewhat mittigated by a scabbard of course, but those are also not designed to rest your weight on. Swords are designed to bend, so they don't break. So it would do so if you leaned on it.