weird walking cane/ pool cue

S

snookered_again

Well-known member
I just happened upon something a bit unusual and wondered if others were more familiar with them , it has a black Bakelite ball on the end and is a walking stick, it unscrews and the shaft is stored inside the ( hollow) butt., It converts to a pool cue. It has a map of japan on the stick with the cities all named. The heavy ball might function as a weapon, like a billy club. Perfect for those pool room brawls ;-) an official shaking stick maybe? ;-)

I found others like it and similar to it on ebay, I kind of doubt I'll retire early on profits but found it neat enough to mention here. I dont know if it's worth the time to make the end cap from brass and fix the misaligned coupling, maybe? the shaft still seems pretty straight , a slight "wow" in the hollow butt end.

I guess an original end cap can be found. it came with a typical rubber cane end stuck on over it but in viewing others I learned there should be a threaded brass cap.

I figure it's 70 years old. probably made in Japan for tourists, maybe some war veterans came home with them. Is it worth the effort of fixing it up?

the shaft and butt have about a 1/4" thread and are badly misaligned.

I found mention of them being brought back by soldiers I think after vietnam war? 1953 or so?

Its kind of a cool thing, pretty useless as an actual cue, wondered if others collected them or had more knowledge.
 
From what I could find out about them, there are two main categories. Vietnam and WWII. Mostly brought back as souvenirs.
The Vietnam ones seem to mostly be the same dragon pattern on different woods or stain. One of mine has MOP dots and just carved with no dragon. The ball end that holds the bumper can be different in the metal used. Some are brass and some are some cheap metal (maybe put metal). I did see a picture of one that was not carved but had the US flag painted on it.

The WWII ones are nicer made and have a variety of painted carvings. The map is common, but I have a Peacock, a Tiger, and a couple with different Dragon designs. The ball on most of them are black or white Bakelite. The Peacock one I have, has a nice brass one.

Anyone I bought from that knew the history had the same story that they were brought back from the wars. I collected these for fun during covid just because I thought they were cool. I didn't pay much for any of them.


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Growing up I always remember my dad had one in his closet, but it had a brass eagle head on it for the handle. It looked quite different though, basically one of those cheap ramin wood looking things. It had a screw on tip. It wasn't a good cue but we always liked looking at it.
 
It just so happened that after I was joking about my new pool room fighting stick, I was watching an old movie, from the 40's or 50's. wish I caught the title. they seem to do a lot of gangster type movies from that era.
I get them on digital TV via broadcast , likely from Bellingham or Seattle area.
there was an old man holding one, it caught my attention, had the brass ball type handle. He used it to push a guy straight out a window to his death. - it was the murder weapon!

Funny coincidence to see that , since I just bought the cue.

mine has a map of Japan, near the border there is a mark in the wood showing the "parallel"below it, in big letters it reads KOREA. and near the bottom the city Seoul.

not great with geography or dates, but I assume it may be sort of depicting the location of the korean war? I suspect soldiers were buying them on their way back , as mementos. although they were cheaply constructed as pool cues , some may have had significant intrinsic value to the owners, being tied with such memories. Now likely being passed down to the next generation. If a soldier was 20 in 1953 then he'd be 90 now. I assume that's approximately the date and the Korean war ended in July 1953
 
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Here is one I have. Yours sounds similar. I got this when my stepdad’s father passed. He served in the Korean War. It’s not a good cue but it’s fun to take apart and put together. Kids think it’s neat.

I would like to see pictures of the ones anyone else has
 
mine is more similar to this last one than the others. the graphics are different and mine has a black Bakelite handle but the style of carving is so close that I believe it to be the same maker.
Im missing the end, it would be unscrewed to use the cue so it was probably stored put together and the end lost. also if I connect the cue there seems to be a missing brass sleeve. I assume there is a brass part, like a threaded collar just above the removable end.

I dont know why the threads of the two sections are so misaligned, but they are horrible. it has a bit of warp but the worst of that is how poorly they are mated. maybe the "stud" is just bent.
I'll try to get pic to add to the thread.
 
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