The Spike Tomahawk: A Popular Tool and Weapon in Colonial North America

By Jack Vargo

Join Jack Vargo as he explores a popular tool and weapon in Colonial North America in The Spike Tomahawk. This book discusses the origin, methods of manufacture, distribution and importance of a tool and weapon during the colonial period. Vargo's intention in writing this volume is to provide readers a comprehensive study of just one type of trade artifact, a small hatchet having a metal head with a cutting bit at one end and a pick or spike at the other, known by most as the "spiked axe" or "spike tomahawk".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781479796748

Jack Vargo

I am currently the co-owner and head artisan for the Beaver River Trading Company, a business stated in 1995 for the purpose of providing historically accurate museum quality reproductions of 17th and 18th century colonial artifacts, for use at historic sites, museums and by re-enactors of the colonial period. My background in mechanical engineering and my interest in the early technologies of Native American and Colonial populations plus knowledge gathered through the archaeological studies presentations, and publications Donna and I did throughout the 1980’s have enabled us to engage in this endless endeavor in experimental archaeology. I co-published three papers with my wife Donna “The Rabuilt Cave Site, PKe 4-1”, in the Bulletin and Journal of Archaeology for New York State, #87, 1983. “The Feasibility of and Requirements for Establishing a Comparative Faunal Collection” in North American Archaeologist, Vol. 6 #4, 1985 “Preliminary Results of Archaeological Investigations Conducted by the Multi-Component Tamarack Site”, in Archaeological Society of Connecticut Bulletin #49, 1986. I presented material to be used by the New York State archaeologist (the Late Dr. Robert Funk) in “Some Contributions of Archaeology to the Study of Cave and Rockshelter Sediments: Examples from Eastern New York, NYS Museum, Man in the Northeast No. 37, 1989. I wrote numerous articles for historical society bulletins and journals. Though we did some of the material used in the movies “Last of the Mohicans” and “Tecumseh” and an 8 hour PBS documentary on the “Lost Colony of Roanoke”, our focus remains within the historical community. Besides operating a colonial blacksmith shop focused on the production of Knives, Trade axes, and other metal trade material, I am engaged in the production of brain tanned buckskin and items made from it as well as porcupine quill embroidery, loomed quillwork and other techniques used to decorate Native American objects. Donna and I also conduct classes on brain tan buckskin production, quill decoration and practical blacksmithing.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Jack Vargo.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 02/26/2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Figures

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The Birth Of The Spiked Tomahawk

Chapter 2 - Methods Of Construction

Chapter 3 - The Halberd Tomahawk

Chapter 4 - The Naval Boarding Axe

Chapter 5 - Origins Of The Species

Chapter 6 - The Metal Detector

Chapter 7 - Proper Cleaning And Preservation

Chapter 8 - Axes And Hatchets Often Mistaken For Spike Tomahawks

Bibliography

Figures

Figure 1 A—Celtiform tomahawk found near Hampton, Virginia

Figure 1 B—Spanish celtiform tomahawk excavated in Lee County, Mississippi

Figure 2—Dissection of a trade axe to fabricate multiple tools

Figure 3—Iron celts cut from a trade blade. Factory Hollow Seneca Site, New York

Figure 4—Iron celts and chisels cut from trade blades. Factory Hollow Site, New York

Figure 5—Iron celts & chisels excavated at the King Site in north western Georgia

Figure 6—Monolithic axes commonly produced by artisans of the Mississippian culture

Figure 7—Author’s copy of a complete Horseman’s Axe similar to one found at Jamestown, Virginia

Figure 8—Floor plan of Jamestown settlement showing the 1608 addition, including the factory where the horseman’s axe was discovered.

