How to make a tomahawk from an ax with your own hands. Tactical tomahawk, or army battle ax - the choice of professionals? Advantages of handicraft production. The better a forged tomahawk

07.03.2020

The Tomahawk is a simple yet effective hand-to-hand combat weapon that was used with great success in hand-to-hand combat in the past. But for the average person of today, tomahawks can also be used for household chores, such as trimming the limbs of animals and birds, or chopping bushes in the garden. Ordinary axes for working with one hand are somewhat heavy, but a homemade tomahawk will be just right. Yes, and as a sports equipment it will also be very relevant. Here is a guide to create your own throwing tomahawk, roughly based on the North American Indian tomahawk model. In one of the articles, we have already considered the hot forging method, but now, we will analyze how to make a tomahawk in the simplest way.

Simple technology for making a tomahawk

First you need to find a piece of sheet iron with a thickness of 4.7 mm to 6.35 mm, and a size of 10 cm by 12.5 cm among domestic steel scrap. industrial goods stores. The steel sheet should not be too heavy, but not too light.

Make a mark on the plate: 8.89 cm high by 12.5 cm wide, with a radius as shown in the picture. You can make the curvature from the blade to the butt arbitrary, it does not matter. In the picture, by the way, the dimensions are in inches.

To save time and effort, cut the tomahawk blade blank using a grinder or a gas cutter. If there is neither one nor the other, then in the old fashioned way, use a vise and a hand saw for metal.

Now, using an emery machine (stationary or manual), tomahawk.

Next, we need a piece of steel pipe, which we will saw off to fit the blunt edge of the tomahawk blade. Next, using a welding machine, carefully weld the tomahawk blade to the middle of the pipe. At the same time, try to match the axial ratio of the edge of the tomahawk blade and the center of the pipe as accurately as possible so that your throwing tomahawk does not look crooked.

After you've welded the blade to the tube that will serve as the handle's sleeve, clean the weld.

Next, we need to find a handle for the handle. You can use cuttings of hillers, shovels, etc. for this. In principle, when choosing a pipe for a handle fastening coupling, you must immediately take into account the diameter of the pipe so that you can choose a handle of the required diameter under it, which would fit very tightly into it.

To keep the handle firmly in the tomahawk, we do as follows. We saw off a piece 43 centimeters long from the handle. We cut an internal thread in the pipe and screw the prepared handle into it, holding the tomahawk blade in a vice. Now the handle will definitely not go anywhere and will not loosen when thrown.

Those who do not have a threading tool can make it even easier. Drill a couple of holes in the pipe and fit the handle. Then screw the screws into these holes, thereby firmly securing the handle in the tomahawk.

It remains to finally polish the tomahawk handle, treat it with an antiseptic or oil, and sharpen the tomahawk blade to razor sharpness. If you wish, you can burn out drawings on the handle, and then soak it with oil. Special antiseptic oils are sold, but ordinary sunflower oil can be used for this. This is done in the following way. The handle is soaked in sunflower oil and dried in a very hot oven. Then it is soaked again and again “fried” in the oven. After such processing, no moisture and rotting will not be terrible for her. The tomahawk blade can also be subjected to some kind of processing, for example, bluing. Good luck!

It will be possible to give someone as a valuable gift or even sell. And everything is collected from the available materials, which you can probably find at home. As a basis, the author used the most common hatchet, with which we all chop firewood. Moreover, you can use an old and no longer suitable ax.

The made ax is hardened, so it will be strong and will remain sharp for a long time. So, let's take a closer look at how to make such a hatchet!

Materials and tools used

List of materials:
- axe;
- wooden beam (for the handle);
- leather, cord, feathers and stronger (for decoration);
- wood impregnation oil;
- wedge;
- bolt and nut (to make a hammer).

List of tools:
- Bulgarian;
- vice;
- a hammer;
- blacksmith's furnace and hardening oil;
- metal files and sandpaper;
- welding machine;
- grinder;
- pickling acid;
- planing machine;
- hacksaw for metal;
- sewing accessories.

Hatchet making process:

Step one. Cut out the main profile
As a starting material, we need an ordinary ax. We knock out the handle from it and clean it from rust, if necessary. Next, take a marker and draw the desired hatchet profile that you want to get. That's all, you can start cutting. We clamp the ax in a vise and arm ourselves with a grinder.

