Origins of the Tomahawk Name. PDF.

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1525/aa.1908.10.2.02a00090

Tools of the Trade.

Tools of The Freed Indentured Settlers.

I have found it very difficult to find any lists of tools carried by settlers, so I decided to focus on the Freedom Dues given to freed indentured servants. These dues also varied a lot, from including land, a horse, a cow, farm tools, a gun, and clothing, and these in turn were different for men and women. Below then are some primary accounts of Freedom Dues. Freedom dues were what the indentured servant recieved from his employer after 4-7 years indentured service. Some did not survive to receive these dues, others were cheated out of them. But for those who had a decent employer, these meager dues just may help them get a start on a life of their own.
Keith.

The Project Gutenberg EBook of New Discoveries at Jamestown#3. A weeding hoe top center.

Settlers tools
one new ax, one grubbing hoe, and one weeding hoe.

White Servitude, by Richard Hofstadter. http://www.mc.cc.md.us/Departments/hpolscrv/whiteser.html

Two of the passengers were Gabriel and Richard Holland, possibly brothers, and like the others passengers were indentured workers

They signed an agreement with the Berkeley Group, as other male enlistees requiring them to work for three years to six years.

For the first year they would be provided “food, lodging, cattle, clothes, weapons, tools and other equipment.”  After the first year they would receive "50% of the profits from their endeavors.” At the end of their 3-year obligation, they would be “granted 50 acres of land."

http://www.hollandfamily.us/resourcecenter/WJH/WileyJulianHolland-myfamily.htm

In most colonies at the expiration of his term of service the servant was entitled by custom or statute to receive his "freedom dues." These dues universally included clothing for one year, and often tools, seed, arms, and some provisions as well. Thus, the Maryland act of 1639 provided that the servant was to receive

3 barrels of corn, a hilling hoe, and a weeding hoe and a felling axe and to a man servant one new cloth suit, one new shirt, one pair of new shoes, one pair of new stockings, and a new monmouth cap, and to a maid servant, one new petty coat and wastcoat, one new smock, one pair of new shoes, one pair of new stockings and the clothes formerly belonging to the servant.¹⁷

 In Maryland corn, clothes, and tools rather than land were invariably dispensed. By act of 1699 3 gun was substituted for the three barrels of Indian corn. 

http://www.ditext.com/morris/9a.html

“one good Cloth suite of Keisy or broad cloth a Shift of white linen one

new pair of stockins and Shoes two hoes one axe 3 barrells of Corne and fifty

acres of land…women Servants a Years Provision of Corne and a like proportion

of Cloths and Land.” (1) K. Morgan, 8-9. http://www.chatham.edu/pti/curriculum/units/2005/Roberts',%202005.pdf

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=OpIeAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=~freedom+dues+in+new+england&source=bl&ots=Jjd_NzuwFC&sig=5zbgKtqghBhj8aVX5wQDxHvsDZQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ips_U_u0I4f-lAWvzoHYDA&ved=0CGwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=~freedom%20dues%20in%20new%20england&f=false

 in Virginia indentured servants who completed their terms of service were entitled by law to a musket, ten bushels of corn, and 30 shillings (or the equivalent value in goods). Women were entitled to fifteen bushels of corn and 40 shillings. In 1748, the Virginia legislature set freedom dues at a standard rate of ₤3.10s for both men and women.

http://www.earlyamericancrime.com/convict-transportation/end-of-transportation/after-servitude

George Arnold in consideration ten pistoles paid for his

passage from Holland indents himself servant to George

Passasky of Phila. for two years from this date at the end

of his time to have one pistole and a new coat, waistcoat

and pair of breeches.

https://ojs.libraries.psu.edu/index.php/pmhb/article/viewFile/26339/26096

The Project Gutenberg EBook of New Discoveries at Jamestown#2

How To Use An Axe.

http://www.ausbushcraft.com/2013/02/mors-kochanski.html

How To Throw A Tomahawk. For Beginners. Part One.

A Quote From The Pote Journal and Experimental Archaeology.

Bushcraft forums abound with people making wooden spoons, but this craft has never interested me. Then whilst doing some research, I came across the following quote in "The Pote Journal":

“my master told me to

Try if I Could make me a Spoon, and Gave me a hatchet

and told me he would assist me in it for he Said there

was nothing more Necessary for me to be furnished

with in my march, his orders I quickly obeyed, and

finished my Spoon with So much Dixterity, yt my

master was Verey well pleased with me, and told

me he hoped I Should make as Good a heron, as

one John Honewell an English man that had Lived

with ym Near thirty years, and was maried amongst

them and had Severel Children, this Night they

placed me between two Indians, with a String Round

my middle, and Each End made fast to my Companions,”.

The Pote Journal 1745

I have made horn spoons, but never made a wooden spoon before, but thought this quote might be an interesting project. So I decided to make a wooden spoon using just a hatchet. Below is the result.

This is of course only my interpretation, I have no way of knowing what the Pote spoon looked like. The cup of the spoon was the hardest part to shape with just a hatchet, though I dare say that I could make a better job of it given time.

The Tomahawk and Its Weight.

