Tomahawk-Axe

A tomahawk is a light axe on a straight handle, and the reason it survived from trade-era North America into modern camp kit is that it does more per pound than anything else you can carry. Splitting kindling, driving stakes, clearing trail, rough carpentry.Tomahawk or hatchet. A hatchet has a heavier head and a shaped handle, and is better at sustained splitting. A tomahawk is lighter, faster in the hand and easier to carry, with a head that can usually be slipped off the tapered handle for replacement in the field. Camp use favours the hatchet; carry favours the tomahawk.Ours. Hand-forged heads in Damascus and high-carbon steel at 58 to 60 HRC, hung on hickory or ash, with a fitted leather head cover.Do I need to sharpen an axe like a knife? No. An axe edge is a convex bevel, thicker and blunter than a knife edge, because it has to survive impact. A file and a stone, kept convex, is the whole job.Can I throw these? The heads take it, but repeated hard misses split handles. If throwing is the plan, buy a spare handle at the same time.Care? Keep the head oiled, keep the handle dry, and never leave it in a wet sheath.