SPIKE & PIPE TOMAHAWKS | HAMMER POLL TOMAHAWKS | TRADE, BELT BOARDING AND BAG AXES | SOME OF MY FOUND TX FLINT | RAMBLINGS.
HAMMER POLL
& RIFLEMENS BELT AXES
When the "Young men of Philadelphia" presented Davy Crockett
with an engraved tomahawk in 1834 it was a hammer poll axe.
These are for the most part "O.T.N.A. tomahawks. That is to say they
were commonly used by "other then native Americans" With a few notable
exceptions these are the tomahawks that were carried by the average French & Indian to Revolutionary war soldier, to frontiersmen to fur trapper.
Look for hand forged pieces with 18th century half
flaired blades with no nail pulling slot as those didn't appear on the scene until
around 1850, for the most part, past the golden age of the tomahawk as a weapon. Many of the polls have little of the mushrooming one might expect from actual use
as a hammer which leads one to believe that they were intended as more of a counterbalance to the blade then a pounding surface. In other cases
the smaller round polls were used as musket ball bullet starters.
Be aware that one mimic to be careful of are the later French
carpenter's hatchets. These are late 1800s and were never used as weapons.
Typiclly though most can be easily identified by their double flaired
blades, oval eyes and a square poll.
A very appealing compact little hammer poll
tomahawk from Maine
Circa 1740-1820
5 7/8 X 17/8 Modern haft
VA . 7 X 2 3/8 Circa 1720-1780
NY. 6 X 2 1/2 circa 1760-1840
Md. Possible goverment issue 6 1/8 X 2 1/2 Circa 1750-1840
Great little hammer poll rifleman's belt/bag axe from PA.
4 1/4 X 2 with a 13 1/4 inch modern curly maple display haft
Ohio 6 3/8 X 3 1/4
PA. 5 3/4 X 2 3/8
CAL 5 3/4 X 2 5/8 Circa 1800-1850
BC Canada. Trapper's axe 5 3/8 X 2 3/8 Circa 1800-1840
N.Y. 6 X 2 1/4 Ex-Tom Wnuck coll circa 1740-1790
Ohio. 5 1/2 X 2
PA. 4 1/2 X 2 Maker's marked, but the only
letters still visible end in ----OOM. Circa 1760-1840
N.Y. Crown point area Circa 1740-1790
Southern Louisiana 7 X 3 1/8 Has makers mark E.C.I. Circa 1790-1850
PA.
Ohio 5 1/2 X 2 1/2 Circa 1740-1790
PA. 5 3/4 X 2 octagonal poll . Circa 1740-1790
Maine 7 5/8 X 2 1/4
Ohio 5 X 2 1/4
Small trapper's axe. 4 5/8 X 2
Minnesota 6 7/8 X 1 7/8 Circa 1790-1840
PA. 5 1/2 X 1 7/8
PA. 6 5/8 X 2 3/8
Western Louisiana 5 1/4 X 4 1/4
WA. 6 7/8 X 3 1/8
CONN. 4 1/2 X 2 7/8
NEW JERSEY. 7 5/8 X 2 7/8
N.Y. 6 X 2 /34
Wisconsin 6 1/4 X 2 1/4
another groupof interesting hammer poll styles
Small rifleman's or trapper's belt axe with original
haft, and sheath. Circa 1780-1840
5 1/2 x 1 5/8 11 3/8
This small forged axe is in remarkable condition considering the
probable age and shows signs of having been painted twice,
first red then black .
Other American hammer poll belt axes
A group shot for scale.
Various popular American hammer poll designs
A respectable group of American belt sized hammer poll
axes in several styles and conditions
boarding axes
N.H. Boarding axe w/cut off and mushroomed spike
top is a french model1786 the second a brit with a single broad arrow and BO
lack of a second arrow indicates it was still in service when lost the bottom axe is an american type two boarding axe very rare
Illinois. Tiny gun tool with flint knapping blade and bullet starter poll
3 1/2 X 1 1/4 8 5/8 Inch metal haft. Sort of a miniature tomahawk
This is a late, brass hammer poll tomahawk with a tall western vase style
hammer poll. Plain, basic styling but fairly period correct and very
similar to Peterson's #93 & #95 From MO. CIRCA 1850-1910
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