Step two. Change mounting hole
We need to make the mounting hole into which the ax handle is hammered round, so the hatchet will become more beautiful, and it will not remind us of an ordinary ax. For such purposes, you will need a forging furnace, the metal will need to be heated to a red glow. Next, we hammer a wedge of a suitable diameter into the hole so that the hole becomes round.

Step three. Rough grinding
Next, we proceed to rough grinding to form the main profile. The author installed a thick grinding disc on the grinder and got to work. You can also process some areas on a grinding machine. You will need to work manually, here we will need files. The author made the grooves on the blade manually with round files.

Step four. Ax head
A small hammer is mounted on the butt of the hatchet. It gives weight to the ax, and they can also hammer something if necessary. To make this hammer, we need a suitable nut and bolt. These parts must be made of high quality carbon steel, then they can be hardened. First of all, we weld the nut to the bolt, and then cut off the excess. That's all, now the resulting figovina needs to be polished to make a hammer. Later we will weld it to the axe.

Step five. Ax finish grinding
We weld the previously made hammer to the ax and carefully grind the weld to make the product monolithic. We carry out finer processing with sandpaper. Next, the hatchet will be hardened, so we must remove all gross defects, since then it will be much harder to do this.

Step six. heat treatment
We proceed to heat treatment, as a result of simple manipulations we will get a strong, durable ax that will serve us for many years. First, the author normalizes the metal to remove internal stresses. This is done so that the ax does not deform during hardening. We heat the product to a red glow and let it cool in the air. That's all, now you can temper, heat and cool. The author separately hardened the blade and the hammer separately.

After hardening, we check the metal, trying to scratch it with a file. If there are no scratches, then the steel is hardened. But that's not all, we need to release the metal, otherwise it will be brittle. For such purposes, you need a household oven, we send the blade into it and heat it at a temperature of at least two hours. We determine whether the vacation turned out by color. The metal should be a golden or straw color. That's all, now we have a quality ax!

Step six. Etching
To make the ax dark in color and not afraid of rust, etching can be performed. But before that, the metal must be cleaned of oxide. Here, sandpaper dipped in water will help us. Well, then we immerse the ax in the reagent and wait for the acid to do its job. After that, it remains only to wash the hatchet well under running water. It will not be superfluous to use detergents. To make everything look good, you can perform light polishing.

Step seven. Manufacturing and installation of an ax handle
You can start making an ax handle, here we need a wooden block. The author first walked through it with a planer, and then cut out the main profile with a grinder. When the ax is perfectly fitted to the ax, you can install it. Here we need a hacksaw and a steel wedge. We hammer in the wedge, cut off the excess. Ideally, the ax should be hammered in with carpentry glue, then it will always be securely fixed, regardless of the moisture content of the wood.

Step eight. We decorate the hatchet
To decorate the ax, we need leather. We cut out the desired piece, glue and sew the workpiece. Subsequently, the author installs feathers, beads and other details.

In addition, the handle is decorated with interesting patterns. First we draw them with a pencil, and then we burn them out. You can burn it with a burner or just a hot piece of iron. Such a pattern looks beautiful and is not erased.

We could not afford to just leave this topic, and decided to figure out in detail what it is - tactical tomahawk Where did it come from and where is it used? You will be surprised, but the tomahawk as a special tactical weapon exists in the armies of the world almost in the mid-50s.

History of the tomahawk

The Tomahawk is an extremely unusual weapon for its pale-faced brethren. Having a huge history, this type of edged weapons remains a highlight supplied to the troops in small batches. But this unusual weapon today, he is increasingly winning the hearts of the military as a convenient and practical weapon for close combat. Why? Let's go back to history...

Tomahawk(tomahawk in English), or in other words "battle ax" is a cold weapon used by the Indians of North America.

A real Indian tomahawk looked completely different from what we used to see them in films about Indians. However, he is not even "Indian". In pre-Columbian America, the word "tomahawk" (tomahiken, tomehogan, tummahakan, tomahak, tumahguac, etc.) denoted a club with a pointed stone tip, which often served simultaneously as a smoking pipe. So, during the war - a weapon, in peacetime - a pipe of peace. And the very name of the hatchet "tomahawk" in general, in fact, is not Indian, but rather European. It comes from an English transliteration of the term in various Eastern Algonquian languages. Initially, this was the name of a variety of combat clubs and clubs, later - small iron, bronze or brass axes on a straight handle. Used by the natives of America as a melee weapon and for throwing.

white man's gift

The Indians did not initially use tomahawks en masse in combat or hunting, as we are used to seeing in feature films. It was the Europeans who brought iron axes to the American continent, which made an indelible impression on the locals and became one of the most popular goods: the natives gladly exchanged them for furs. Tomahawks were produced right there or imported from Europe.

