Description
Frontier Oak is a Damascus tomahawk on a 19-inch American oak haft. The head is forged from layered steel and etched, so the layers read as dense wood-grain banding across both cheeks, with the cutting bevel and the poll face ground bright against it. Brown leather cord is wrapped tight below the head, and a leather thong runs through a drilled hole at the butt.
| Overall length | 19 inches |
| Head | Hand-forged Damascus steel, mirror polished |
| Poll | Flat hammer poll |
| Haft | Straight American oak |
| Grip | Brown leather cord wrap below the head |
| Lanyard | Drilled hole at the butt with leather thong |
| Included | Fitted leather edge sheath |
Where it belongs: camp, and the wall it hangs on the rest of the year. It will limb, split kindling and drive a stake with the flat poll, but a patterned head is a thing you look after rather than abuse.
How the head is hung
There is no wedge in this hawk and no glue. The haft is tapered — slim at the butt, swelling toward the head — and the head slides on from the butt end and is driven up that taper until the wood locks against the walls of the eye. A little haft stands proud through the top when it is seated right. That is deliberate: the head knocks off in a minute for sharpening, and a broken haft is replaced with a new stick rather than a workshop visit.
What re-seating means
Wood shrinks in dry air and swells in damp, so a taper-hung head is never permanently tight — it is tight this week. The fix takes seconds: hold the hawk head upward and rap the butt of the haft down hard on something solid. Inertia carries the head further up the taper and it locks again. Do it before any hard session, and stop the moment you feel the head move.
Oak as a haft
Oak is stiff, hard and heavier than hickory, so this hawk carries more weight in the handle and feels planted rather than lively. It is ring-porous, which is why the grain reads so strongly, and it takes a hit well provided the grain runs the length of the haft.
Care: Dry the head and oil it whenever it gets wet; layered steel is carbon steel and will rust. Do not attack the pattern with polish or a wire wheel — the contrast is a shallow etch. Oil the oak once a year and check the head is seated before every use. The Damascus care guide covers etched surfaces.
FAQs
Is the pattern real or printed? Real. It is a forge-welded billet, and the pattern runs through the head rather than sitting on it — you can see it continue across the ground bevel. How Damascus steel is made explains how.
Can I throw it? You can, but you should not want to. Missed throws hit rock, and a patterned head takes chips that show badly.
Is there a plainer version? Homestead Oak is the same 19-inch oak-hafted build with a hand-forged 1095 head.
Make it a gift: add laser engraving at checkout. Every order ships from Memphis, TN with a lifetime warranty — backed by 2,000+ verified customer reviews.
Model: BMK-1119
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