Tomahawks?

Post by **Hobie** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:15 am

You know they went to the gunstock shape because firearms were such a status symbol. Tiger Hunt Gunstocks makes a ball-headed club blank you can finish up however you want.

S.B. · Post by **S.B.** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:28 am

Hobie wrote:You know they went to the gunstock shape because firearms were such a status symbol. Tiger Hunt Gunstocks makes a ball-headed club blank you can finish up however you want.

I don't think I could agree with your statement about starus symbols? The American Indians sought function above everything else. Two of their procucts that the white man has never improved are the canoe and stone arrowheads?

wildmanh · Post by **wildmanh** » Thu May 08, 2008 11:40 am

bsaride wrote:Haven't taken it out yet, but this is an eBay find ($20) that
I refit the head to (snug fit and aligned with handle axis),
stained and wrapped the handle in tea stained cotton cord.
Cord was then coated with rubber cement (can't tell it's there
unless you see my overrun on the handle), trimmed length
top and bottom and will use this for my camp tool once I
sharpen it.

Do you have any clue as to who the maker of that hawk is? It looks like a modified American hawk from Keith Johnson at Great River Forge Thanks,

By the way, I have one of Keith's French style hawks and it's great!!

Heber

Travis Morgan · Post by **Travis Morgan** » Thu May 08, 2008 3:45 pm

Hobie wrote:
S.B. wrote:Guys, doesn't the handle (atainless steel) on the Leatherman knife get very slippery after your hands have all that blood and guts on them?
The way I used the saw, just after opening the body cavity but before reaching in, no.

If you get that bloody field dressing, you're doing it wrong. (I used to work for outfitters, and have field dressed a LOT of critters.)

FYI, the NEW leatherman super tool with the sheep's foot serated blade is the best for making the big cuts. I just poke a big enough hole to get started near the navel, stick the blade in just enough to do the job, make one pass up, then one down. No danger of puncturing the paunch.

For quartering, I have a knife big enough to slice watermellons in one whack. I lift the hind leg, poke it in to the ball joint of the hip, then rotate the knife each way for a radial cut. This will also cut the tendons and stuff around the hip joint, allowing me to just lift the hindquarter up, make a few little cuts with my pocket knife, then load it on a horse.

Comal Forge · Post by **Comal Forge** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:07 pm

A bois d'arc tree will often yield a great war club from a burl in the trunk - something the American Indian knew about. It makes a natural handle with a knob on the end and since osage is a tough wood, it makes a real good head cracker.

An acquaintance of mine has a three bladed war club - it is a straight piece of wood with what looks like old wrought iron spikes. He thinks that it dates to 1850 or so - either Comanche or Kiowa from somewhere in the Panhandle. Handle looks to be stained purple - maybe mulberry? I doubt he'll let me take a pic but I will inquire.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:13 pm

Blackhawk wrote:YK,

Man, yall are making me drool and jealous. That war club looks good to me. Functionality is the key anyway. I went out to the my storage shed last night and dug around and found an old roofing hammer that I think I will start drawing and trying to cut into a tomahawk soon, or as I get a chance.I need a lot of practice. My MIL is full Ojibwe and I hope to make a forged decorated one for her one day.

Johnny

BH - I'm looking forward to that post. Be sure to take "before, after and in between" pictures of that project!

Mitch1352 · Post by **Mitch1352** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:26 pm

I have a Spanish Cross pipe hawk from RMJ Forge. Sharp at a razor and an actual, functioning pipe (if I chose to smoke). Ryan Johnson is the chief cook and bottle washer at RMJ and is an absolute pleasure to deal with. I got a phD in hawks last year at The Blade Show from him.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:20 am

Well Mitch why don't you share some of that tomahawk goodness with us?
I've looked at Ryan's site for a long time and then he got so busy with the wars he didn't have time to do anything else. Maybe I should check his site and see if he's slowed down any.

Post by **Hobie** » Fri May 09, 2008 9:35 am

S.B. wrote:
Hobie wrote:You know they went to the gunstock shape because firearms were such a status symbol. Tiger Hunt Gunstocks makes a ball-headed club blank you can finish up however you want.
I don't think I could agree with your statement about starus symbols? The American Indians sought function above everything else. Two of their procucts that the white man has never improved are the canoe and stone arrowheads?

Yep, and they were expensive and very hard to come by at first. Hence, they (the guns) were status symbols and inaugurated a style of club that was also functional.

BTW, American Indians, Native Americans or First People (I'm a first people someplace!) aren't immune to any of the human foibles.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Fri May 09, 2008 11:29 am

Nope, he hasn't slowed down and in fact isn't taking any outside customer orders anymore.

sore shoulder · Post by **sore shoulder** » Fri May 09, 2008 12:02 pm

I have a number of camp axes. Gerber, Estwing, and a couple others. also have some short machete type knives. Friend of mine has an old Western axe/knife combo that I really like and hoep to find one myself at swap meet or something. My favorite axe is a very old framing hatchet given to me with a broken handle. I put a California framing hammer handle on it (the best swinging handle I used in 20 years of framing houses) and it's the one next to my woodstove. Has a small claw on the bottom of the hammer head, and the blade is concave with a raised portion starting at the handle that tapers toward the blade that looks to be for strength. I did a waffle job on the head and every once in awhile I'd pull it out on the job and go outlaw (OSHA would have a fit), always wondering at what the original owner built with it because it was not your average hammer/hatchet, but a specialty tool.

For you guys who want a hatchet with a hammer head take a look at a framing hatchet, if you can find one since they are not OSHA approved, and ditch the axe handle for a CA framer. I suspect you will find it suits your needs well.

Hobie, did that Woddsmans Pal come with that handgaurd? I pruned a lot of Chritsmas trees out in the deep woods with those in WA when I was a kid, and never saw one like that.

I use the Gerber for splitting the pelvis on elk, then a Cold Steel Master Hunter for skinning. Been thinking about getting a WY knife.

Post by **Ysabel Kid** » Fri May 09, 2008 12:11 pm

Hobie wrote: BTW, American Indians, Native Americans or First People (I'm a first people someplace!) aren't immune to any of the human foibles.

I've got some "first peoples" blood in me as well. American Indians were also extremely superstitious people. When they first saw firearms, not understanding them, they fashioned weapons that resembled them â€“ hoping to garner some the â€œmagicâ€