Those that got to the Indians from Europe were steel, slightly modernized

battle axes of the British Marines.

The Indians turned iron tomahawk axes from a working tool into a formidable weapon. They were used in close combat, they learned to throw them with amazing skill, while the Indians were taught to fight with a tomahawk by European settlers who owned the technique of using an ax during a boarding battle. The natives of America turned out to be very diligent students, and soon trained Indian warriors threw the tomahawk at a distance of up to 20 meters, while accurately hitting the target. At the same time, the Indians appreciated the white man’s new weapon, because in close combat the tomahawk was more convenient than a knife and a spear, since even a weak person could inflict a terrible wound due to the lever handle, for example, cut off a limb. Plus, due to the ax handle, not long and not short, it was easy to wield both in a dense crowd and in one-on-one fights.

Tomahawks were used not only in war, but also in hunting - to finish off wounded animals.

The preferences of certain forms of tomahawks by the Indians of different tribes changed over time and were determined by the proposal of the manufacturers. In the Missouri River region, until the middle of the 19th century, very wide, but with a relatively short handle, "Missouri battle axes" were popular. Another type, in the form of a spear or pick, often with decorative swirling processes at the base of the blade. This "spontaneous (spontaneous) tomahawk" came from a polearm of the same name, which was armed with sergeants in European armies.

To expand the market and increase demand, European blacksmiths tried to please the tastes of the natives: blade and handle decorations became more sophisticated and luxurious, more and more new original models were invented. For example, tomahawks were made for diplomatic purposes: with artistic engraving, inlaid with gold and silver. They were offered to Indian chiefs as gifts emphasizing peaceful intentions. The blades were made at first from simple iron, later from iron or brass with a steel insert of the cutting edge, from brass. On the butt (back side of the blade) they made a sharp spike, a hammer. The most popular were tomahawks with a hollow handle and a butt with a shank for smoking tobacco.

The Indians themselves began to master blacksmithing only at the beginning of the 19th century, but they preferred not to bother with ore mining and iron smelting, but most often they simply reforged the “iron scrap” of Europeans. They polished the handles, inlaid them with various materials, cut out and burned patterns, wrapped them with strips of leather or fabric, copper wire, and painted them. And, of course, various (often symbolic) decorations were attached: feathers, porcupine quills, pieces of fur, beads, hair, human scalps. Tomahawks become a symbol of power and status among the Indians by the middle of the 19th century. Dancing and ceremonial tomahawks had various suspensions at the end of the handle in the form of beaded leather triangles with fringe, bells, strips of cloth or fur. Round mirrors could be sewn onto the latter. Tomahawks became so ingrained in the spiritual culture of the North American Indians that even peace pipes, which were made from the sacred red stone of Minnesota, began to be made in the form of this battle hatchet. Gift and souvenir tomahawks-pipes had handles trimmed with silver, where even the silver mouthpiece was closed with a cap on a chain.

Vietnamese tomahawk by Peter LaGrana

The tomahawk was used by European settlers: hunters, pioneers and, until the middle of the 19th century, by the military, along with a “belt ax” (“half-axe”) close to it in terms of parameters. They were in service with American troops during the Revolutionary War, the wars of the North and South, and the "Indian" wars.

For a long time, this weapon was not remembered, considering it lagging behind and not effective, however Peter LaGana (Peter LaGana ), a true descendant of the Mohawk Indians, convinced the world otherwise. A former member of the Marine Corps, he took part in World War II. After the war, he taught hand-to-hand combat. However, in addition to teaching unarmed fighting techniques, he also taught the work of a tomahawk. Information about this reached the higher authorities, as a result of which in the winter of 1965 he was called to the Pentagon to demonstrate the potential of this weapon.

« Tomahawks themselves, even after playing a huge historical role during more than one hundred clashes between Indians and colonists, were used by soldiers of the American army in significant quantities during the Vietnam War in the period from 1966-1975 and gained fame as an indispensable tool and weapon for a fighter».