Recently I have received several enquiries about the weight of a trade axe/tomahawk. I had not realised that some popular brands of “off the shelf” tomahawks weighed in at about 1 kilogram! Personally I think this weight for a tomahawk/belt axe is excessive.

My tomahawk head weighs 1 lb, and all up with the helve about 500 grams. Personally I would set the upper limit of 600 grams. Even my half-axe weighs in just under 1 kilogram.

As I said, this is my personal choice. If a person has uses for the tomahawk that requires a heavier head, then so be it, but I fail to see what this use could be in a normal woodsrunning situation. I use my tomahawk for: shelter construction, trap construction, hammering in shelter and trap stakes, throwing for recreation and it is good for self-defence and hunting if needs be. None of these chores require a tomahawk head heavier than 1 lb.

So if you are thinking of purchasing a tomahawk, think about what you are going to use it for. I do not use mine for cutting firewood, I have never had the need, but even if I did, my tomahawk would still be adequate. 

 This is the tomahawk I normally carry when in the woods.

 This is the tomahawk I made from a modern axe head. Both are the same weight, 500 grams with helve/haft.

More goodies found at Jamestown.

Tools of the trade. The knife, The axe, and The gun.

Tools of the trade.



The Axe, The Knife, And The Gun.


The Axe.

When choosing your tools you must think about what the tool will be used for. Small axes are not used for cutting down large trees, if you need to do that then you need to pack along a felling axe. My tomahawk/axe is used to construct shelters, make traps, for recreational throwing, for self-defence, for hunting if needs be, and sometimes as an aid in butchering game.


I don’t need it for cutting firewood; there are plenty of ways to get firewood without having to use an axe. So what do I need? I need a light axe that I can easily make and fit a new helve to if one should get broken. That is it. I don’t care if it is slightly easier to cut saplings down & split kindling with a heavier hatchet, I don’t need the extra weight and I don’t need to split kindling wood. This choice has nothing to do with me living in Australia; I would make the same choice if I lived in the UK or in America. For me, it is simply the right tool for the job.


The Knife.

What do I need a knife for? Self-defence, skinning and butchering game, eating meat with, cutting up food, hunting if needs be, making trap parts. Now I don’t want to use my hunting knife for making trap parts, so I carry a jack knife as well.

I don’t need to split kindling wood at all, and if I did I would use my tomahawk, not hit the back of my blade with a chunk of wood! Someone said recently that it is hard to strike the right place on the end of a small piece of timber by striking it with a tomahawk. He was right, but this person also has no idea how the job should be done. You do not strike with the tomahawk blade when the target is too small, you simply place the blade on the wood and lift both wood and axe together and strike the wood on a firm surface. Knives were not originally meant to be used as an axe. You need the right tool for the job in hand.


Anyone who has done a lot of hunting will tell you that it is a good idea to carry a back-up knife. I carry a legging knife because it is out of the way and easy to retrieve.

A small knife like this is an excellent back-up for butchering or self-defence.

Dutch 1604.


The Gun.

The flintlock is a natural choice, either that or a gun from an earlier period or a bow. Once again you must consider what sort of game you are likely to be hunting, and in what sort of environment. I need an arm that is versatile, one that can shoot anything from small game to large game. Small game includes birds and rabbits so I really need to be able to use small shot, swan shot, and round ball. So the gun for me is a smoothbore, and I chose a 20 gauge/.62 calibre trade fusil with a 42 inch barrel.


This arm serves me well for self-defence using swan shot and ball [buck and ball] loads. The lock is also a good back-up tinderbox [fire lighting tool]. Being a smoothbore I can load this fusil faster than it takes to load a rifle, and it loads even faster again if I use paper cartridges. It is also lighter to carry than some rifles and muskets.


I don’t carry a lot of lead with me because more often than not I can retrieve the shot ball from the downed game and remould it. This means that I can carry more weight in gunpowder. I don’t need to carry patch material unless I intend to shoot over long distances which I never do. I will start off on a journey carrying patch material and wads, but it is not a problem if I run out of these items.

A word on hunting knives: The most commonly used hunting knife by Indians & woodsmen/woods women was the butcher knife, also known as a scalping knife. This knife was generally light with a long blade. The handle was riveted with pins, not the modern rivets with heads. Usually just three pins, but this is very general and there could be more or less pins depending on the style of butcher knife.

Above you can see a pinned handle and a 19th century knife handle which is riveted.

A Link To Another Woodsman's Perspective of Tomahawk Vs Hatchet.

Wood Trekker.

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/03/best-chopping-tool-hatchet-vs-tomahawk.html

Tomahawks & Hatchets, which is best?

Tomahawks & Hatchets.



There have been some posts on the same theme as this one on a couple of other blogs, and I would just like to add some info to this discussion.


As to tomahawks being better than hatchets for carrying in the woods, I have to agree. If for no other reason than the fact that the tomahawk is lighter than a hatchet. However, the so called “trade axe” (the term “trade” in regard to the axe was not used in the 18th century as far as I know) is the same item as a tomahawk, and not all tomahawks had a round or oval eye.


