Mechanical Spear

[Jim McDougall]

Well Queequeg you always come up with fascinating topics!
As you have already noted, the brandistock seems to have been a polearm type version of the sword stick used in both civilian and sometimes military or police sectors from 16th to 19th c.
As noted, these operated on a movement initiated extension, but whether any used some sort of mechanical propulsion is anybody's guess.

It seems that arms curiosa and combination weapons have been around for quite some time, but typically were rather 'one-off' except for the well known swords and daggers fitted with pistol barrels which seem quite common in variations.

I suppose it would be worthwhile to consider in what context would such a concealed spear be advantageous. Most concealed arms, such as sword sticks etc. seem to be for use in metropolitan settings where an attack or confrontation would be likely in narrow streets or alleys . In these confined settings it would seem that such a lengthy item would be more of a nuisance, much like a lance in close quarters melee.

In any case, it will be interesting to discover whether anyone has heard of such a 'brandistock' with mechanical apparatus for deploying its blade.
What piqued your interest in this particular anomaly?

[Queequeg]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

In any case, it will be interesting to discover whether anyone has heard of such a 'brandistock' with mechanical apparatus for deploying its blade.
What piqued your interest in this particular anomaly?

Actually, I was out hiking when some feral dogs decided to posture up to me.

A few swings with my (sadly normal) hiking stick and some loud yelling on my part was enough to drive them off, but I was thinking about what a plus a spear point at the push of a button could have been.

It got me thinking that a humble traveler in the late Renaissance or Enlightenment Age might have had something similar, allowing him to travel with a low profile but have a proverbial ace up his sleeve.