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

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

The fascinating thing about these axes is that they truly 'walked the path' between two separate worlds. Made by Europeans, but sold to and used by Native Americans, they are both Ethno and non-Ethno pieces! Although a gruesome weapon in a fight, they were as essential as side knives for these warriors.

Here is another from my collection. This early piece might in truth be only a tool as it is very stocky and heavy (most, but not all spike tomahawk heads weigh less that a few pounds at most while this one might tip the scale!). Early iron spike ax with forging flaws and nice patina. Haft is probably modern replacement.

They very much did walk in two worlds, and while often colonist tools simply made by local smiths, they did find their way into tribal hands.
This one corresponds remarkably with an example in "Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men", Carl P.Russell (1967, p.288, fig.75 a).
This is listed as from Onondaga, N.Y. as specimen #582, American Museum (Smithsonian).

William M. Beauchamp, "Metal Implements of the New York Indians" (N.Y.Museum, Bulletin 55, pp.1-86, Albany, 1902) includes this example and notes it has the initials J.G. on both sides of the 'bit'.

Onondaga in the 18th century was the capital of the Iroquois League, and during Revolutionary War , the Onondaga tribe allied with British. After the war they moved north into Canada as veterans were awarded land bounties under the Colonial New York Military Tract (1798).

The initials on the listed example in the museum suggests of course European use initially, but certainly these also fell into Onondaga hands.

[Jim McDougall]

In post #7, the top example with bone handle:
As Mark noted, the blade on p.55 ("Native American Weapons" , Colin Taylor) is very similar.
In "Firearms, traps, and Tools of the Mountain Man" (Carl P.Russell, 1967, p.197, 49a) is a knife with blade similar to these, and is listed as a "...battered and rusty big butcher knife illustrated in figure 49a and was taken from an Indian grave. It is now in the U.S. National Museum where records refer to it merely as 'bone handled knife; J.H.Devereaux. The haft is 5" long; the blade is 11" long and 1 1/2" wide. The broken point has been rounded".

It is noted further that in 1822-23, the U.S.Indian Trade Office , George Town, D.C. in its orders listed 50 dozen 'white bone knives' like this one.

[M ELEY]

Hello Colin and thank you for responding to the thread. Yes, you are absolutely correct that there are many fakes out there, but 95% of them are the pipe tomahawks, which fetch thousands and even tens of thousands of dollars. Spike tomahawks are also faked on occasion, but outside of diehard collectors, many don't register these as 'true tomahawks'. The faked ones typically have false patina or modern rust. The fakers use old tool heads that they grind down to fit the right shapes. What remains is a minefield of misunderstanding, axes that AREN"T tomahawks but resemble them, foreign look-a-likes, etc. I find what helps me is understanding what isn't a tomahawk, look at those traits and compare them with examples I come across for comparison. Again, I'm no expert, but feel comfortable that most of my examples are solid. That being said, just because they are spike tomahawk weapons doesn't necessarily mean they were used by natives. That, as you pointed out, requires provenance. In any case, I won't deny this is (like boarding axes!) a slippery slope of collecting. Ten years ago, I had three other examples that I ruled out as look-alike and thus got rid of them-

[M ELEY]

Hello David. Thank you so much for posting that piece! Yes, I had heard that boarding axes sometimes wound up in Native hands. It makes total sense, as both trade spike axes and boarding axes resemble each other and are contemporary. Likewise, one can see situations where sailors would encounter coastal tribes and make trades. I've even seen one documented boarding ax made up with brass trade tacks and sinew grip. Pretty fascinating!

[M ELEY]

Hello Jim! Wow, do you have all of these sources? I'm still working on getting my hands on several of the sources you mention here. I'm making a copy of this thread for my own records, so thanks for that! I greatly appreciate the information you provided to support these pieces. I am still looking for a copy of Peterson's tomahawk book, which I hear is exceptional. Thanks also for posting a pic of that knife. I was apt to believe my example might be either a frontiersman versus Indian piece until I saw Taylor's book. After I saw several native examples including this one, I'm leaning more towards the latter now!

[Hombre]

I find this thread extremely interesting... Tomahawks and Bowie knives... Unfortunately it is not easy to find books about the topic and when you do, you must order from the U.S.A and that will not be cheap...
Here are a few books I have about the tomahawk... have a few about the Bowie knife too..

Best,
Stefan
Sweden

[M ELEY]

Thank you very much for these references, Stephan! I have that last one and hope to pick up a copy of Baldwin's soon. Of course, Peterson would be the jewel to the crown, but as it is out of print, the copies go for obscene prices!! Again, my thanks for these recommendations-