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THBPepper Bamboo Sword Cane
About Seller
125 West Market Street
Johnson City, TN 37604
United States
Family-owned and family-run Johnson City Tennessee auction business for 25 years. Selling antiques and collectables for 38 years. Kimball M. Sterling, Inc. was founded and is owned by Kimball and Victoria Sterling, time and again, they have laid solid claim to world-wide attention and renown with an...Read more
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About Auction
LiveJan 3, 2026
Masterpiece Cane auction is all from a Europeon collection. We offer items from this private collection about once a year, Kimball Sterling kimballsterling@earthlink.net
View Full Catalog (89)
- Lot Description
Ca. 1880
It is fashioned from a single shoot of pepper bamboo, with a natural bulb knob and a metal ferrule.
A push button discreetly embedded in the shaft, 4” down from the top, disengages the lock to release a 13” tall, diamond-shaped, linear-tapering steel blade with a redoubtable sharp tip. The hand-forged, stiff blade, with a plain surface that enhances its sleek profile, shows a now-faded blue finish with a panel of delicate sprays and scrolls.
Notable is the locking mechanism, which still operates with the same smoothness and accuracy as a Swiss watch and with the frequently required but infrequently happening, somehow sensual, click.
Hidden in plain sight, a very discreet profile marks this light and sturdy cane, and the high degree to which its nature is disguised boosts its appeal. It enjoys the merits of its original integrity and a superb patina, coupled with a great sense of age.
H. 4 ½” x 1 ¼”, O.L. 36”
$700-$900
Sword and dagger canes clearly demonstrate how the gadget walking stick could be made deadly. Since cane fighting became a popular way for men to settle arguments in the 19th century, these gadget canes grew increasingly popular. Tools of intrigue, they were favored by diplomats, spies, and rogue scholars.
Here are two entertaining stories about sword canes, yet on the edge of legend.
• A sword cane once belonging to John Waggoner (1758–1842) is in the Rutherford
B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio.
According to family lore, it was presented to Waggoner by George Washington, in honor of his service in Washington’s Life Guard during the American Revolutionary War.
Unfortunately, no definitive proof has been confirmed.
The cane was crafted so the sword could slide out from the handle when needed.
Whether fact or fanciful, the idea of Washington personally bestowing a hidden blade is certainly evocative.
• Recently seen in a private cane museum in Vienna, with blade similarities to this one.
Exhibit 27-B: “The Valonne Cane”, France, c. 1850.
Carved walnut walking cane concealing a steel dueling blade.
Belonged to Count Émile Valonne, diplomat and alleged French spy.
Used during the “Schönbrunn Masquerade Incident” (Vienna, 1853).
The lion’s head grip activates the hidden release mechanism.
Inscription : “Pour l’honneur, jamais vu,” For honor, never seen.
Recovered from a private collection in Lausanne, 1981 and said to have
carried both steel & secrets. Currently under protective glass, for your safety.
Cane Sword: A Hidden Weapon of Elegance and Stealth
The handwritten letter in the background is not included in the lot.
It was only used for decoration.
The idea was inspired by the display of the mentioned cane in Vienna alongside handwritten papers from the mentioned Congress.
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