Might be great for Hercules or body builder, but not for an average man. I have the Brooklyn Smasher and I have a similar issue with the weight. I think the reason why they did this is because light polypropylene is extremely flexible and it's hard making it rigid besides adding more weight.
That could very well be it. I know I have the old o-bokken and I had the new o-bokken. The old 1 is much more flexible and the new ones break more easily. The new ones are also heavier than the old ones.
Wrong. This is Cold Steels bad specs for the weapon. This is twice as heavy as it should be and "get stronger" isn't the solution. How strong do you think the historic Irishmen who used these were?
@@kamalahmed5057 Wrong. I'll tell you what, we can compare resumes if you'd like. I've been doing martial arts over 20 years, I've studied numerous forms of martial arts and I've spent lord knows how many hours actually using weapons. What about you? The Cold Steel blackthorn is twice as heavy as the real thing. I really don't know what you're defending here.
Looks like you're doing the Doyle system? I agree, entirely too heavy. My shillelagh is a smidge over 14 ounces. I don't understand how they screwed up the alignment on an injection plastic walking stick. The only Cold Steel walking stick I care for is the City Stick. Even their Walkabout is too heavy to me.
It's definitely tough but for me just didn't have the feel I want. Eventually I'll get the night watchman, still heavier than a real shillelagh but it's not as heavy as the Cold Steel.
Purchased one about a month ago. I love it. My wife loves it as well. It's light enough to carry and unbreakable in any type of defense. Guy talks about how the hold and weight are wrong. I just grab it and swing like a bat. It's very fast held that way and I don't care how the knob faces. In a self defense scenario I won't have time to figure out proper fighting style. I'll just swing to stop the threat. It's lighter than a major league bat. I walk with it every night because of stray dogs. If I decide to do a cheerleader routine spinning it around, I'll get something lighter. But for self defense. This is perfect.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms I don't need training to hit a stray dog or whatever else with a stick. Many people have been mugged by someone with a metal pipe. The thug wasn't trained. He was just willing and able to use it. Good grief......🤪
@@StudentOfWarCustoms I don't care if it's proper. It's devastating when held like a baseball bat. Iam not trying to spin it around like a cheerleader.
And if you like it that's great but the shillelagh isn't held like a baseball bat nor "spun like a cheerleader". I'm glad you like it but it's still a bad representation of a shillelagh.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms I like it for self defense against dogs, foxes, coyote or criminals. But I don't plan on doing traditional Irish stick fights for sport. For that I agree with you. I have combat training. But not Irish blackthorn style. Nevertheless I bet it's fun and good exercise training with sticks. I just think both types of sticks have a purpose and each can be a asset in the right situation.
I was looking for a self-defense cane/ walking stick .. I was just in tractor supply and a cell a real nice one thicker diameter and hardwood .. very strong and wide crook top handle.... So not only great for striking not only great for poking.. but the crooked end. Can be used to grab someone's leg and pull it out from underneath them.! I purchased a rubber tip from the local pharmacy and now it's a perfect cane can go with me everywhere even on an airplane
Honestly this one is thick diameter in extremely strong oak.. I really doubt if I would ever be breaking one of these tractor supply canes .. at least not the one I purchased.. but but as you said if it ever broke you'd have to Sharp sticks to defend yourself
Problem with the weight is the momentum. Great for when you're on target, but terrible if you miss and have to immediately correct. It's like slowing down a club coming your way then redirecting it back with as much force. Tough stuff, but maybe not the way they'd intended.
Varun009, agreed. That's my issue with weapon weights like this. It's not difficult to make an opponent with an overly heavy weapon lose control of their weapon. Same goes with overly powerful strikes. When I went to a dojo if a training partner used to come in at me with a really powerful strike I'd usually just "encourage" their strike the way it's going, let them lose control and then cut in the gap. Used to do something similar in Tae Kwon Do if someone was kicking really hard or uncontrolled, give the kick some encouragement the way it was going, let them spin out and then when they were able to recover I'd either time it so as they turned they got kicked or if I wanted to be funny I'd high 5 their forehead lol.
No problem! Yes definitely not a good buy and if you check out the shillelagh fighting pages on fb all of them will usually tell you to avoid the Cold Steel shillelagh because of all the issues I listed in the video. The nightwatchman is about 8oz lighter but the shillelagh pages will usually tell you to avoid that as well. Eventually I want to make my own wood shillelagh.
