Very often in modern cinema you can see this or that edged weapon. Knives, daggers, and even exotic Japanese swords have already bored the modern viewer. Film fans want something new and more spectacular. What could be better than such a mystical and at the same time formidable weapon, like a tomahawk ax?
With this name alone, in the imagination of the layman, there are pictures of Indian wigwams, the exotic life of a freedom-loving people surrounded by beautiful wildlife. And of course, bloody and very fierce battles. But no matter how realistic the film was made, it remains only a director’s fiction, a product, although it has a demand from a demanding audience, but far from real life. The ax tomahawk has its own real story, which does not quite coincide with the cinematic.
Weapon History
The word "tamahaken" first appeared in the life of Indian tribes. Initially, it was used to designate “what they cut” - an object that looks like a sharpened stone attached to a short stick, which was used in Indian villages for both military and peaceful purposes. “Tamahaken” as a result of English pronunciation gave a new word, which is now known to everyone as “tomahawk”. An ax, which, according to historians, was used as a pipe by the indigenous inhabitants of America in peacetime.
The first steel hatchets
The British, whose settlement was located side by side with the Indian tribes, were the first to see the tomahawk. The ax was used by the Indians on the hunt and in close combat. Europeans suggested that this tool will become more effective if it is not made of stone, but of steel. Thanks to the British, the first iron hatchets were brought to the American continent, which later became the most popular goods.
The tomahawk ax, improved by Europeans, became especially popular among the native inhabitants of America. Europeans exchanged it for furs produced by the Indians. The production of these axes was put on stream.
Over time, they created a certain technology that allows to significantly speed up and reduce the cost of the production process. It consisted in the fact that the tomahawks were made of an iron strip twisted around a steel bar, the ends of which were subsequently welded to each other, forming a blade. But there was a more expensive option - between the welded ends of the steel strip, the craftsmen clamped the hardened steel plate. In such hatchets, she was a blade and performed a cutting and chopping function.
Products were mass-produced in Europe, mainly in France and England, and imported to local Aborigines. Previously, this tool was used mainly for household needs and, in rare cases, on the hunt. After modernization, the Native American battle ax Tomahawk became a formidable weapon used by the British Marines.
Using Tomahawks: Getting Started
The Europeans, having studied the Indian ax, realized that it was more convenient and effective for close combat than a knife or spear. This is due to the design feature that the tomahawk possessed. The ax of the Indians had a short handle used as a lever. This made it possible to use this weapon to a weakened or wounded soldier. The length of the handle allowed you to wield a tomahawk in a crowd or in a one-on-one battle.
Based on the existing design, the Europeans, having replaced the sharp stone with iron, created their significantly improved military weapon. He began to be actively used during boarding and close combat. It was also used to hit a target at a distance. The Tomahawk throwing ax has become an effective weapon hitting a target at a distance of up to twenty meters. At the same time, the training of military art and the Indians themselves took place. Those acquired professional skills, which made it possible to conduct military operations using a tomahawk. The ax became an element of combat and hunting equipment. It was used if it was necessary to finish off a shot animal.
Ease of use made the tomahawk (ax) very popular with the local population. The photo below shows the features of the external design of the product.
About the nature of damage caused by an Indian ax
Excavations studied by archaeologists in the territories of Indian settlements indicate that the skull, collarbone, ribs and left forearm bone are most susceptible to injury from the Tomahawks. According to the nature of the skull injuries of the investigated corpses of soldiers who died from the tomahawk, it was believed that ax blows were applied from top to bottom along an arched path. Damage to the clavicle, obviously, was done in those cases when the chopping blow to the head did not reach its goal. Wounds to the left or right forearm were less common. In all likelihood, they could have been produced when a person covered his head. The second technique used by the warriors of that time was an arched chopping strike on the hull. It was applied along a horizontal path. In such cases, the ribs received damage.
Types of Native American Tomahawks
Celt. It is one of the first models. It resembles a similar stone tomahawk in shape. These products did not have special holes that contribute to putting on the working part on the handle. The blade was inserted into the shaft using a sharpened butt. This Native American tomahawk was widely used from the 16th to the 17th century.
- Celt with a tip. The blade of this Indian hatchet has the shape of an elongated triangle passing through the shaft so that one of its sharpened angle is located on the back of the ax, forming a point. The design of the tomahawk gave the impression that a steel sheet had been split by a shaft. For its reliable fixation, special bindings were used.
- Missouri type. This Native American tomahawk was used until the 19th century. It was distributed on the territory of the Missouri River. The working part of the ax was placed on an ordinary hatchet with a hole. The blade was not hardened and was huge. Its surface had various slots and holes for decoration.
