CS Blackthorn Stick review

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Bushman5

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Oct 31, 2007
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I'm a big fan of the traditional irsih blackthorn "walking" stick (shillelagh). Not only can i carry it in plain view, it makes a fearsome defensive weapon. I took (and still train) both Canemasters defense course and traditional Irish stick fighting courses.

I have owned both a short and a regular height shillelagh, made form blackthorn roots. beautiful tools , very hard to break (although i managed to....) and unique shapes. I prefer wood to any plastic...however when i saw the CS Blackthorn Stick, made from injection molded polypropylene, i had to have it. It looks like my old wood blackthorn stick, complete with little "nubblies" on the shaft, just like a real blackthorn root. The knob looks like maple birds-eye (but its polypropylene). about 1% flex in the stick, and unbreakable. The weight is balanced nicely, the stick is a perfect hieght, fit and feel in the hand.

my new favorite street stick for my walks.

stock photo, i got no camera.



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Does this look like plastic, I don't mean to a microscopic examination, but to someone walking by glancing at it? What's the approximate diameter of the knob?

I have the African Walking Stick and it looks very artificial, but it's still a decent walker over rough or swampy ground, and it is a great club.
 
no, if you lok at it from several feet away, it looks like wood. The knob is about 2.5 (rough est) inches across, slight oval.

I did take some 600 grit wetdry paper and remoeved the shine from the brown "wood" portion of the knob.

I too have the african stick, and it looks very artificial , still, as you said a GREAT stick and club. The Blackthorn stick looks much more real.

the only thing i would have done better would be to fill in where the "wood" meets the black root, although it is a nice place to grip with the fingers.
 
i imagine the high shine is easier to make look real because most of the blackthorn sticks i see are shellaced to a very high polish, and they look alot like the photo...

thanks for the review, i have been casually looking at these.
 
well, i've carried it everday (even in the cab of the semi truck) and i love it. It does get you some looks, homeless and street persons move aside and steer clear, I did notice a massive reduction in beggars asking for money when i carried it Canemasters style instead of using it like a walking stick. , young peoples glance and maybe do a double take look, older persons nod their heads at you, and i had a couple of Scotsmen and a Irish guy stop and chat. One of the Scots came all the way across the street, happily explaining "just like my fathers and grandfathers sticks" he realized after minute it was not wood and that piqued his interest more "bloody unbreakable!" he said, 'its bloody unbreackable!" , but as an afterthought, "but its not a real blackthorn! but still , well done, well done!"
 
Update: killed the stick tonight.

soft targets like people and training bags the CS blackthorn stick rules. Hard targets like bottle wielding transients are another story. I connected HARD with the wine bottle a guy was wielding in our park up the street. Both a verbal and physical altercation. The "wood" (knob) part of the CS stick shattered and broke clean from the poly shaft. Lynn T should have made the ENTIRE thing from injection molded polypro (like the African Walking Stick ) and then painted the knob wood colors on....instead, there is a plastic "covering" for the wood knob part.

So, a quick hacksaw and filing and i have a simple "knobbly" walking stick...with no knob anymore.
 
PIC!

the broken knob (after i sawed it off the shaft)
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broken knob beside the modified stick:
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They should have known better. The whole idea of one injection-molded piece was to avoid that sort of break. If it isn't unbreakable and it isn't authentic, what is it? I hope they've learned for any future projects.
 
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