Advantages Of The Tomahawk (Trade Axe).

Advantages Of The Tomahawk (Trade Axe).

It seems that these days every hand axe, belt axe & hatchet is called a tomahawk. This is particularly distressing when it is mentioned in a news report as having been used to commit a crime.

The tomahawk or trade axe was the axe traded by the English & the French to the woodland Indians & white woodsrunners in the New World. What is most noticeable about this axe is the fact that it has a round or an oval tapered eye. The helve is made tapered to fit the eye tightly, so no wedge is required to secure the head to the helve. This makes it much easier to make & fit a new helve in a wilderness living situation.

The tomahawk is also much lighter than a modern axe head, the weight being roughly 1 lb. Even so its cutting ability is very good, & of course you can fit a longer helve to give you more striking power. Tomahawks come in a variety of types, including: round poll, square poll, hammer poll, pipe tomahawk, & spike tomahawk. Personally I prefer the round poll or the square poll for their practicality as a working axe. Hammer polls tend to split shelter & trap stakes when hammering them into the ground, & the pipe tomahawk & the spike tomahawk are of no use for this work unless you use the side of the head.

The tomahawk is excellent for throwing, either for recreation, sport or in an emergency, for hunting & self-defence. This axe can be carried under the belt at your back, which is the most common method, in a frog on the waist belt, or it can be carried in a carrier with a shoulder strap.
Keith.

The square poll tomahawk.

The pipe tomahawk.

Hammer poll tomahawk.

Round poll tomahawk.

 

All tomahawks were made by the white man for trade, I am not familiar with the "Native American one with a small feathered helve". The name tomahawk is taken from the Woodland Indian word "tomahaken", which was the name they gave their war clubs.
The pipe bowl & the hammer poll add little weight & I do not think that they would have any effect on the cutting ability.
Keith.