Despite the successful performance, the battle with the tomahawk was not included in the official training program for the US military. But Peter LaGana was already on fire with the idea of an army tomahawk and did not want to retreat. A few months later, he made his own tomahawk, which has a specially shaped head section that significantly increases the combat capabilities of the weapon.

The blade of the LaGan tomahawk on the butt had the most pointed shape and could pierce a Kevlar helmet or light body armor (which, alas, was not available to the knife). And thanks to its high penetrating power, coupled with its weight, the tomahawk inflicted serious damage, even if the blow was delivered from the elbow, without investing body weight in the blow. Consequently, it could be used in narrow passages and thickets, where the fighter simply did not have room to swing.

Interestingly, five of the seven edges of the sharp part of LaGan's tomahawk were sharpened, so a hit with a tomahawk along any trajectory inflicted a wound on the enemy. But the most amazing thing about this ax was its balance. Peter himself calmly threw any sharp object so that it stuck, but what was an unprepared fighter to do?

Peter LaGana offered to throw his tomahawk to unprepared people, mostly women and children. As a result, a total of 870 shots were made from a distance of 4.5 to 6 meters. After processing the data and making calculations, those proportions and weights were found that provided almost any person with a successful hit at such a range, even without special training.

Demonstration of the capabilities of the LaGrana tomahawk

The ax turned out to be so successful that the demand for it was hundreds of times higher than the supply. Therefore, LaGana opened his own company, the American Tomahawk Company, which on April 16, 1966 produced the first serial battle ax. Now LaGana offered the tomahawk to the Marines, and on October 3, 1966, at a military base in Quantico, Virginia, he conducted the most realistic demonstration of the capabilities of the new tomahawk ever held by the US military.

The first test consisted of confronting two Marines who were armed with rifles and bayonets. LaGana insisted that the protective scabbards be removed from the bayonets. A minute later, he disarmed both attackers, although he received a cut on his right hand, but he continued the demonstration anyway. Then LaGana disarmed the fighters with a machete, and in the third test he easily defeated the attacker with a knife. The possibility of chopping properties of the tomahawk was demonstrated on dummies.

At the end of the tests, he showed how easy and effective it is to throw a tomahawk, including at a moving enemy, for this his best friend Kon Novak put a wooden shield on his chest. Upon completion of the tests, all eighteen representatives of the Marine Corps, who were part of the commission, bought themselves tomahawks. But the response of the command of the US Marine Corps was the following: “ In order for the tomahawk to be accepted into service, it must replace one or more elements from the individual set of equipment of the Marine, so this weapon will not be accepted into service.».

However, thanks to the efforts of commissioned officers, the military was allowed to purchase tomahawks privately and carry them as weapons. Of the more than 4,000 tomahawks manufactured by the American Tomahawk Company before its closure in 1970, 3,820 were purchased by Marines in the Vietnam War. Thanks to this, LaGan's tomahawk was given the nickname "Vietnamese tomahawk".

Tomahawk in the modern army

It is interesting that the Soviet command considered the tomahawk as a weapon, however when conducting tests sapper shovel almost as effective as a battle ax, so it was decided to leave everything as it is.

Tomahawks resurface only during the US Operation Just Cause in Panama. There, gangsters of drug cartels actively used in hand-to-hand skirmishes not only machetes, but also battle axes, from which more than forty fighters were injured or killed. A light and maneuverable ax in dense thickets was several times more effective than a bayonet.

During the "Desert Storm" fighters are faced with the difficulty of entering the premises, the doors have to be broken into improvised means or blown up. The complaints of the fighters do not reach the command, or the command does not attach any importance to them. Therefore, soldiers wearing huge red fire axes were not uncommon.

Tomahawk VTAC

The tomahawk experiences a true revival only after 2000, this time already as a full-fledged element of the fighter's equipment. A year later, the American Tomahawk company, headed by Andy Prisco, begins to function again, which, with the support of the already elderly Peter LaGan, begins the mass production of the “Vietnamese Tomahawk” - VTAC.

The popularity of this ax exceeds all conceivable levels and a true boom in this weapon begins. However, major changes have been made to the design of the modern tomahawk, and are available in two versions:

tomahawks with handles consisting of a polymer that significantly reduces the weight of the ax, and the ax itself is made of tool steel;
tomahawks, which have a one-piece design, where the ax and ax handle are cut from a single sheet of metal.

