From the beginning of humankind tools people have used for the use of survival and livelihood. One of the most useful but underrated tools ever invented, the tomahawk’s humble beginnings go back thousands of years to the days of wood and stone. Of all of the forms that this tool took, pipe tomahawks have received the least attention. The pipe tomahawk and the DeQuindre tomahawk both possess great and interesting traits. Though a form of the hatchet, the tomahawk has a slightly more elaborate design than that of its counterpart. Coming across the term first, John Smith suggested the translation of the word to mean axe or war club. The best guess of the origin comes from the Algonquian word tamahawk meaning cutting utensil. (Tomahawk) Commonly
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This claim can be supported with the vast amounts of them made and the many designs that they took. Pipe tomahawks, otherwise known as smoak tomahawks by the English, also served as one of the most versatile tools at Native American disposal. Henry Timberlake, a journalist and cartographer, once said, “This is one of their most useful pieces of field-furniture, serving all the offices of hatchet, pipe, and sword.” (Peterson 33) The materials of which pipe tomahawks were made from varied as much as their …show more content…
A common way of producing pipe tomahawks consisted of heating an iron pipe and hammering it closed on one end to form a blade. Considered unusual, pipe tomahawks with a brass head and a steel blade do not present themselves often. This material combination didn’t appear often because of its extreme difficulty in constructing. (Peterson 37) Pipe tomahawk material makeups progressed from iron to iron with a steel blade to brass with a steel blade, but never to pewter with a steel blade. There is no documentation of a pipe tomahawk ever being produced out of pewter and steel (Peterson 35). This is because of the difficulty in forming such a bond between these two metals. The second most important part of the pipe tomahawk next to the head is the
This claim can be supported with the vast amounts of them made and the many designs that they took. Pipe tomahawks, otherwise known as smoak tomahawks by the English, also served as one of the most versatile tools at Native American disposal. Henry Timberlake, a journalist and cartographer, once said, “This is one of their most useful pieces of field-furniture, serving all the offices of hatchet, pipe, and sword.” (Peterson 33) The materials of which pipe tomahawks were made from varied as much as their …show more content…
A common way of producing pipe tomahawks consisted of heating an iron pipe and hammering it closed on one end to form a blade. Considered unusual, pipe tomahawks with a brass head and a steel blade do not present themselves often. This material combination didn’t appear often because of its extreme difficulty in constructing. (Peterson 37) Pipe tomahawk material makeups progressed from iron to iron with a steel blade to brass with a steel blade, but never to pewter with a steel blade. There is no documentation of a pipe tomahawk ever being produced out of pewter and steel (Peterson 35). This is because of the difficulty in forming such a bond between these two metals. The second most important part of the pipe tomahawk next to the head is the