It was mentioned that a tomahawk of the same weight as a hatchet would not perform as well as a hatchet. For a tomahawk head to be of the same weight as a hatchet head it would have to be larger, and then is more likely to fall into the “half-axe” category. Whether or not it would be as affective as the hatchet is more than likely going to depend on the use and the person using it.


In regards to the ease of making the helves, and the fixing of the head to the helve, then I personally still prefer the round or oval eye where the helve simply drops into the eye from the top and does not require a wedge.


I think the main consideration when trying to choose between a hatchet & a tomahawk/axe is the use to which it will be put. If you intend to be cutting a lot of wood and that is the only consideration, then the hatchet would be a good choice. The extra weight of the hatchet head will make it easier to cut wood. But if weight is a consideration then you should consider using the lighter tomahawk/axe.


Mostly what it comes down to is personal choice. I have been living in the woods for over 30 years, and the rest of the years I have been a frequent visitor to the forests. I started off using a hatchet and felling axe, but once I discovered the earlier pattern tomahawk/axe and began using it I soon realised its advantages for my kind of forest living skills. My tomahawks have a longer helve than the average hatchet. Even large hatchet heads use a short helve by tomahawk standards. The longer helve enables me to give more momentum to the tomahawk, and therefore it is able to match the cutting power of the hatchet but still weighs less.


As I said, it is simply a personal choice. Try them both out & choose the one that best suits your needs.

My round poll tomahawk or (trade) axe.

My square poll tomahawk or (trade) axe.

My half-axe which has a larger head and a longer helve.

My light felling axe.

A comparison of sizes L to R, tomahawk, half-axe & felling axe.

A modern hatchet.

Images of making a (trade) Axe at Wood Trekker.

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/02/guest-post-making-trade-axe-by-kentucky.html

Affordability. Equipment & Tools. The Tomahawk/Axe.

I think the cost of tools and equipment are a serious consideration for many people wanting to get into 18th century living history. If you have the money, it is no problem, there are traders that cater to the living historian. Even so many people regardless of wealth prefere to make as much as they can of their own gear and family gear. Having said that though, purchasing ready made knapsacks, haversacks, snapsacks, rucksacks and market wallets here in Australia is not going to be easy.
I emailed Graeme Forbes today to see if he can supply me with some prices on guns, meanwhile though I will cover what tools I can. Tomahawks I believe can be purchased from Green River Rifle Works in S.A., guns also, but last I looked they could not be contacted via the net.
For those of you who have to make your own, or use second hand goods, this is what I have done in the past.

Tomahawk/Belt Axe.
The images below are of an ordinary second hand hatchet head purchased at a second hand store for about $4.00, which I turned into a period axe.
1) I buried the blade of the axe in the ground and lit a fire on top of it. This heated the eye area but not the blade and edge. I got it red hot, then removed it with pliers and hammered it upside down over the spike of a pickaxe which I had also driven into the ground. Don't worry about the hammer damage, it gets cut off later. This process will give you an oval to round tapered eye in the head.
2) If you are going to use a hacksaw to shape the head, then you need to heat the whole of the head to cherry red and let it cool slowly. In which case just heat it in the fire when shaping the head and don't worry about burying the blade in the ground. I have done it both ways.
I used an angle grinder to cut out the shape. I placed the head on the ground and placed a metal bar through the eye so I could stand on the bar and hold the head in place. As I cut, I occasionally picked up the head with the bar and quenched it in water to stop the edge of the blade losing its hardness.
If you soften the head to use a hacksaw, you will have to heat the cutting edge to cherry red and quench in water to re-harden after shaping and filing.

A standard shaped modern hatchet head.

Note the damage done with the hammer when driving the head down over the pick axe head spike. This though is on the part which gets removed.

Note the eye is tapered now and oval.

The finished product after making and fitting a new helve.

Video: Making A Tomahawk Helve.

Axemanship.

I found this video over at Wood Trekker http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/01/handtools-for-trail-work.html  there is also a video there on the use of a crosscut saw.  I have been using felling axes and hatchets since I was about 10 years of age. Even so, you have to keep your mind on the job and remind yourself sometimes not to risk taking short cuts. Axe work is slow work most of the time, so enjoy it, take your time and stay safe. This video is well worth watching.

The Use Of The Term Tomahawk-Bad Publicity!

Hunt for blood-soaked city tomahawk wielder.
 Megan Levy

December 29, 2010 - 9:23AM
.Heavily-protected police have entered an upmarket Melbourne hotel hunting a blood-soaked man who attacked a car with a tomahawk in inner Melbourne this morning.

What are the chances that this chap was actually using a tomahawk?! Very little chance I would think, yet the term is used to highten the drama. It is this sort of (probable) misinformation that led to the banning of tomahawks in Victoria some years ago, and I believe one had to apply for a permit to attend a Living History Rendezvous with a tomahawk for the purpose of competition tomahawk throwing.

A modern axe or hatchet. Far easier to obtain than a tomahawk.

A typical tomahawk or 18th century belt axe. Not available from hardware stores, and the most common tool used by 18th century Living Historians & Reenactors worldwide.