The first version of the ax is more mobile, as it allows you to quickly and easily replace one blade with another, for example, with a different blade shape, and is also ideal in hand-to-hand combat as it is light, while the second option provides high structural strength and is more suitable for hard work. opening doors or breaking through barricades.

Since 2003 tomahawk VTAC along with a sledgehammer, wire cutters and a crowbar, it is included in the so-called Modular Entry Tool Set (a modular set of tools for penetration), which is included in the equipment of every detachment of the US Army Special Forces. In addition, VTAC tomahawks are included in the equipment of a number of infantry units and the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Also, the VTAC Tomahawk was assigned the state inventory number NSN 4210-01-518-7244, that is, it is included in the list of equipment approved for purchase by US government agencies. Tomahawks from other manufacturers also find their customers among military personnel and employees of various law enforcement agencies.

Prospects for the tomahawk as a tactical weapon

Currently, countless modifications of these axes (including the "Vietnamese" one) are produced by Western firms. Many modern models of axes with this name are designed for military use. Magnificent steel army tomahawks were widely used by the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But what did the military find in the tomahawk? Of course, first of all, its versatility. With an ax, you can perform a wide range of work, and not just demolish the heads of the enemy. The pointed spike on the butt of the tomahawk easily opens both metal barrels and truck tires reinforced with steel tapes. You can cut through the doors of houses, knock down locks, make holes in brick walls with a long spike, climb walls (rocks and trees) and simply use them for household needs and as a survival tool, along with the same tactical knives or "multitools".

Well, as a melee weapon, the tomahawk is several times superior to the usual bayonet-knife, especially when it is impossible or undesirable to shoot from a rifle or pistol (where ammunition or fuel depots are).

The most common modern tactical army tomahawks today weigh a little less than 500 g, the length of the handle is 14 cm, on the butt there is a pointed spike about 8 cm long, which can be used as a chisel when landing doors.

Of course, the tomahawk is a weapon that is not suitable for everyone and not for every occasion. But taking into account the need for a high skill in working with such weapons, and the opportunities that it gives, we can definitely say that the tomahawk is the choice of only professionals.

In this publication, I will tell you how to make a real tomahawk from an ordinary tomahawk, which are sold in large quantities at Internet auctions, and which do not differ in beauty and originality. tomahawk ax, with the blade of a real combat, battered ax.

Tomahawk modification

I once bought a mass-produced tomahawk overnight. I've always wanted to get one, and I stumbled across the site and found that they were really affordable. About $30 with shipping. And several different styles to choose from. I chose Cold Steel Trail Hawk.
It came in the mail and I was shocked at how boring it looked. So I decided to make a few changes. How beautifully everything turned out - you be the judge.

Step 1. Raw Materials

So this is what I got in the mail. Blade with a simple handle (I ordered a spare too). The ax blade is painted black. Like I said... boring.
The first step is to remove the blade from the handle. My model had a small hex bolt on the side of the blade. I found the right hex wrench and unscrewed it. Using a mallet, I removed the blade from the handle.

Step 2: Remove paint from the blade

So the first thing I did was remove the paint from the metal blade. I used a paint remover that I purchased from a hardware store. I smeared the metal with the compound and then wrapped it in plastic wrap. The paint was some kind of hard, but it completely disappeared after a few procedures.
Be careful with this composition - if it comes into contact with the skin - it causes a chemical burn!
After all the paint was off, I washed it with plain soap and water.

Step 3: Boil the Ax Blade in Vinegar

Yes, you read it right. I wanted to finish the blade so that it looks old. After searching the topic online, one of the easiest and least toxic methods I found was to simply boil it in white vinegar.
I don't have any photo of the ax before processing, but the ax was plain metal color. I boiled it in plain white vinegar for 20 minutes and the blade took on a black ashy coating.

WARNING: Boiling vinegar will fill your home with an indescribable odor. I didn't mind it, but my wife did!

I used an old camping kettle that was about to retire anyway.
Once the blade was cool, I used a regular kitchen sharpener to sharpen the blade. This gave brightness to the metal along the chamfers of sharpening.
Processing will also reveal marks and markings on the blade.
Some other finishing methods include the use of "blueing" or "phosphating". Heck, you can even just repaint the blade any color you want.