- Tubular type. Tomahawks of this type are the most common. A feature of the tubular hatchet is the presence in the shaft of a special through channel that extends along the entire length of the handle. In the butt section of the tomahawk there is a special cup designed for tobacco. The hole located in the upper part was closed with a horn, metal or wooden cork, which at any time could be pulled out and used as a smoking pipe. The hatchet blade was decorated with engraving. The Tomahawk had an elegant look and was often used as a gift to establish diplomatic relations between Indians and European immigrants.
- Esponon type. The chopping parts of these hatchets could have various shapes and sizes. The handles at the base were often decorated with decorative processes. The blades were removable. If necessary, they could be removed and used as a knife.
- Peak Tomahawks. These are products, the butt part of which was equipped with points and hooks. A similar form came from boarding axes. Peak tomahawks were widely used by settlers for chores. This option gained wide popularity among the Indians, who eventually began to use it as a weapon.
Hammer Tomahawks. These products, like tubular tomahawks, were widely used in trade. They were in special demand among the colonial shooters and Indians. But the difference between the tomahawks and hammers from the tubular variants was that in the first, the butt part had hammers. Their design was not as elegant as that of tubular ones, so they were not used as diplomatic gift items.
- Trading ax. The product does not have an elegant shape. A rounded butt was used as a hammer. The handles of these axes are inserted from below the eyes, and in some models from above. Since this version of the ax was primarily used by women, it was called the Tomahawk Squaw. The sizes of the trade axes were different. The small dimensions were comfortable to wear behind the belt. Therefore, the product was also called a “belt ax”, or “purse”. This product has been used for trade between North America and Europe. In Indian villages, a trade ax was used as a household tool and as a military weapon.
- Tomahawk halberd type. The hatchet consists of a chopping part and a long handle, at the end of which there is a long bayonet hammered into it. This model was made of a monolithic steel plate, mainly a wide arcuate or semicircular shape. The butt was equipped with two additional points. In some models, metal spikes or semicircles for tobacco are inserted instead of these flat tips. The head of a halberd hatchet can be collapsible and attached to the top of the product on the thread. The fastening of the handles can also be performed using thread, mainly in cases where the ax is made of wood. If the handle is metal, then it with the top can be a single whole. For the manufacture of handles also used brass. In such models of halberd axes, the tops were inserted into special sockets available in the handle and fastened with rivets.
Tactical weapon
The battle hatchets with which American soldiers were equipped have undergone a thorough modification in our time. Modern and more advanced versions of tomahawks have appeared. Since these products were intended not only for combat missions, they began to call them tactical.
Tactical axes and tomahawks were in great demand among American soldiers during Operation Desert Storm. Without a compact and convenient device for breaking doors at hand, the soldiers were forced to carry huge fire axes with them. Tactical hatchets are much lighter and more maneuverable, besides they, besides their main task (chopping), perform a number of additional functions. They can be used to knock down padlocks, wring out doors, break windows in cars, etc. In a combat situation, such an ax is considered indispensable, especially when it is undesirable to use firearms. Similar situations can arise if a battle is fought close to combustible and explosive substances, toxic chemicals.
Tactical axes and tomahawks are especially popular in the special forces of the United States of America. In the army of the Soviet Union, these models did not take root. The military command of the USSR initially planned to equip the personnel with tactical hatchets, but over time it was considered that it would be too expensive. An analogue of the American tomahawks in the Red Army was the sapper blade, which, according to the Soviet leadership, is no worse.
Modern Native American Tomahawks
Nowadays, combat and tactical hatchets are made from solid sheets of metal. Such a product according to the drawing is cut out of a metal sheet, subjected to further processing on machines and has a monolithic structure. There is another way, which consists in cutting only the chopping part of the ax. Tool steel is also suitable for it. The handle is made separately. It is best if it is made of polymer material, as this can significantly reduce the weight of the weapon.
Tactical M48
The chopping part in a product such as the M48 Hawk tomahawk ax is made of 440c stainless steel, which is subject to further processing in the factory as a black coating.
The length of the hatchet is 39 cm, the length of the blade is 95 mm, and the thickness is 2 cm. The tomahawk handle M 48 Hawk is a reinforced polypropylene product, to which the chopping part is attached using power bolts and a steel that reinforces the stability of the landing of the rim blade. The length of the handle is 34 cm. A tactical hatchet weighs 910 grams. The kit comes with special nylon sheaths.
The benefits of handicraft production. What is better forged tomahawk?
It is not difficult to make an ax with your own hands. The product will turn out to be really high-quality, which should be a classic ax, only if it is made in a forge. It can be forged as a standard ax needed in the household for carpentry, and a very aesthetic exclusive tomahawk.
It can be used as a gift, souvenir or interior decoration. According to their technical characteristics, forged products are much better than factory cast ones. This is due to the features of the crystal lattice of metals, the structure of which can be changed during forging. As a result, a tomahawk with its own changes in the crystal structure, which is personally made in the forge, can withstand power and shock loads well; The lifetime of forged axes is much longer than for factory products.
