Suddenly Semper is all Tomahawk Crazy

Axes.... Own 4 of various quality and price

Hatchets.... Own 6 of various quality and price

Tomahawks? Never saw the reason for a Tomahawk.

I absolutely WILL NEVER throw any of my tools. I think that is just the most ridiculous thing in the world; no..... worse than that.. STUPID.. So I have always used, bought, traded and collected axes and hatchets.. Swore against, taught against and just plain refused to consider a Tomahawk as a serious survival/bushcrafting tool..

UNTIL NOW



The Tomahawk in the back of that picture is my SOG; my first. When I bought it, I basically got it due to it being on sale so cheap I could not pass it up. Once I bought it, I took it out to the field and my survival life changed forever. It is a joy using it to process firewood, make shelter and even clean game and other camp chores.. I fell in LOVE

So much so I bought 2 more



Now these are what one would consider "Cheap Chinese" Tomahawks.. HOWEVER.. Here is a close up of one



Look closely and you can see they are a full 1/4in thick, high carbon steel and FULL TANG the entire length of the handle making them incredibly tough, nicely balanced and comfortable to use...

Strangely enough I like the bright colors..

Anyway

Thought I would share

Semper

reply to post by semperfortis


You know what they say about boys and their toys.....the one with the most toys wins...

Nice collection. You've made my Christmas shopping list easier...thanks!

Des

reply to post by semperfortis


Oh, cool...

There vwas an old national film board of Canada film from the 60s where a metis guy goes into the bush on friday with a hatchet and the shirt on his back and by sunday night he has completely built his life...

and all with just that one blade

keep it sharp

been a staple in the bob for a while. I love the versatility in qcc and all around survival use. truth be told I mine is a cheap united cutlery model/ $19

s+f

reply to post by semperfortis


Nice collection! I bought my first one 4 years ago and suffered the same sickness....now I have 3! They are an indispensable tool in any survival situation and make a handy hand to hand weapon if needed. Plus....they just look....badass. lol

Keep yer powder dry and your blades sharp!

reply to post by semperfortis


the hatchet is a good tool to have around for things you don't want to use your machete on. We have a couple of those SOG's, too. Great, great little axes. Good enough that we bought them, and didn't buy any more.

Rugged, light weight, and well balanced. Good enough for the task, for sure.

For me a tomahawk is not for throwing, and it's not necessarily a bushcraft tool either, a tomahawk is a hand to hand weapon.

Here's my hawk, a hand forged carbon steel head, with a 24" maple haft :

Have a look at these RMJ tactical hawks, very pricey, a very lethal weapon and also a useful destructive tool. If only I could afford one!

RMJ

In my experience
as a weapon, go with a very small light head...and a long shaft, and a no slip grip or the balance will be bad for recovering

as a tool keep the bevel on the edge long unless you are using it to spit wood only

reply to post by Destinyone


I always thought it was 'the one with the most or biggest was compensating for a lack of something else'......

reply to post by semperfortis


Not sure if he's still teaching but if you want to learn to use the 'hawk without throwing it
look up Col. (ret.) Dwight C. McLemore.

He's only a state away from you, (Yorktown) and did a stint in yer home state back in the day.

For three years, Dwight presented tomahawk and longknife training for the Prickett's Fort The School of the Longhunter seminar in West Virginia.

artofcombat.org...

I attended a couple of his seminars.

I thought Mac was scary with a bowie until I saw his tomahawk techniques.

He's put out a few books and vids.

[quoted off-topic comments removed]

mine is of swedish manufacture...forged steel, which is not a local invention
the handle is hand made..my design
i protruded the handle through the top of the head by about an inch with a small bolt almost at the very top of the handle
for trapping purposes...
it will catch and hold a blade
also the bolt makes sure the head never leaves the handle, but comes out if the head has to come off on purpose

Well I don't know if I have upset any Native Americans but if I have, I will right here and now, sincerely apologize and state for the record, I certainly never intended to insult, upset or even slight any one person or group of people.

I have just discovered the joy that is the Tomahawk and wanted to share that with you all..

I find the design to be delightful

Lighter than my hatchets, the handles longer which gives me a lot more power in chopping and control, the full tang is amazingly rugged..

So kudos to the culture that invented the Tomahawk!!!

reply to post by semperfortis




The best.........Hardcore hardware tactical tomahawk.



Runner up......Gerber tactical downrange tomahawk.

reply to post by semperfortis


You like those? Then you will love the look of some of the mad stuff on this site!

pireladesign.blogspot.co.uk...

They have some pretty epic looking axes in general on here, but their designs are just eye candy on everything they do. I have no idea how effective and hard wearing they are though, since everything on there is either out of stock, or ball crushingly expensive, but check them out regardless!

It's not surprising ATS has pissed off the Native American members so they move on to something friendlier.

Yes, I would agree the post is insulting, however it is without malice. The never ending insinuation that the 'tomahawk' was a weapon of war is only made by those who know very little about the natives who ruled North America for thousands of years before white men came to the continent.

It was not a weapon of war until the war was forced upon them-the 'tomahawk' was a ceremonial, handcrafted icon handed down by the father and eldest son to the son of the first daughter in a way of showing a union of the families that were now together through marriage. It was never taken to the battlefield-until it became a weapon of survival against an invader.

There are some priceless and simply lovely Susquehanna examples in the Smithsonian.

Again, simple unfamiliarity with the customs of Native Americans, is in itself not insulting. Persons wonder why the 'tomahawk chop' at sporting events upsets Natives is the fact that it would have never become a weapon of war-had the whitemen left them alone.

There are of course countless exceptions as the Yuchi and Kaskinampo Cherokee that lived for thousands of years on the land I sit at this moment were warlike in a sense that it was the central factor in their entire society. They were incredibly skilled in all types of throwing weapons-the Tomahawk being one on them however none of these weapons names have English translations that are that simplistic.

Since it's crystal clear that no intent to be insulting was in the original post it's really a no harm no foul situation.

It's so simple to take some time and learn about the Native Americans, or Natives in any land, with the internet that making such ridiculous statements about their culture is hard to understand at times.

The Potawatomi in present day Michigan were a fascinating culture with their ceremonial crafts. They made things to represent life as they knew it and their skill led to many of the early woodworking tools used by the settlers. The common router is one of them crafted from bone.

There is obviously some mistake or some people are simply NOT READING the thread

NO WHERE and I mean NO WHERE did I reference the Tomahawk as a weapon....

That is due to the FACT I do not consider it one.. It is a Survival/Bushcrafting tool

Reading is good

Assumption is bad

I've been toying with the idea of getting one for a couple of years but the weight puts me off.

To me it seems too heavy to lug, can't do anything camp wise batoning with a decent knife cant, and if weight isnt an issue because of staying in one place then a dedicated camp hatchet will be more robust and much less expensive.

This is the conclusion I have come to. Maybe I'm missing something?