![]() ![]() average authentic haft lengths are ~ 10"-16" average head lengths 6 to 9.5" (including spike) tools will often have spikes much thicker than their blades to ensure it can withstand prying (~twice as thick or more) shapes & styles not commonly found on known ice hatchet, fire hatchets, mining hatchets & other tools. shapes & styles in common with authentic spike tomahawks Ice hatchets & fire axes typically have blades longer than the spikes. blades typically the same length as the spike or less. evidence of forging (cast iron would not have been used since it is too brittle & would break easily when struck although repros have been made of that) ![]() Anything that could be made then can be made now. squarish blades (only ice hatchets have the rounded blade edge profile) thinner side walls on eye (thicker ones are more often found on tools) thin axe blade & relatively thin square, triangular or roundish spike weight of head is usually less than 1 lb. Ironically, no book has ever been published outlining these typical characteristics. Eliminating fire axes & ice axes first goes a long way here. The more these attributes you can check off on a particular spike axe then the more likely it is an original spike tomahawk. Here are some of the characteristics to look for in the 'average' specimen but keep in mind there are exceptions & THESE ARE NOT ABSOLUTES. Most spike axes are missing their original period handles so often we have only the head to determine age & use. Ruling all of those out is always the first task at hand. ![]() fire hatchets, ice home hatchets, ice axes, taffy hatchets, sugar hatchets, fraternal hatchets, coal mining hatchets, Hungarian herding hatchets, reproductions cast from originals, altered axes, faked axes, etc, etc., etc. That is not an easy task since there are so many obscure trades that also used spike axes. Due to their variability I realized that the only way to be sure you have an authentic spike tomahawk is to also be able to identify all the other types of axes that could possibly be confused with them. ![]() Naturally those that fit the classic patterns and cannot be mistaken for anything else are going to be worth the most. Some are easy to ID and some are difficult while still others are nearly impossible to determine their use. How do you know it is a spike tomahawk? This is a very difficult category of tomahawk to discern since there are so many tools that could be mistaken for them. 35-36.)Ģ) Jackson, Misty May Dissertation: "CLASSIFICATIONS BY HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURY MONTREAL MERCHANTS AND MILITARY PERSONNEL IN NEW FRANCE: EMIC AND ETIC APPROACHES", Michigan State University, 2005, pg. Peterson at the time thought this style indicative of the 1st quarter of the 18th C.ġ) Brown, Margaret, The Zimmerman Site, Illinois State Museum, 1975, pg. The head measures ~6.9" X 1.9" with a fanned out blade edge & very slightly curved spike profile. The wooden handle in part survived and a nail and soldered brass ring secured it to the tomahawk. The iron spike tomahawk from an infant burial at the Zimmerman site is thought to be the earliest known archaeological example from ana Indian site since the Kaskaskia abandoned the village by 1692. As with the other types of tomahawks, the terminology varied with the times & the places. For the average DIYer, a soft-faced hammer is probably the only mallet needed.Spike tomahawks (casse-têtes) are thought to have originated from early ship boarding axes which closely resemble them except for the iron strapping on the sides of the handle. For example, this is especially handy when building cabinetry, where a marred surface is nothing short of a disaster. These separate "heads" are often removable, so they can be replaced with other heads. Because of this symmetry, mallet handles might have ergonomic features but tend not to have curves that bias the handle for use in a particular direction, the way framing hammer handles do.Ī soft-faced hammer is a type of mallet that usually has different materials on each side of the head, often nylon and rubber. The head of a mallet is usually symmetrical with two equally weighted striking surfaces, though there are round mallet heads such as those used by carvers. A mallet is a block of plastic, wood, metal, or rubber on a handle, and it keeps you from damaging your work surfaces with misplaced strikes. Mallets are also useful for striking the workpiece directly without marring, as when you're fitting wood joints together or shaping/forming metal. ![]()
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