WW1 British Officers Weighted Leather Covered Malacca Cane Riding Crop or Cosh

Here on offer is an excellent example of a WW1 British officers weighted Malacca cane, leather covered riding crop also used as a cosh.

During WW1, heavy-duty riding crops featuring weighted or reinforced leather ends, often colloquially termed 'cosh whips' or 'loaded crops', were carried by British cavalry officers and military dispatch riders. Some were also known as Malacca Cane Hunting Crops.

Cavalry officers and riders utilized crops to guide horses, open gates, and occasionally to swat at obstacles or ward off enemy infantry.

Motorcycle dispatch riders used them for dodging enemy lines in altered French terrain, the weighted crop doubled as an effective, easily deployable self-defence weapon during close-quarters encounters.

It also frequently doubled as a heavy-ended striking tool (sometimes referred to historically as a cosh) during WW1 trench or close-quarters combat encounters.

They were constructed using a strong and resilient core, such as a Malacca cane or bamboo. This would then be expertly cladded in brown or black English leather.

Malacca cane is a light, strong stem from an Asian rattan palm (Calamus scipionum). It gets its name from the port city of Malacca in Malaysia. The cane is famous for a spotted or clouded brown pattern caused by mud splashes during the monsoon season.

On this example, the main core shaft is made from Malacca cane that is wrapped and secured in dark brown English leather, at the top and bottom.

It has a wooden leather covered domed pommel which has been loaded with lead or metal weighting to add heft, and they have added a lot! It weighs 455g!

At the bottom, it has thick leather loop or tongue known as a keeper. This is now quiet stiff and fragile and looks to have been repaired/reinforced at some point with a thin section of leather on the inside. It could do with some leather softener being applied to avoid any further cracking.

Overall, this crop is in excellent condition, with just the keeper being stiff and the pommel has lost some of its leather covering through use.

It measures 23.5” (59.7cm) long, including the tongue which measures 5.5” (14cm) and it weighs a heavy 455g!

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Many thanks for taking the time to look.

Code: 52428