You can use any walking stick as a defense weapon.
Forget the caveman swing.  Grasp the stick in both hands, and push it towards your target.  Think thrust, not swing.  Accompanied by a loud yell, this is effective on people and animals.
If it's collapsible, collapse it.  Tends not to break this way.  
Guaranteed, you shove the end of a stick, pointed or not, into somebody or something, they will not want to play after one or two pokes.
Thrust and holler.