Swagger Stick

[wood714]

A friend that spent a couple years in Vietnam and Laos gave me this. Looks handmade, not sure if he or one of his friends made it, or if it was something the locals made and sold.

I think the rear shell casing is Twin Cities Ordnance 1954?

Still most cool. Pic should go big if ya click it.

 

[UncleEd]

Once saw a swagger stick made
up of 30.06 casings with a
30.06 bullet at the tip.

May be wrong but I believe swagger
sticks were frowned upon in the
U.S. Army, at least in the 1960s.
They were seen as a dumb
affectation.

 

[oink]

May be wrong but I believe swagger
sticks were frowned upon in the
U.S. Army, at least in the 1960s.
They were seen as a dumb
affectation.

Then that's obviously not a swagger stick. It's an instructional pointer for giving lectures or pointing out locations on large maps.

 

[JH1951]

We called them 'short timer sticks' as well as swagger sticks.
Those short on time to serve would carry them to promote jealousy among those that still had miles of time in front of them.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Don't think they ever caught on in the Army. Marine Corps Commandant David Shoup frowned on them-"if you feel the need of it, carry it." They disappeared during his tenure. A shortimer's stick or calendar would be marked off as each day passed.

 

[Valmet]

That’s def a conversation piece OP. And would certainly broaden someone’s horizons if clobbered with it.

 

[Onomea]

I have a sword cane that unscrews into two pieces for travel, or, the upper half, which contains the 17" sword, can be used as a swagger stick. Somehow, I've never felt like I'd be able to pull off a swagger stick though...





While not shown in the above pic, when used as a swagger stick there is a stainless steel cap that screws into the end.

 

[UncleEd]

Of course, if I were still
in the Army today, I'd have
to emulate the old time
British officers and carry
a cane---or maybe two.
Nah, a walker would be
better.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I’ve got a couple. None go in to two pieces. Interesting things . . .

I have a sword cane that unscrews into two pieces for travel, or, the upper half, which contains the 17" sword, be used as a swagger stick. Somehow, I've never felt like I'd be able to pull off a swagger stick though...





While not shown in the above pic, when used as a swagger stick there is a stainless steel cap that screws into the end.

 

[Rustyt1953]

My dad had a shillelagh that was given him by my great grandad. It was from Queenstown (present day Cobh), Ireland.

Mom has it displayed over her mantel.

 

[wood714]

Don't think they ever caught on in the Army. Marine Corps Commandant David Shoup frowned on them-"if you feel the need of it, carry it." They disappeared during his tenure. A shortimer's stick or calendar would be marked off as each day passed.

He never was in the armed forces. Was contracting for an alphabet agency.

 

[Tom Kent]

When I was in the Marine Corp ("64-'68) they had fallen out of favor. We had a SgtMajor who carried one. It, and everything else he had, was either given to him by a past commandant or by someone who almost made commandant. We used to joke about the commandant giving him the skivies he wore. He would show up at formations with his swagger stick.

 

[swsig]

As a professor, I never had a swagger stick, but I had the next best thing, a Chalk Chuck:

I wielded it like a ninja, rapidly filling the blackboard with exciting concepts like multiple regression, which thrilled students for years. Apparently the the sight of my burnished Chalk Chuck flashing through the university's classrooms was too much for some administrators, as they replaced the traditional blackboards with whiteboards, forcing me to switch to ordinary felt-tip dry erase markers. It was never the same once I had to give up my aluminum symbol of academic authority, and I retired a few years later.

Long Live the Chalk Chuck!

 

[LoboGunLeather]

I remember one made with a .50 BMG cartridge case, wooden rod, and .50 BMG bullet at the tip. It was displayed in a HQ office, not carried around.

In about 1969 a popular "war trophy" was a AK-47 rifle cut completely in half down the center, one side mounted on a teak-wood plank. The aviation maintenance shop did those using an industrial band saw. Usually made up as parting gifts for higher-ranking officers and senior non-coms.

"Short timer sticks" were pretty common, usually during the final month of a soldier's tour of duty. Remaining time was referred to as "____ days and a wake-up" until a guy could "go back to The World". The Short Timers were strongly envied!

Local Vietnamese craftsmen were very creative with such things, custom orders or mass produced for sale by kids hanging around GI base camps. Just about anything could be had for a couple of bucks.