Step 4. Putting the blade on the handle

At this point, I noticed how the ax fits the handle. To be honest, it was done ugly - the sharp edges around the hole where the handle went through the blade left marks on the handle. I used a thin file and removed the excess metal around the hole.
I also used a sander, with fine sandpaper, to change the leading edge. This not only improved the look of the wide bevel, but also made the ax sharper.
I also sanded down the old grip finish and sanded the grip again to a high gloss finish. But keep in mind, you can not remove too much wood from the handle and metal from the hole - otherwise the blade will simply slip off the handle.

Step 5. With the handle on

At this point, I've sanded down the factory piece and intend to finish with the handle. I used my stain to get the deeper color I wanted. Two layers.
I also used a wood carving kit to draw the four direction ray symbol. But you could draw or cut out any character you like.
I would also like to have a lanyard hole at the end of the handle so that the tomahawk can be held more securely in the hand. I went to a hobby shop and bought a 1/4" OD brass tube. I drilled a 1/4 inch hole, cut a piece of pipe to match the length. I used a fine file and then just sandpaper to shape the brass so it was flush with the handle.
Once I did all that, I covered the handle with polyurethane varnish to give it a waterproof finish. Two layers. I used hangers as shown in the photo while I was applying the coat.
You can use a wide range of pen paint materials. There are various staining methods to add or change color. Inks, paints, etc. Instead of using varnishes, you can also coat the handle with various penetrating oils.

STEP 6. Finally all together.

After all the details have been well modified, it's time to put the ax on the handle. Slide the blade over the top of the handle until it feels tight. To get a snug fit, grab the handle directly under the axe. Now hit the base of the handle with a rubber or wooden mallet. This will land the ax on the handle. Further use will occur with this landing, so secure the blade with a screw and you're done!
Insert a lanyard or sling into the brass hole at the base of the handle, there are a great many of their options and varieties! Your tomahawk ready!

It is believed that the word "tomahawk", which gave the name to the ax, came from a mispronunciation of the Native American word "tamahakan" - a cutting object.

In pre-Columbian America, the Indians denoted by this word something like "a stone with an elongated shape, sharpened at both edges and mounted on a wooden handle." Yes, and this device did not look at all like it all looks in movies about Indians. And only with the discovery of America, the word "tomahawk" began to denote metal axes.

Characteristics and similarities of tomahawks

Ax blades have many shapes that roughly resemble a wide variety of axes from different eras or spearheads lying perpendicular to the shafts. Butts also have several forms, reminiscent of other axes, such as picks. Some butts were in the form of hammers or chasers with pins, square and round sections.

However, there was also an ax in the form of a small halberd. Due to its functionality, the ax was used in combat, hunting, and also in everyday life - they cut down trees. The Indians needed this ax only for close combat, they rarely threw it at enemies.

Axes were thrown mainly as a sports equipment in the process of training. The functionality of battle axes made it possible to remove the blades from the shafts and use them as a knife. Such axes weighed within half a kilogram, the length of the cutting edges of the blades was up to 100 mm, and the length of straight shafts was within half a meter.

The appearance of tomahawks

Due to the fact that the manufacture of metal axes was not available to the Indians, they changed them from the "pale-faced" who appeared in that area at the beginning of the 17th century. So the first tomahawks were steel and improved battle axes of the British marines, used for boarding ships.

Spanish tomahawks were different from English ones. They had wide moon-shaped rounded blades. The French living in Canada were the first to start making tomahawks in the form of tongs.

Tomahawks - a formidable weapon of the Indians

By exchanging provisions for axes, the Indians turned them into even more formidable weapons. They also learned how to wield axes and greatly outperformed their teachers, especially in close combat. In throwing, they themselves became unsurpassed masters - all the axes they threw always hit the target from a distance of up to 20 meters.

The functionality of axes allowed even weak people to use them thanks to lever handles. The characteristics of the tomahawks made it possible to wield, both in the thick of battles and in a one-on-one fight. In addition, wounded animals were finished off with axes.

The first tomahawks

Based on the finds, the first Indian axes can be attributed to the 16th-17th centuries. Axes with metal blades were similar to the ancient stone and copper wedge-shaped axes, without holes for the shafts.

The metal parts of the blades were hammered or inserted with pointed ends into the shafts. Since such axes were called headless, they belong to the Celtic group.