I bought three for my full contact stick fighting club- I blocked the very first strike to my head and I felt something strike me- my block was good form so I was confused as to where I went wrong and how the strike evaded my block- as it turns out the brown imitation root or cap is glued on- that's why you're having the separation issue- it's seemingly made by Mattel- just garbage, very dangerous and certainly not designed for actual combat. Cold Steel has sold it's soul when it comes to quality and it's really starting to show. I can actually pull the cap off by hand on all three of mine.
Wow, that is pretty crazy. Hope you're ok. Ya Cold Steel is not what they used to be. I have a Cold Steel o-bokken I bought back in 2014 before the redesign, it's a bit overly flexible but considering the price point and the fact that because of the flex it's still in 1 piece where as previous bokken broke in the dojo I have no complaints. I bought one of the redesigns in 2019 as a backup to my old one. First off the newer one is heavier than the older one, not saying that as a positive or a negative just a fact. 2nd they changed something with the polypropylene so now they are stiffer than the old ones which would be good if it wasn't for I managed to break the new one doing a flex test the old one easily passed. To make matters worse I contacted Cold Steel to see about having them warranty it, come to find out if you don't buy straight from them you have to pay money to ship the item to them for them to warranty it out. I bought the o-bokken from midwayusa so not like I bought it off Amazon or something like that. Where as before they would just ship you a new one, I had then send me a replacement before of an item I bought from midwayusa. Not to mention the customer service if horrendous. Email them and it takes a least a month to get back to you, call them and you end up on hold for about an hour having to listen to GSM sales pitches. I still like many Cold Steel items especially for the money but they definitely aren't what they used to be.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms Yeah- I had very similar results when I contacted Cold Steel- it's like they don't really care anymore. It's a shame to see them deteriorate to such a low level but it happens. If they continue down their present path they'll be nothing but a memory soon enough. Good luck with your training.
Cool, the Cold Steel is still too heavy for what it is though. Ask most groups who seriously train with the shillelagh and they'll tell you the Cold Steel is way too heavy. The night watchman is too heavy compared to a really shillelagh but the Cold Steel is worse.
The night watchman was my choice but id keep that on for speed training and to help with targeting you learn fast target accuracy with it it the same as wearing weighted gloves for the speed bag.
True but if that's the concern than there's always the nightwatchman or if it's just for training I know of quite a few people who practice with sticks in place of shillelagh.
The problem with a heavy cane or walking stick is it reduces your speed..Cane/ walking stick self defense is not entirely based on speed.. you do need some Mass to your cane.. but if it's too heavy it will be slow getting it into action and doing the strikes you need to do...
No, at this point unless I could find out what the weight of the cane is before purchase or better yet hold it before purchase I have no interest in anymore Cold Steel canes/walking sticks. I am interested in the Cold Steel gunstock war club though.
These walking sticks guys are all manufactured and are not the real deal.Genuine Irish Blackthorn sticks are the way to go.Im Irish myself and I can tell ye that the reason the Blackthorn stick is known worldwide is because of its lightness,durability and the fact that most of them are handed down from father to son etc. I live ten minutes from Blarney here in Ireland and the sticks there are around €55.I don't know what that is in Dollars,but I'd say maybe $45-$50 dollars,and that's a good quality Blackthorn that lasts a lifetime!!!!
That stick is even too heavy for a walking stick. I'm thinking about trying to make some cool knob ended sticks from crepe myrtle or other sticks I can find in VA for free.
Bro 😎,it doesn’t look fast,you look slow,you look like a smart guy,make your own stick,out of whatever wood you like,I did and it was the best thing I ever did
I love mine too. I don't care about proper fighting style with it. I use it like a bat. However it naturally falls into my hands is fine. It destroys anything hit and doesn't break. A metal pipe is heavier than a stick as well, but I'd hate to be smashed with one.
I see that one as a heavy club that isn't going to make me give explanations to the cops. Not good to practice how they are traditionally used, but great to blow some kneecaps if you live in a place where that's needed.
It can be. If you look on youtube there's a video of an actually practitioner comparing this, the night watchman and a real shillelagh and interestingly because this is heavier it doesn't accelerate as fast and doesn't hit as hard as a result if I remember right.
