For those who have been looking at the Robaina Raven aluminum cane but are not sure they want to plunk down $170 plus shipping, you may want to look at the KaBar aluminum cane. The Robaina Raven was actually developed by the Tactical Defense Institue in Ohio and was called the TDI cane. Robaina bought some and marketed it as the Raven. The KaBar cane, which sells for $79 at Knife Center, appears to be the same thing as the original TDI cane, or the first generation Robaina Raven if you prefer to call it that. I received mine today and was quite impressed with the quality. I believe the main difference between the first and second generation canes is that the second generation has scallops on the shaft to help you hold onto it instead of the knurling, which can be a little hard on the hands if you don't wear gloves.
Does the ka-bar have knurling at the top and bottom or just the top? Hard to tell from the KnifeCenter pic. -Nathan
I noticed that two of the reviews were done by a "Tower" out of California. I wondered if one was our Tower.
I have both. The Raven is nicer but not worth the price differential. The Raven is now $200 and the Ka-Bar is still about $80 if you shop around. The Ka-Bar is 6 oz. heavier, but the weight is much more concentrated in the handle (with the canes cut to 36", the balance point of the Raven is 20.5" above the tip, the Ka-Bar balance point is 24" above the tip). The Ka-Bar's supposed powder coat looks like black glossy spray paint with several noticeable dings out of the box; the Raven powder coat is much nicer with a sand texture and matte finish. The Ka-Bar knurling is REALLY sharp to the point of rendering the grips unusable. The Raven is lighter, better balanced, more nicely coated, and has better-positioned, more practical and effective grips.
The Ka-Bar cane is in the news, not in a good way. The story linked below was picked up verbatim by several news sites. "Internet sleuths" (i.e. amateur detectives who did not witness the event) pour over social media video to "doxx" people they don't know to ruin their lives. In this case, they not only claimed to identify a couple of people, but they specified the cane model by name, insinuating it is solely a weapon, not a mobility aid. The article quotes a civil suit filed by the widow of an officer who committed suicide a week and a half after the protest: "...said website appears to show Defendant [NAME] with the weapon used to assault Officer Smith. Upon information and belief, the weapon appears to be the Ka-Bar TDI ‘self-defense’ cane..." https://theohiostar.com/2021/09/08/commentary-new-january-6-stories-that-complicate-the-media-narrative/
Personal security devices & self defense sub forum was created for weapons that were not guns several years ago. This sub forum is odd in that it doesn’t really belong with any of the other forums.
This is the big problem with the so called self defense items that smack of a little wanna be concrete commando. The cops, lawyers, prosecutors are not dumb, and they get all the memo's on combat canes, jaw jackers, and all plastic daggers that are designed to go though metal detectors. In the end, they won't do anything that a normal cane/walking stick will do, and the covert kubotons won't do anything a AA Mini Mag won't do. And the flashlight will at least light up your way in the night. An all steel pen like a Zebra 701 or Cross will mess up an eye, mastoid gland, as well as a high dollar "tactical" pen and go through TSA and court house security better. Use normal ev eryday objects in place of the wanna be mall ninja junk and you'll be better off.