Pipes of the World

Perhaps as the most common type of ax, we can talk about pipe tomahawks. Through channels were made in the shafts of axes, and the upper parts of the shafts in the places of the holes were plugged with round plugs made of wood, deer antlers or even metals. On the blades from the side of the butts, there were containers for tobacco. The result was an ax-pipe for smoking.

In addition, there were pipe tomahawks, which had a sacred meaning. In particular: "sacred pipes" or "peace pipes". Special rituals were held, with the participation of leaders and elders, ax pipes were lit in a circle, symbolizing reconciliation or the end of wars.

"Palefaces" who respected local traditions often used pipe axes. They were richly decorated and presented as a gift to the leaders. The blades were engraved, and the shafts were decorated with a wide variety of metal details.

Missouri tomahawks

Until the 19th century, some of the most sought-after battle axes were "Missouri". They got their name from the name of the local Missouri River. A characteristic feature of such axes was the presence of a large blade blade, which turned into a simple butt with a round eye.

This was the name for the ear tomahawks. The presence of large surfaces of the blades made it possible to make curly holes for a more attractive look. The supply of such axes was carried out by the French living in Canada. Their cheap production made it possible not to harden the blades, because these were battle axes.

Espontoon battle axes

From English, "spontoon tomahawks" is translated as spontoon tomahawks. The most diverse configurations and sizes of battle axes had characteristic swirling processes at the base of the blades. In the European army, only sergeants could have such weapons.

The shafts of the tomahawks did not wedged. Thanks to this, the metal parts of the ax blades could be removed from the shafts and used as combat knives. In addition, such blades were often attached to the fighting clubs that were used by the Indians.

In most cases, cavities were made in esponton tomahawks like in tubular axes. Sometimes there was a certain amount of headless espontonic axes, similar to the ancient axes of the Celts.

Trading tomahawks

Trading tomahawks are the simplest and cheapest axes among all tomahawks. They are characterized by the fact that the blades, turning into simple butts, were flat or rounded and were used as hammers.

There were also such varieties of axes, in which the blades were double-sided. Shafts were inserted both above and below the holes, based on the types and shapes of axes. Due to their shape, they were called "half-axes", because they were very small in size.

The Indians used these mini-axes mainly for agricultural work, although also for war. Such axes were supplied by the producing countries themselves - England, France, Holland.

Halberd-type tomahawks

From English, "halberd tomahawks" is translated as halberd tomahawks. These are exact copies of halberds, but with short handles. Mainly used in trade with the natives. The shafts were fixed with the help of cone-shaped bushings. This fastening method was borrowed from copies.

At the ends of the ax shafts there were metal bayonets with a sharp cone type configuration. The metal parts of the blades were solid, there were no slots. The shape of the blades were wide and semicircular on one side. Whereas the other side and from above resembled a flat point.

Halberd tomahawks were in the "range". Some were without points on top, and some were in the form of chisels. In some, the points were replaced by curved hooks, spikes or smoking cups.

There were models with collapsible heads that could be screwed onto vertical bushings with threaded points. In addition, each of the points could be attached, of course, if there was a cut thread. There were also such tomahawks that did not have bushings for the shafts, since they were completely metal.

Later, tomahawks with shafts made of brass and other metals arose. They were inserted into sockets and riveted with rivets. Such shafts had a wide variety of forms. They were flat, round, pointed at the ends.

Despite the fact that these products were not convenient for use in battle, with such axes the Indians demonstrated their belonging to the leaders, because the presence of such axes was a sign indicating the status of the leader.

The main varieties of tomahawks

There were also tomahawk battle axes with hammers on the butts, or tomahawk hammers, very similar to pipe axes, but not as pretentious as trade axes with hammers on the butts. Such axes were used not only by the Indians, but also by North American settlers, as well as colonists-shooters who used them as belt axes.

Axes with points or hooks on the side of the butts are peaked tomahawks, similar to boarding axes. Athabascan clubs can also be attributed to tomahawks. These were products made of deer antlers with protruding branches, into which points were inserted from what was at hand.

Tomahawks of our days

Despite the fact that almost 200 years have passed, tomahawks are still relevant today, thanks to their functionality. Mostly, attention was paid to them before the Vietnam War.

Peter Lagano, a well-known Indian in those days who served in the American army, managed to develop a peak battle ax-tomahawk, which could be thrown quite well.

Currently, the tomahawk ax can be used in tourism, in some sports, but most often it can be seen as a historical reenactment.