At one time my unit had an assigned Vietnamese interpreter. Sergeant Tranh was a true wheeler-dealer on our behalf; whatever one of our guys wanted would be produced. I'm sure Tranh supplemented his salary substantially from the trade.

 

[paplinker]

As a professor, I never had a swagger stick, but I had the next best thing, a Chalk Chuck:

I welded it like a ninja, rapidly filling the blackboard with exciting concepts like multiple regression, which thrilled students for years. Apparently the the sight of my burnished Chalk Chuck flashing through the university's classrooms was too much for some administrators, as they replaced the traditional blackboards with whiteboards, forcing me to switch to ordinary felt-tip dry erase markers. It was never the same once I had to give up my aluminum symbol of academic authority, and I retired a few years later.

Long Live the Chalk Chuck!

If only you could have held on until the lazer pointer came out

 

[jimmyj]

If I had a choice between the swagger stick and a sword, I would choose a sword

 

[Bro. Dave]

Professor SWSIG that chalk chuck sure stimulated some memories for me! Before teaching college freshmen, I spent some time teaching fifth grade students. I was in a small school and we had two sections of fifth graders.

The other teacher taught Reading and Spelling and I taught Math to both classes, then we each taught our "own" classes the other curricula. I would go through a full stick of chalk every day while teaching so-called long division.

When the white marker boards came along, I never learned to love them and the markers all seemed to dry out too quickly.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

As a professor, I never had a swagger stick, but I had the next best thing, a Chalk Chuck:

I wielded it like a ninja, rapidly filling the blackboard with exciting concepts like multiple regression, which thrilled students for years. Apparently the the sight of my burnished Chalk Chuck flashing through the university's classrooms was too much for some administrators, as they replaced the traditional blackboards with whiteboards, forcing me to switch to ordinary felt-tip dry erase markers. It was never the same once I had to give up my aluminum symbol of academic authority, and I retired a few years later.

Long Live the Chalk Chuck!

Well, if you had tenure, you shoulda just gone to Lowes and got some chalkboard paint and voila! those white boards are now blackdoards

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Professor SWSIG that chalk chuck sure stimulated some memories for me! Before teaching college freshmen, I spent some time teaching fifth grade students. I was in a small school and we had two sections of fifth graders.

The other teacher taught Reading and Spelling and I taught Math to both classes, then we each taught our "own" classes the other curricula. I would go through a full stick of chalk every day while teaching so-called long division.

When the white marker boards came along, I never learned to love them and the markers all seemed to dry out too quickly.

Another problem with dry markers is that you couldn't throw then at non performers like you could sling a piece of chalk. I learned ar a very young age how to dodge those

 

[Yaworski]

as they replaced the traditional blackboards with whiteboards

When they were building my kids' middle school, white boards were installed as an "improvement" over chalkboards. I opined that kids would steal the markers and it would a major problem. "Oh no, that won't happen." Guess what complaint I heard from the teachers?

 

[swsig]

When they were building my kids' middle school, white boards were installed as an "improvement" over chalkboards. I opined that kids would steal the markers and it would a major problem. "Oh no, that won't happen." Guess what complaint I heard from the teachers?

That's the truth. When I'd go to the blackboard equipped classrooms, there was always chalk to stick in my beloved Chalk Chuck. When whiteboards were installed, I'd find working markers only about half the time. They were either dried out or missing altogether. I finally had to lug my own markers to class. Oh, the horror!

 

[Eltioloco]

http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=604656&stc=1&d=1670792385

This was a swagger stick that my father was given, sometime in the early 50's, while he was Company Commander of the local National Guard unit. It was made from a .50 caliber shell casing and bullet with a carbine round on a yellow (armored cav) line.
Ken

 

[Muley Gil]

The Marine major assigned to my Navy/Marine ROTC unit in 1972 carried a swagger stick. He had been an artillery captain in Viet Nam.

 

[wood714]

The Marine major assigned to my Navy/Marine ROTC unit in 1972 carried a swagger stick. He had been an artillery captain in Viet Nam.

I love stuff that used or carried during the Vietnam war.

My friend gave me his PRU patch, his knife, a 20mm shell casing, and the swagger stick.

Looked on eBay for stuff, but you can't be sure it was ever there.

I've read every book, and watched every documentary on that war...the ones the people that was there told. Nothing by the government.

I guess because it was kinda close to me. I graduated high school in 1975.