>>63930439
The original idea was that striking someone with a small hard object that is otherwise innocuous can still magnify the force of impact. Sound in theory, no one wants to get a wood or metal peg slammed into their skull icepick style, and there's little you could carry less obtrusive than a simple rod tough enough to withstand the impact. There were other niche things you could do with one but it was primarily just "something hard enough to hurt more than your hand" Obviously the bottom of the barrel in terms of a weapon, but able to increase harm and easy to carry at least.

The bullshit evolved from there to what we hear about today.