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DIY: How to Make Your Own Tomahawk

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The word ‘tomahawk’ is an Algonquian term meaning ‘a light battle axe.’ Tomahawks are similar to the common American hatchet in terms of size and shape. They are also not too difficult to make yourself, and in this article I will explain the process.

Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans would use tomahawks made from stone heads attached to wooden handles that were secured by strips of rawhide. They used tomahawks for hunting, chopping, and other general uses, but mainly as weapons. Sometimes the entire handle would consist of only a length of stiff rawhide, while other types of tomahawks were carved from a single piece of wood – wide and flat at the top, and tapering to a round handle at the bottom.

According to an article in Backwoodsman magazine, Europeans began trading tomahawk heads to Native Americans about 400 years ago. Most of the traded variety were made from iron, while others were made from brass. The most common type of tomahawk had a socket or an eye into which a handle was inserted, while others were merely of the flat blade type set into a handle in the fashion commonly seen today. Also many Native Americans constructed tomahawks by setting flat pieces of scrap metal into handles that were secured with sinew or rawhide.

Some tomahawks also doubled as peace pipes, with the side opposite the blade having a pipe bowl, and a hole running down the handle of the tomahawk, through which tobacco could be smoked.

In America, various “re-enactors” have made tomahawk throwing a sport, which is currently growing in popularity.

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Some soldiers even used professionally made tomahawks while fighting in the Vietnam War. And currently, in Afghanistan, Army soldiers are using the “Vietnam Tactical Tomahawk” made by the American Tomahawk Company.

You can construct your own primitive tomahawk, for fun, or for serious use, even if you aren’t a flint knapper (someone who shapes stone by knocking off little chunks). To acquire the necessary materials to make your own tomahawk, first, take a short hike to look for some rocks. You may find an interesting rock already of a suitable shape that you can simply set into a handle. Or you may find a piece of scrap iron, brass, or copper at a machine shop or salvage yard that you can use. For the metal variety, take a hack saw and shape the piece you have selected, then smooth it down with a file. If you like, you can even bury it in the ground for a few weeks to add a rust or tarnish coating for an aged effect.

For the handle, select a piece of seasoned wood such as willow or ash. (Traditionally, hickory wood was generally used for the handle.) Again, the wood you choose should be dry or well seasoned, because if it’s too green it will shrink up and the head will be loose. If you select green wood, allow it to dry while your tomahawk head is rusting or tarnishing in the ground. You can either remove the bark from the wood, or leave it on, whatever suits your taste.

Next, saw a slit in the handle to fit the head into, or you can split it with a knife. Place the knife edge across the end grain of the handle, making sure that it’s properly centered. Then strike the back of the knife with a heavy section of tree limb or wood, being careful not to damage your knife. It is helpful to place the handle in a vise when sawing or splitting. Also, whittle the end of the handle down before inserting the head to remove any saw marks, then round the ends over so that it looks more authentic and primitive.

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Next you should insert the head in the split and secure it with some sinew or rawhide. If you don’t have any sinew, use a small diameter nylon fishing line. Select a piece about 12 to 15 feet long and tie one end to a solid object such as a fence post or a door knob. Wrap the string below the head so that the wrapping secures the string end. Keeping the string tight, stretch it as you wrap it below the head around the handle, then across the head and around the other end. Secure the end of the string by placing a separate loop along the handle and wrapping it over about half a dozen times. Then insert the end into the loop and pull the string end under the wrapping.

You can now cover the string by wrapping it with a strip of wet rawhide. If you don’t have any, simply go to the Dollar Store and purchase a large rawhide dog bone, then soak it in warm water for awhile and cut it into strips. Or you may know someone who works in a welding shop who can get you some discarded welding gloves with large cuffs. Cut strips from the gloves and tie or glue them on after securing the tomahawk head to the handle.

For extra decoration, you can paint some simple bands or other primitive designs on the handle, or you can wrap it with more leather or other fabric of your choice.

You’re finished! Now you have a tomahawk resembling a genuine relic from 400 to 4,000 years ago that you can sell on Ebay for a thousand dollars! Enjoy, and be careful.

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Sources:

Wildwood Wisdom, Ellsworth Jaeger, The Macmillan Co, New York, Fourteenth Printing, 1966.

The Backwoodsman Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 3, May-June 2004.