Tomahawk as a tool or weapon ...
- Thread starter SharpDog
- Start date
- Status
AlexanderA
Member
Back many years ago when I was doing French & Indian War reenacting, I carried a tomahawk in the sword frog. It seemed like a substitution that a lot of troops on the frontier would have made. In my case, as a reenactor, it was useful as a camping tool.
Rev War, comparatively speaking, was more "civilized."
Rev War, comparatively speaking, was more "civilized."
Well, I wasn't gonna do it but I did anyways. I got a Winkler 'hawk. It was the least expensive Winkler model but still high.
It looks more useful than I thought. Some uses not mentioned in this thread that I can see.
1. The blade is well-suited for skinning larger game if you choke up on the handle of course.
2. The spike looks good for making holes in materials such as wood and leather, possibly for breaking up hard ground as well for digging.
It is a little too heavy for constant carry but it is lighter than an axe so I can see it has usefulness (e.g. hunting with a pack).
It looks more useful than I thought. Some uses not mentioned in this thread that I can see.
1. The blade is well-suited for skinning larger game if you choke up on the handle of course.
2. The spike looks good for making holes in materials such as wood and leather, possibly for breaking up hard ground as well for digging.
It is a little too heavy for constant carry but it is lighter than an axe so I can see it has usefulness (e.g. hunting with a pack).
Not all Soldiers get bayonet training. It's mostly an aggression exercise, in any case. Modern repeating firearm have eliminated the main reason bayonets were created. Most Soldiers don't take bayonets out with them while deployed. I remember laughing at the one LT I saw with a bayonet on his belt, on my first deployment (I was infantry at the time), and even heard some jokes about carrying my 5.5" bladed Shane Justice.
So now how do we carry the Tomahawk so that it can be readily accessible. The handle is 'on the wrong end' to carry it as conventional belt carry, you would have to squat or kneel to grab the handle. This is doo-able and not out of the question, but there may be better ways,
One of these ways is scout carry where you carry the hawk horizontally across the small of your back. Here it is out of the way, easy to deploy and does not interfere too much with other stuff you may be carrying on your back. There would be some risk of injury if you fell on your back,
It seems most people use baldrics where the 'hawk is carried similarly to a short sword using a leather frog. IMHO these methods suffer from the problem that an axe is generally arried with the 'head' or 'tip' upward while a sword is generally carried with the tip down. For a sword, this placed the sword handle near your hand whine for an axe, the handle is lower, maybe down around your knee. Not ideal.
In my current experiment I have repurposed a Maxpedition Remora sling pack which crosses my chest from upper right to lower left. I have attached the axe head in its sheath just under and inboard of my right shoulder so that the handle falls somewhat diagonally to between my legs. To draw the axe I merely need to free it using my left had and cross draw with my right.
Maybe some pictures tomorrow.
One of these ways is scout carry where you carry the hawk horizontally across the small of your back. Here it is out of the way, easy to deploy and does not interfere too much with other stuff you may be carrying on your back. There would be some risk of injury if you fell on your back,
It seems most people use baldrics where the 'hawk is carried similarly to a short sword using a leather frog. IMHO these methods suffer from the problem that an axe is generally arried with the 'head' or 'tip' upward while a sword is generally carried with the tip down. For a sword, this placed the sword handle near your hand whine for an axe, the handle is lower, maybe down around your knee. Not ideal.
In my current experiment I have repurposed a Maxpedition Remora sling pack which crosses my chest from upper right to lower left. I have attached the axe head in its sheath just under and inboard of my right shoulder so that the handle falls somewhat diagonally to between my legs. To draw the axe I merely need to free it using my left had and cross draw with my right.
Maybe some pictures tomorrow.
entropy
Member
I have a Swiss surplus small Pick/Mattock in my truck, as well as two small hatchets, and three machetes. The mouse 'hawk and bearded axe are in my room, along with my swords. Eventually they will be joined by a Dane Axe. I have used the mouse 'hawk and the bearded axe trimming trees, though since SWMBO bought herself a cordless electric chainsaw, I've been using that.
My SOG Kukri was actually faster at lopping limbs off trees than either axe.
They same way the Franks and Vikings carried theirs; shoved into the belt or in a ring hung from the belt or sword baldric. It can be drawn up with either hand; if with the off hand, the strong hand grabs the lower haft as it clears the belt. If drawn by the strong hand, pull up and out, slide hand down haft. With a little practice, either can be done fairly fast. (it took me about 15 minutes practicing doing so for a Renaissance weapons demonstration.)
As for the Warhammer, it relies on the thin 'spike' to penetrate the gaps in plate armor where only mail or a buff coat (thick leather) or padded gambeson were worn. The hammer side was used to break bones (skulls usually) under plate armor.
Last edited:
theotherwaldo
Member
I do have one of these on my wall.
It's not very useful, though, unless you're trying to escape from an aluminum fuselage... .
It's not very useful, though, unless you're trying to escape from an aluminum fuselage... .
If you were dedicated enough, I guess you could get a hard sheath covering the cutting face (if you have a 'hawk with a hammer poll or flat face, as God intended). You then could carry it handle up or down, or on your body armor or pack.
John
Converted a former EDC Maxpedition Remora sling to a 'hawk carrier for hunting. The sling bag itself is about the size of a largish 'possibles pouch'. I added an ESEE 4p and a Leatherman Skeletool. As far as blades go that give me a small sharp in the Skeletool, a medium utility in the 4p and the 'hawk for a large blade. The 'hawk hangs in front across my chest from upper left to lower middle. All blades are fairly handy to access but I added paracord to keep them from moving around in the rig. The 4p is not quick access but the 'hawk is. The various other contents are a monocular, magnifier, lights, a sharpener, fire and med kits, water bottle and a fair amount of empty storage (about 2-4 AR mags worth or so) in the main pouch.
