Thanks - that explains it.
Why did the settlers provide tomahawks to the indian's.
initially at least,
they didn't provide tomahawks, which have different physics from hatchets and Belt Axes, brother -
according to the diaries i've read from the 1600's on the subject, which had drawings of the items in question. - they furnished
Trade Axes, which were heavy like hatchets usually, with finer bits, like hawks, and more edge.
the natives
trimmed them down, for a
variety of reasons; from the techniques they used, to steel conservation, to weight issues, and who knows what else.
I assume the settlers arrived with hatchets and axes so ...They must have had tomohawks made to suit Indian needs.
kindly see above.
Sow the stories about american woodsmen carrying tomhawks could be somewhat misleading. Many would likely to be more at the hatchet end of the spectrum?
i don't think its misleading at all, brother. - they
actually carried them, the more they were in line with the local ways and means, from what i have read. Lewis and Clark were documented as carrying what i woudl call
a hawk (and they did too) along with swords adn muskets. what studs. wish i coulda been there.
i think the further
east you went, the more likely you were to meet a white man with a hatchet or axe, unless he was with the Natives, while the further
west you went, you were more likley to meet
a pioneer with an axe or hatchet, but a
Mountain Man, who travelled a lot on foot and kept his Possibles on him probably all the time, had a pared down arrangement, which meant
rifle in hand, knife and hawk on the sash... the Mountain Man was ready to
sprint with his essentials, or fight, or be dead.
the hawk died down as
repeating arms became more common, from what i can tell
(in general).
Hawks are for travelling, and it is a shame that folks think they are mainly weapons. Hawks were the original
multi-tool.
all that said, before the introduction of Steel into the Native Economy, they used various clubs and choppers made from Natural Materials that were known as
tomahawken by the Explorers in the Great Lakes Regions.
at least that's what i remember, it's been a while since i researched all that stuff.
.........
i keep hearing Belt Axes and Hatchets and big Axe heads on Slip Handles all being called Tomahawks.
i perceive that as a mistake, a
misnomer.
all of these good tools can be identified by their physics, the prime quality of which is
a proper hawk will have an ounce of weight per inch of length, give or take ten percent.
a hatchet will be between 1 ounce and 1.5 ounces per inch of length.
a War Hammer or Forest Axe will be about 1.5 ounces per inch of length.
they will all handle differently,
but have overlap in their practicality, both as weapons
and tools.
hawks are my first tool, when it comes to going to the bush.
i think folks need to stop thinking with the
(modern) European Mindset - there is no need to chop down trees with any chopper when you can do it with
mud and fire as many of the Natives did. why baton your survival tool through a log when you can split it with
wood wedges? it isn't a race is it? i see a lot of guys acting like it is. whatever.
hope you don't freeze when that sweat is exposed to freezing night air, bubba.
so ya drop the axe.
there isn't much that can get through a Moose or Elk carcass as fast as a tomahawk in skilled hands.
so you drop the hatchet, for the increased length overall of the hawk
with less weight.
these are just generalizations, of course, but it's how i like to roll, and it is
justified by historical references on this continent, when
you survived by your tools, you didn't just
camp with them.
[/rant] - hope i wasn't too obnoxious, brethren.
i just love hawks.
vec