Well, let's be honest now. Real (Irish) Shillelaghs are the real deal but, problem, those are quite priced (but it's normal) and very often, if someone seek a particular size etc the artisan will need time for make one (it's logical). Add the customs taxes (the parcel comes from Ireland, after all) and the shipping prices. But those remains unbeatable. I always wanted a real Irish Shillelagh. Cold Steel (and for that matter United Cutlery as well, altough their models are indeed less heavy but I suppose not so resistant like C.S. ones) are simply a "mimic" of those original Irish ones, of course. As for the weight I have noticed that Cold Steel has the habit to make literally everything big and heavy :-P With that said I have all the three Cold Steel "Shillelaghs" (including the longer one, which isn't suitable for nothing, ah ah ah) but I will keep those, as collection/curiousity :-)
Would you suggest using one of these as a Everyday Carry self defense tool? I just don’t like how the world is getting insane, I’d like to carry my Kabar USMC on me but legal issues 🙄 I also have no freaking idea where to look for authentic shillelaghs which is frustrating considering my great grandma emigrated from Ireland.
Chris LXXIX, agreed. I've seen a few makers that make awesome looking shillelagh, eventually I want to try making my own. True. As for Cold Steel making everything heavy I think it really depends. I own more Cold Steel than any other brand amd some of their stuff like you said is big and heavy but some of it isn't and some of it they've been working on improving. For example the Cold Steel escrima sticks are pretty heavy compared to rattan sticks but they came out with the Balicki sticks which are thinner so they must be lighter than the original Cold Steel escrima sticks. Also the Cold Steel bokken isn't too back compared to the real thing either. Makes sense. Eventually I plan on getting the united cutlery night watchman. Still too heavy for a shillelagh but more manageable.
Jordan McManaman, if you mean the cold steel the problem with a weapon this heavy is it's going to be slow and easier to take away. I managed to talk to a teacher of the shillelagh not long ago and he said both the Cold Steel blackthorn and the United cutlery night watchman (as well as most synthetic shillelagh he's used) are too heavy compared to a real Irish shillelagh but between the 2 the night watchman is better. Keep in mind a proper shillelagh is only about 1 pound tops. If you mean a real Irish shillelagh I've seen places online. Look up Francis McCaffrey, he has a RU-vid channel where he shows lots of shillelagh he makes and even did some videos on the history and videos on how he makes shillelagh. If it weren't for how long it takes I'd suggest making your own but that takes about 2-3 years total because you have to wait for the wood to season meaning all the sap to some out. I know the frustration about losing that kind of knowledge, my mom's side of the family is Irish in name only pretty much. As for the practicality of using a cane for self defense it's not a bad idea and depending on where you live a cane can be taken anywhere because it's viewed as a medical item. In most places you don't need a prescription either, check your local laws though because from what I've understood in California you need a prescription. There are also other decent self defense options as well such as flashlights. A flashlight at night can take away an attacker's night vision, it can be a striking weapon and ultimately it can be a preventive measure because you can see at night better and as far as I know nowhere has a restriction on flashlights.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms thanks for the comment buddy! Very insightful. I live in Canada and I literally cannot find a hunter safety course to even try to get my firearms license. I’d rather us just be able to carry a knife on our persons as I think it’s absurd that we expect law abiding people to fight people breaking the law unarmed. I’ve always loved the Shillelagh ever since I saw Finlay kicking arse with it on WWE, I don’t even think Blackthorn is available here in Canada, it’s not native atleast. I’ll do some digging!
@@StudentOfWarCustoms after looking at Francis website I think you’d be insane not to buy a authentic one. It’s what $60 more initially without shipping.
Too bad it looks like fun. However that gapping may be there to mimic what a whittler/carver does to pretty up the head of the stick. Its actually a feature not a fault. I will check out the night watchman shilelahg and hope you do a review.
It could be but from the real shillelagh I've seen it's not as sharp a ledge at the head. Either way though it really is a shame how heavy this is compared to the real thing. As for the night watchman I'll definitely see what I can do. I have a buddy who just started shillelagh training and showed me where he's training so if possible I'd like to do that to be able to do a fair evaluation of the united cutlery. I can say already real practitioner say both the Cold Steel and United Cutlery are too heavy compared to the real thing.
Not quite. It's twice the weight it's supposed to weigh. If you're really interested in how this compared there's a video of a legit shillelagh practitioner talking about both this and the night watchman vs a real shillelagh. Additionally look up any legit shillelagh groups and they'll suggest against the Cold Steel blackthorn.
Why didn't / don't you get a sharp knife and trim it up yourself to suit yourself?..make it your own ...Plenty wood there ....I wouldn't want the fake plastic handgrip though
I have the walking staff and it's just terrible. It's stuck in my garage gathering dust. I've just bought a blackthorn walking staff from a gentleman in Ireland and it's beautiful, well balanced and lovely to hold. Cold steel failed on their take in my opinion.
