but since i'm utterly inexperienced with the use of a sword, i thought it'd be a great idea to get one to defend myself with, rather than the Bo that I know so well
I have to admit, this is kind of amusing after your "you are making assumptions about me and my martial arts experience, or lack thereof." If you're good with a staff, stick to that. Many of the great swordsmen had issues facing someone with a staff. Staff is one of the greatest weapons out there. If you must have a blade, get an HI survival knife or CS Bushman, since you seem to prefer buying cheap to buying quality, and then you have a knife that you can use to easily convert a staff to a spear. Bear in mind if you haven't used a spear, the technique is quite different; balance will be off, effective style is different, so it may take some adaptation.
The tacticool comments and bit about reach honestly make you sound like a mall ninja. Not exactly in the best flavor around here. A sword is generally not a close quarters weapon. If you can't use a staff, chances are a sword won't be much better. There aren't any jurisdictions where you're allowed to carry a concealed sword without a permit, and if you're getting a CCW, you should be getting a firearm. Sword canes in particular are generally illegal. I've used a staff in a hallway before; there are plenty of techniques that I'd think you would/should know that support close-in combat; otherwise you'd lose every fight once someone got close.
If you are in a combat situation, you should also be using the weapon you know best. If you don't know how to use a sword, you're more likely to hurt yourself than your attacker, who, as previously noted, will probably just shoot you before you can so much as draw your sword.
I have to wonder at your motivations here. I'm going to forego offering any product recommendations, because you're making yourself sound like a "tacticool mall ninja" who is exactly the sort of person who gets blade lovers bad media coverage by doing something utterly moronic, and thus create more trouble for the rest of us who actually use our blades responsibly. If you aren't that kind of person, then you should probably temper your comments with more common sense. If you are, please cease and desist. And remember, self defense isn't generally a valid affirmative defense for knife carry. It will be worse for a sword. If you don't know how to use one, chances are you're going to get buried anyways if you get yourself into a situation where you have to defend yourself.
