Spikes on Axe Heads

D

DancesWithKnives

Joined
Apr 21, 2001
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What do people think about the utility of spikes on the heads of war axes or tomahawks? I'm thinking of two types of spikes: (1) Those that extend in a direction opposite to the blade and perpendicular to the handle, and (2) those that extend out of the axe head in the same direction as a continuation of the handle.

With regard to type (2) spikes, could you modify a regular fighting axe to have this feature by replacing the wedge with a piece of file steel (tapered like a wedge on the end that penetrates the handle) that could be ground to a point after being pounded into the handle?
 
I've given my opinion of your "type 1" spike on a previous thread. I prefer a plain, flat poll for the reasons previously stated. As far as your "type 2" spike, this would give the hawk a thrusting capability, but I'm not sure how sturdy the design you mention would be. The big drawback is that the top spike would make the hawk nearly impossible to carry casually on a belt.

Keith
 
Keith,

Thanks for your thoughts. I too have some reservations about spikes. However, I was recently playing with the Viking battle axe from H & B Forge and was entertained with the fact that the blade itself curves forward enough to form a "spike". It comes to a much more pronounced point than the sharpened leading edge on Two Hawks' Warhawk. Of course the Warhawk is in a whole different league when it comes to maneuverability, slashing on a thrust, fit & finish, etc.

I recognize that the so-called "Viking" style battle axe was common in Europe, but because my background is primarily Filipino/Indonesian martial arts, I have little experience with that style of weapon. Would you take a Viking style axe over a hawk or is the former too slow and heavy?

Thanks again for your opinion.
 
I am convinced that the spike opp the blade on an ax is not there as a weapon. once the tree has fallen the spike can be driven into the log and the ax is used like a cant hook. I have not tested this theory yet. but I have not cut all my fire wood for the year.
 
First off the hawk was a backup weapon .The viking ax was the mans primary weapon. The hawk was carried in the belt the war ax was carried in the hand. The war ax was left in the hut or on the boat untill it was needed either for fighting or to cut down a tree or build a house. The hawk was carried in general all the time .
 
On a medieval battleaxe, the spike on the back of the head could be used to pull an opponent off his horse. The spike tends to curve down to varying degrees on axes; sometimes it's straight and sometimes it's completely hooked. Pole-arms like bills might even have a couple of different implements on the head that hook downward. On this axe from Arms & Armor, the top portion of the blade also curves down, which seems to be typical of the bill design.

The spike could also be used to defeat plate armor. Striking a blow with the spike concentrates all of the force onto a little point. When all of the kinetic energy of a massive blow is focused on a single point, there really isn't any kind of wearable armor that can withstand that kind of impact.

Having a spike come out the front, like on the typical halberd, makes the axe even more versatile, but these things are really war axes that aren't made for utility... They're long and massive; meant to be used in large battles where horses and armor are present. Like Berk-1 said, I think the tomahawk works better as an utility axe, a backup to a firearm, and as a carriable personal defense weapon.
 
Everyone makes good points. A war axe and a tomahawk really are two different animals. As was pointed out, a hawk was primarily a camp tool and secondarily a rifleman's back-up weapon. Unlike a large battleaxe, it was meant to be carried and used on a daily basis. During the Revolutionary War in the U.S., the Army issued a hawk to every six man cooking detail. But the preferred sidearm for regular troops was the socket bayonet. However, many American riflemen and militia members had no attachments on their weapons for bayonets, and carried tomahawks instead. By the Civil War, use of the hawk seems to have declined sharply, and the preferred sidearm of the regular troop was the bowie knife. A top spike on a small hand-axe like the tomahawk would be unnecessary and unwieldy. As far as whether I would take a viking axe over a hawk.....depends on the purpose. :-)
But I'm not a big strong Viking, so I would probably pass on the battleaxe. Keeping with the theme of the American Heritage Fighting Arts, going up in scale from the hawk takes you to the military saber. Given a choice in a battle situation, I would take the saber over the hawk.

Keith
 
The spike definitely has a place on battle hawks. Look at the Vietnam hawk. It has a great means for silent sentry disposal. What better method is there for killing someone silently and quickly than driving a three inch spike into his skull?
 
:cool: There have been found a substantial number of halberd axes that have been modified by native Americans and others, that have had the top spike cut or ground off as if it were no longer an asset once the handle had been shortened. Then there's the other side of that coin like a battle axe called a hurl bat, that not only had a spike opposite the blade and on the top of the pole but one coming out of the butt of the handle too making a serious bunch-o-spikes to have flying at you.

The spike definitely has a place on battle hawks. Look at the Vietnam hawk. It has a
great means for silent sentry disposal. What better method is there for killing
someone silently and quickly than driving a three inch spike into his skull?


Good point, look at the spike axes of the 1700s for that matter, not very effective as "pickaroons" IE,,, logging control tools, very effective as "brain picks" For the answer on the question of spikes look at the 1700s spike axes as the evolved weapons that they are before the tomahawk became more of a symbol then a weapon.

http://members.tripod.com/tomahawks-r-tatca/id10.htm
 
Radioray and I recently had the pleasure of taking along ATC Ranger Spike Hawks on our 2-week trip to the most remote wilderness area of Idaho -- they were fantastic. We had a discussion on the ATC forum here

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160090

about the overall uses, but the part Ray wrote about the uses of the spikes I cut and pasted here:

"Speaking of fire wood, why were the Ranger Spike 'Hawks so useful? Picture all wood in the entire region after being soaed in freezing rain and wet snow for days. Where do you find DRY wood for your fires? There was a lot of standing dead timber from recent fires, but it was all soaked >on the outside<. The inside of the wood was all perfectly dry. Using the 'hawks, Brian and I would down the standing dead trees 4-6" in diameter, drag then to camp, drive the blades into the trunks to start a split and then reverse the 'hawk to drive the spike into the split and wrench the 'hawk handle to the side, spreading a long split in the logs. If it didn't split the entire length, I would insert a wedge (branch, rock , Brians' hand...) into the split in the log to hold the split open and move the spike lower into the split and wrench the handle sideways again. Repeat as necessary. We generally split all lumber in to quarters to expose the dry inner wood which burned well and this allowed the wood piles in the shelter's covered entrance way (under the civilian poncho) to dry for use later.

"The spike, while an awsome anti-personnel weapon also proved to be a very useful wilderness tool for breaking-up hardpacked and rocky soil for easy digging, breaking up logs, as a high leverage tool for splitting out wood.... basically, any rough work that you would not want to damage the nice & sharp main blade for. The spike is robust, and it is not generally needed to be sharp."
 
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