the green tomahawk of the Rogers Rangers?

M ELEY · 5th August 2022, 11:28 AM

I'm afraid Wayne is correct. This is a common shingling ax. Although some of these tool types certainly date back to the Revolution, this specimen would probably date at latest to mid-19th. It is a cast piece with a notch for pulling nails. Sometimes, these notches were wide and used as a beaver trap chain pull, but this example has the more common nail slot.

Rogers' Rangers would have most likely carried a spiked ax/tomahawk type, but it should be noted that the so called hammer pole axes were also popular with the 'mountain men'. Contrary to popular belief, these early hammer pole axes were not used to hammer nails! The 'hammer' end was to balance the blade when swinging it.

5th August 2022, 11:28 AM	#4
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,077	I'm afraid Wayne is correct. This is a common shingling ax. Although some of these tool types certainly date back to the Revolution, this specimen would probably date at latest to mid-19th. It is a cast piece with a notch for pulling nails. Sometimes, these notches were wide and used as a beaver trap chain pull, but this example has the more common nail slot. Rogers' Rangers would have most likely carried a spiked ax/tomahawk type, but it should be noted that the so called hammer pole axes were also popular with the 'mountain men'. Contrary to popular belief, these early hammer pole axes were not used to hammer nails! The 'hammer' end was to balance the blade when swinging it.