Attachments
syntaxerrorsix
Member
Melee weapons never go out of style 
I keep telling myself that I don't need another tomahawk or axe. I literally have a dozen of them sitting in a box by the fireplace that are mostly for throwing. However, the next time I am in Louisville, I just may have to grab an American Tomahawk Company hawk if I get the chance to pop in at One Stop Knife Shop, should Kevin have one on hand.
There is just something about the Vietnam tomahawk that really speaks to me.
There is just something about the Vietnam tomahawk that really speaks to me.
Just got an inexpensive set of Damascus from Nooraki. They are Australian. The fit & finish on the 3" axe is great, the knife is a little rough but handles well. About $60 each.
The axe looks like it is functional but IDK about the quality of the forging. Its handle is hickory. The knife is decorative and will be used as a house knife.
Nooraki has a lot of pieces for sale on Amazon and ebay. Seems to be a small local manufacturer/assembler in Melbourne Australia using local meat packing by-products.
The axe looks like it is functional but IDK about the quality of the forging. Its handle is hickory. The knife is decorative and will be used as a house knife.
Nooraki has a lot of pieces for sale on Amazon and ebay. Seems to be a small local manufacturer/assembler in Melbourne Australia using local meat packing by-products.
Last edited:
Dunross
Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2018
- Messages
- 994
I've never really considered tomahawks before, but I was kicking round in the local Bass Pro today not finding anything I wanted and found this:
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/crkt-woods-chogan-t-hawk
Nice heft, goodly length, and a hammer poll.
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/crkt-woods-chogan-t-hawk
Nice heft, goodly length, and a hammer poll.
amd6547
Member
Just watched local video of a police officer rescuing a woman from a car sinking in a river, by smashing a window with a Vietnam style hawk handed to him by another officer...
That is a very popular Tomahawk. There is an entire thread devoted to the way folks have customized it on Blade Forum (which I can't find at the moment). Note that the sheath is extra.
Here is a link for the sheath:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00M7H0...olid=1D4MW57B0C4IV&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
I bought the tomahawk on the right in a web auction.It was describe by the seller as being the same model as the one on the left. The right hand hawk is from Gransfors bruks first historic axe collection and hand forged by, Ulrika Stridsberg. Hawk on the left is by Sam Ritter. When I received the hawk it was a bit grubby and had two small dinks on the edge. A half hours TLC and light touch up on the oil stone had it looking like it had just left the forge. I also got it for a very reasonable price.
entropy
Member
I like the francisca the the right of the Gransford Bruks......
Ah, the francisca. That was hand forged by Fredrik Thelin. Fredrik has a forge near Gränsfors and does freelance work for them. He has made a couple of the axes in Gränsfors latest historical axe collection. Last time I looked all their historical axe collection was sold out. I hope they have some new models for the new year.
The francisca has a great balance too it. I also have a smaller francisca forged by fredrik that is tomahawk size. Not forgetting the bearded fighting axe with a laminated edge.
I've a british trade axe coming from Fredrik, hopefully after Christmas. I like sharp chopping things
.I thought this was interesting but ultimately went for the Winkler. The thing that mainly put me off was the double-edged sharpening on the point. It seemed to be too overly tacticool for my tastes. What I do like it what appears to be case hardening on the 8670 steel. I researched the steel and it is a saw blade steel developed during WWII to ration nickel. Leather sheath.
It is available on a few websites:
SVVTH SVORD VON TEMPSKY HAWK:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SVOVTH/svord-vth-von-tempsky-hawk-wood-handles-leather-sheath
It is available on a few websites:
SVVTH SVORD VON TEMPSKY HAWK:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/SVOVTH/svord-vth-von-tempsky-hawk-wood-handles-leather-sheath
Sorry to be that killjoy, but they ship from a seller in Australia but are Pakistani. Looking over the Nooraki knives on Ebay and Amazon that's what I thought their origins were so I found the seller and corresponded with him. He's in Australia, but family runs the operation in Pakistan. He's very proud of what they're doing and didn't dodge the question unlike some sellers.
Last edited:
Dunross
Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2018
- Messages
- 994
Some good info over there: https://www.bladeforums.com/search/121264688/?q=CRKT+Woods+Chogan&o=date&c[node]=768
I'm going to have to try that cider vinegar bluing trick.
Brutuskend
Member
I just picked one up to use for barrel support with my scoped muzzle loader. Figured I could plant it in a tree and use the top of the blade, which I wrapped in leather to help steady the rifle for long shots.Here is a pic. before I wrapped the blade.
Last edited:
I just bought a Cold Steel Trailhawk with some Amazon fun-bux i got for Christmas. I had one years ago but lost the head in a move. I bought it for two reasons: One I'm not sure when we will see affordable beater-grade tomahawks on the market again. It seems the buying group of Cold Steel isn't really interested in the "weird stuff" and that LT held onto that part with the sale of the company. Im sure there is a non-compete or at the very least logistical issues to get over. Two, I have a light hiking trip to the mountains coming up in a couple of months and wanted a small and light hawk to ride on my belt. I plan on cutting it down to about 12-13". The 2" cutting edge doesn't require a lot of handle anyway.
I plan on wrapping the whole handle in Fiber Fix to make it more durable and weather proof. Should end up with a bombproof cutting/hammering tool and I have a modular swivel sheath/holster design in my head to keep it secure yet handy.
I plan on wrapping the whole handle in Fiber Fix to make it more durable and weather proof. Should end up with a bombproof cutting/hammering tool and I have a modular swivel sheath/holster design in my head to keep it secure yet handy.
- Status
