Native American spike tomahawk, fur trade pole axes and skinning knives

CutlassCollector · 5th May 2025, 12:54 PM

Hi Mark,

Great to re-read this thread and to see your recent additions to your collection - both nice axes.
We are familiar with the link to boarding axes and as Gilkerson pointed out, even though the Royal Navy did not officially call them Tomahawks the name was in common use by the sailors and in ship's manifests and journals.

Conversely War Office records state that ‘the Ordnance issued 300 Tommihawks on 12th August 1761 to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Americans’ and in 1784 the 22nd Regiment is recorded as adopting it as a standard sidearm '.
Yet another spelling of tomahawk! Unfortunately it does not make clear whether these were hammer poll or spike axes.
CC

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5th May 2025, 12:54 PM	#23
CutlassCollector Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Scotland Posts: 346	Hi Mark, Great to re-read this thread and to see your recent additions to your collection - both nice axes. We are familiar with the link to boarding axes and as Gilkerson pointed out, even though the Royal Navy did not officially call them Tomahawks the name was in common use by the sailors and in ship's manifests and journals. Conversely War Office records state that ‘the Ordnance issued 300 Tommihawks on 12th August 1761 to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Americans’ and in 1784 the 22nd Regiment is recorded as adopting it as a standard sidearm '. Yet another spelling of tomahawk! Unfortunately it does not make clear whether these were hammer poll or spike axes. CC