# Do you own a tomahawk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 24, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596 "2022-03-24T03:46:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/41 "2022-03-24T17:52:16Z")
Like **gytalf** and **DrDeth** , I collect sharp, pointy things. A tomahawk is a useful tool, so there is one in the camp box. But the thing that gets _used_ the most is a kukri. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/42 "2022-03-24T17:56:44Z")
This. My kukri had the mass of a axe head, but a much longer cutting edge. Amazing the thickness of the branches it would cleave with one whop ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/43 "2022-03-24T17:59:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > maybe due to my tears in the SCA If it makes you cry, perhaps you should stop. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/44 "2022-03-24T18:00:37Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > For the same reason a lot of folks out this way wear Native American jewelry. Many people like to use local artifacts for decorating or just to have. Of course! For some dull reason, I was only thinking in utilitarian terms, not decorative. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/45 "2022-03-24T18:08:49Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > [One answer](https://www.thetoolsquare.com/tomahawk-vs-hatchet//). The picture they labeled “tomahawk” in that article is something that I would call a “small axe”. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/46 "2022-03-24T20:05:16Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > For some dull reason, I was only thinking in utilitarian terms, not decorative. Heh. It wasn’t until I started reading this thread that I learned that people actually use them for something besides hanging on the wall 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/47 "2022-03-24T21:11:14Z")
The tomahawk is the native name for the European implement. Axes, pickaxes and hatchets with metal heads were known by natives as some form of tomahawk. Native people at the time had a similar tool with a stone head called cunsenagwus. When native people got a metal headed implement they called it a tomahawk. The native people themselves viewed the distinguishing characteristic of a tomahawk as having a metal head. There are no distinctions between size, shape, or use. Urban, genteel Americans have always had a fascination/romanticism with Native American culture but they never cared enough about the people to actually respect it. The Boston Tea Party dressed in native dress. The oldest fraternal organization is the Improved Order of the Redmen (for white people). This all culminated in the early 1900’s with the back to nature movement, environmental conservation, Teddy Roosevelt, Pinchot, Muir, national parks and forests ect. During the time the BSA was created. The BSA barrows heavily from Native American culture but it’s mostly fake. Fake crafts, fake techniques, fake histories. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/48 "2022-03-24T22:08:45Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > The tomahawk is the native name for the European implement. Axes, pickaxes and hatchets with metal heads were known by natives as some form of tomahawk. Native people at the time had a similar tool with a stone head called cunsenagwus. When native people got a metal headed implement they called it a tomahawk. The native people themselves viewed the distinguishing characteristic of a tomahawk as having a metal head. There are no distinctions between size, shape, or use. Actually, if you want to be pedantic about it, the term comes from the Coastal Algonquian term “tamahaac” or “tamohake”, which referred to European metal-headed hatches and axes of various sizes. What is today termed a “tomahawk” is very similar to and almost certainly modeled from the [naval boarding axe](http://www.boardingaxe.com/privatepurchase.html), which is basically a small singled-handed battle axe used in boarding actions as a weapon, to cut away fouled rigging, and to remove embedded burning shot. The Algonquian “cunsenagwus” refers to an implement that is more a grooved celt (stone ax) where the axe-head is grooved and held in place by being pressed into a slot in the handle. Native Americans in the Coastal and New England adopted the boarding-style axe as a weapon and woodsmans’ tool with the same enthusiasm as the Plains natives took up horse riding. What would today be termed “cultural appropriation” by the emigrants of colonizing powers around the world is essentially a fundamental aspect of colonialism hardly limited to the British and French colonists of North America. As cartoonishly offensive as it is now, it was a more-or-less sincere attempt to celebrate the heritage and skills of Native peoples (albeit from a standpoint of little actual knowledge) notwithstanding how actual Native populations have and continue to be treated by state and national governments which respect treaties and agreements when it suits and ignore them when there are resources to be taken. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/49 "2022-03-24T22:13:22Z")
No, why do you axe? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/50 "2022-03-25T06:13:17Z")
Surely there is a mechanism for insta-banning, in these circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/51 "2022-03-25T06:40:10Z")
No. However, I do have a weird wooden replica thing that kinda looks like a tomahawk, but has SLOVAKIA printed on the side. Helpfully, the Wikipedia page for tomahawks leads me to a page for [Shepherd’s axe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_axe), which apparently is a thing from Slovakia and nearby places and for which wooden replicas are common. Curious. That’s apparently what I have. The thing is utterly useless, of course. I doubt it would even work as a letter opener. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/52 "2022-03-25T07:56:00Z")
I have a classic stone head tomahawk on a hard wood handle that looks hand hewn. It came down thru Mr.Wrekkers family. It’s purported to have been in the family since before the civil war. No proof of any of this. The kids used to take it to school for show and tell. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/53 "2022-03-25T13:19:55Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > It’s purported to have been in the family since before the civil war. It’s had three new heads and six new handles, but it’s still in great shape! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/54 "2022-03-25T13:31:18Z")
I own a camping hatchet. A tomahawk is slightly different. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/55 "2022-03-25T13:36:35Z")
Nope. Got a meat cleaver though. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/56 "2022-03-25T13:38:02Z")
I also have a meat cleaver. I use it for killing Dungeness crabs, and for dismembering chicken. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/57 "2022-03-25T13:57:44Z")
I live not far from Montreal airport, where they have hawks to keep other birds at bay. One of them swings by from time to time and his name is Thomas, or Tommy Hawk. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/58 "2022-03-25T14:07:50Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > The thing is utterly useless, of course. I doubt it would even work as a letter opener. The Polish version _ciupaga_, I’ve mainly seen used as a walking stick. My father has one or two in his collection, being from the Tatras. I’ve also seen them used in dances. The type I have seen I’ve never actually seen being used for cutting or chopping anything, though that is one of their historical uses. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/59 "2022-03-25T14:13:04Z")
No tomahawk. Own a hatchet which gets a little yard use when volunteer trees sneak along the side/back of the garage. Like others, I was actually unaware that there was a modern instrument called a “tomahawk” as a distinct tool rather than a fanciful synonym for a hatchet or throwing axe. But I very rarely need to kill/skin game in my suburban backyard or defend it from attack so the hatchet serves me just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596/60 "2022-03-25T14:52:51Z")
[Instructional video on proper tomahawk throwing technique.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8) (Since Ed is of Ukrainian parents, someone should put Putin’s face on the target) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-own-a-tomahawk/961596.md?page=4)