It differs from the distaff (5)
I believe the answer is:
spear
'the distaff' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
'it differs' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'it' could be 'e' ('e' can mean 'electronic' which is similar to 'IT') and 'e' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'spar' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'from' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spear that I've seen before include "Asparagus shoot" , "stick" , "Weapon; asparagus stem" , "Simple weapon" , "Thrown weapon" .)