I agree 100%. I'm going to eventually just make my own shillelagh but that'll be a while. It's ridiculous that people are defending the Cold Steel version, it's twice the weight of the real thing so what's to defend? I like Cold Steel (I own more Cold Steel weapons than any other brand) but the Cold Steel blackthorn is an obvious swing and miss.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms uh lots of armies train and trained with heavier ones because it helps you gain strength and when you use the lighter ones you are faster but sure do your thang man … It’s not like your martial art will help you in a real world situation anyway . 😁
And I've traveled the path of training with heavier weapons as well, if you use your weapons long enough they all get heavy. Heavy weapons just tire you out faster and then you end up sacrificing form as a result which isn't productive training or you end up going to a lighter weapon anyways. Speak for yourself about martial arts not helping you in real life. If you feel your training won't help you than you haven't done enough repetition.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms i heard about training with lighter weapons for refining the form,and leaving the strenght training alone, but does that work with blunt weapons? I understand it on sabers and swords, but wouldn't be better to use a reasonably heavier one when talking about bludgeons, and so hitting harder? If you are not going for canne de combat of course.
It can. Don't get me wrong training with a heavier weapon can help but I am of the school of thought that if you want to gain strength than use your weapons longer enough and no matter what you'll gain strength especially if working with a training partner. I've done martial arts for almost 20 years now and I used to be of the thought of using heavier weapons but if you train right no matter what you'll eventually gain strength even with lighter weapons. Also if you use the heavier weapon so long that you are sacrificing form than in my opinion thats negative training that you aren't getting anything out of and also increases the likelihood of injury. An overly heavy weapon can damage tendons, I knew someone who tore her tendons in her wrist and what contributed to it was an overly heavy katana. I also used to know someone who used a splitting maul to gain strength for his katana, he'd end up using the splitting maul to the point that he got too used to it and his katana cuts looked more like he was using a splitting maul. Keep in mind with some weapons like the shillelagh part of what makes the strikes so devastating is speed, heavier weapons are harder to get moving as fast so you may actually lose power because of that especially when you watch how people who actually know how to use shillelagh. Properly weighted weapons respond better. Also one thing to consider is if you really want to gain strength wrist weights can also help or use dumbells to do wrist curls. Heavy weapons have their place but are overrated by those who don't understand the place of a heavy weapon and what annoys me is whenever someone says a weapon is too heavy people say to get stronger even when like in this case the Cold Steel blackthorn weighed twice as much as a historic shillelagh.
@@StudentOfWarCustoms my understanding is they were buried in mud for a couple months, then placed in the chimney over the winter for tempering, thus speeding up the curing time. When removed the soot was rubbed off creating a nice high sheen black finish. I'm using Osage orange for mine, even harder than blackthorn or iron wood...
Hmm, interesting. I'd be curious what the mud was for but I have heard about the chimney to cure it. Do you watch Francis McCaffrey? If not he's a professional shillelagh maker in Ireland and makes some really nice looking shillelagh.
Sorry but I'm not going to say a product is good when it's crap and I really don't know what you're defending here. The Cold Steel blackthorn is twice as heavy as it should be and the shaft shape sucks. I like Cold Steel and own more Cold Steel than any other brand but I'm not going to say a product is awesome when it's not.
Lol man you need to get some training. This weighs twice as heavy as it should and no serious shillelagh practitioner recommends these. So what exactly are you defending?
if i were you id maybe try to make a non- authentic shillelagh at home to train with and eventually buy an authentic one from a generational irish maker just to say you do have a legit one. @FrancisMcCaffery at McCaffery crafts has a particularly nice selection if youre interested.
Not a bad idea. I plan on eventually making my own shillelagh, I know it'll take a while to let the wood season but I make a lot of my own weapons. But yes Francis McCaffery does nice work, I'm subscribed to him.
You want to look up training Bata. It’s a smooth piece of wood with a round flat end to represent the murlan or knob. The murlan is the same diameter as the stick and is not round, just flat. It’s what most schools that teach shillelagh use for training-no thorns. Cold Steel has great stuff but they tend to exaggerate the features of a cultural weapon. Their barong is much longer, wider, and heavier than a barong you’d buy in the Philippines. I would imagine the the CS shillelagh is twice the diameter and twice the weight of an authentic Irish shillelagh.