Figure 9—German jettons similar to those recovered at Jamestown

Figure 10—Zimmerman spike tomahawk

Figure 11—The Bonaventure spike tomahawk

Diagram 1—Axe/hatchet/tomahawk Components

Figure 12 A & B—A. Punched eye type. B. 2 Piece Welded type with steel bit added

Figure 13—Single bar welded with steel bit

Figure 14—Typical eye cross sections

Figure 15 A—Small halberd tomahawk found at Fort Bull, near Rome, New York (author’s reproduction)

Figure 15 B—Small halberd tomahawk attributed to the Wabanaki Confederacy found at Old Town, Maine

Figure 16 A—Small halberd tomahawk stamped Seyfert, Philadelphia

Figure 16 B—Small halberd tomahawk with broken metal shank found at Swanton, Vermont

Figure 17—French Naval Boarding axes

Figure 18—British boarding axes

Figure 19—The American toothed tomahawk Boarding Axe, 1797-1826

Diagram 2—Spike Tomahawk head profiles

Figure 20—Eye Sections of common spike tomahawks

Figure 21—Common Eye Profiles found on spike tomahawks

Figure 22—Common Blade profiles found on spike tomahawks

Figure 23—Profiles and cross sections of rear projections commonly found on spike tomahawks

Figure 24—Spike tomahawks common in the Hudson, Champlain and Mohawk Valleys

Figure 25—Spike tomahawks common to western New York

Figure 26—Ice Axes

Figure 27 Crating and Landscaping Axes

Figure 28A—Fireman’s axe

Figure 28B—Spike tomahawk—Fort Bull, New York

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Donna my wife and life partner for almost 40 years. She has spent most of her life side by side with me; whether raising the children, remodeling the house, or assisting me in doing historical and archaeological research in order to obtain the material for some archaeological papers that we co-published back in the 70’s and 80’s. She pulled me kicking and screaming into the age of computers and without her internet skills this book would never have been produced.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the following people who read the manuscript and offered suggestions that will certainly benefit the readers understanding of material set forth in this book.

Thomas Nesbitt grew up in the eastern Adirondacks between Glens Falls and Crown Point. His knowledge of local history, specifically related to French and Indian and Revolutionary War sites and the historians who previously investigated them provided valuable insights into the reliability of information that had been gathered to date.

Paul Lear, site manager at Fort Ontario offered words of encouragement and praise. He offered some additional sources that would enable me to expand my research.

Long time friend and history professor at Adirondack Community College, James Durller read the book and concluded that not only do I write about spike tomahawks and axes, but that I write about them using a spiked pen.

Most importantly, Sue Ulrich, with minimal knowledge of the material presented in this manuscript, but with an editorial background, helped us get the words down in their proper order.

I, however, must assume full responsibility for the content of all information contained within these pages.

INTRODUCTION

I have generally been recognized as the producer of museum quality reproductions of 17th and 18th century tools and personal accoutrements. Specializing in the French and Indian Wars era, I replicate period knives and trade axes using the same forging and finishing methods of the original makers. My patterns are a variety of documented pieces. I have extensively studied the originals in 20 years of hands-on research.

During the course of my studies, I became aware that most if not nearly all of the books written about colonial knives, axes and personal gear over the past 50 years are nearly useless when it comes to actual provenance of the pieces, being described, with some prominent authors using the dates 1750-1850 to date their assemblage of material.

Another problem results when an author includes an artifact acquired from a private collector when describing the geographical distribution for an item that may have been lost on Lake Champlain 250 years ago, found at some latter time, and continually sold, eventually finding its way into a collection in Indiana.

A situation currently on the rise, is the hoard of antique Pickers scouring Europe for actual 17th and 18th century artifacts which enter the United States and are sold to dealers who resell them to their collector clients as genuine North American antiquities.

One final note of caution, some of the best institutions and museums have accepted artifact donations accompanied by a large check requiring that the item be prominently displayed in a permanent exhibit within the gallery, though its identity is questionable.

My intention in writing this book is to provide the reader with a comprehensive study of just one type of trade artifact, a small hatchet having a metal head with a cutting bit at one end and a pick or spike at the other, its total weight being less than a pound, known by most as the spiked axe or spike tomahawk.

I will discuss its origin, methods of manufacture, distribution and importance as a tool and weapon during the colonial period in North America. In some cases I will describe axes recovered archaeologically in contexts associated with other diagnostic material. A few occurred as surface finds on some important battlefield sites, while others are heirloom pieces passed from one generation to another.

The most common types of trade axes including the round poll and hammer poll are mentioned in the earliest trade lists and the pipe tomahawk appears on trade lists after 1740. The

Reviews for The Spike Tomahawk

[gagimilo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you are looking for a book that treats its subject in depth, not going for breadth, with good insights and well-researched material - this is the one!
Foregoing the romanticized tales, Vargo offers what is probably the best information on this topic currently available.