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Always I look at each newly discovered axe, wondering where it had been and what it had
done in times when so much was gained & lost in the clash of cultures. It is those stories that we really collect. Tomahawks
are among the tools of those enthrawling slices of history, hopefully emparting the faintest pulse of the past to those of
us few who hold them. In as much as is possible, we are collecting history itself, temporary caretakers for
the next generations.
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Welcome to the Fur Trade Axes & Tomahawks website. My name is Mark
Miller and I have been collecting tomahawks/trade axes for about 20 years, antique axes for 29 years and currently a
professional tomahawk authenticator. For years, on & off, I have been researching the tomahawk/trade
axe markings and their makers. To date I have recorded about 2,000 names and marks of blacksmiths who made
these, most of which have not been published. After my Ebay Guide drew so much attention & some friends encouraged
me to begin this website, I've decided to try to teach & encourage others who are thinking
of collecting tomahawks and related axes. Having also collected other antique axes & tools of all types for about
28 years also perhaps gives me a unique perspective into various other types of axes that have been confused
with the fur trade axes. I also enjoy collecting other items of fur trade collectables which
has helped me distinguish certain features in the tomahawk catagory as well. (NOTE: this website has absolutely
no connection with the former TATCA website or that site's previous owner.)
There are many, many outright fakes and honest reproductions whom sellers claim to be authentic
which have been made from the time that originals were to the present. Not all of these sellers are dishonest
people. Of the Ebay tomahawks being sold as authentic at any one time, a 'misidentification' rate of 99%
is not unusual. With one antique dealer I asked if he was absolutely sure that his tomahawk was an authentic original
period piece from the early 1700's and unhesitantingly he said that yes it sure was! Then I showed him the website
with the identical trade mark of a reproduction maker who had been making those for 35 years. To his credit he quickly
removed the item for sale but these were supposedly experienced antique dealers who sold for decades & could not distinguish a
30 year old tomahawk from a 300 year old one. Its tough sometimes. There are no classes or educational
requirements for antique dealers & it is a daunting challenge for anyone. Just like their customers,
some are more diligent than others when it comes to identifying & dating antiques. This site is intended to help
separate the misinformation from the facts & give collectors a better sense of what to look for.
Much of this information concerning what to look for is not published & collecting
tomahawks IS a competative sport so there isn't much incentive to share. Too much money has been wasted on junk while
authentic ones go unnoticed so I'd like to begin trying to change that. After reading this website many of
you may discover that tomahawks are not nearly as common as you once thought, but when you do find the real thing
it will feel truly that much more gratifying.
In the spirit of Native American culture, I hope collectors will
also look beyond their material objects and more into the religious and symbolic meanings of these objects as well.
In European thinking, sometimes we can get bogged down in the mundane physical minutiae of these objects & lose sight
of the history we craved in the beginning of our collecting hobby. So much of what we have been taught has been
misinformation. From authors Longfellow, James Fenimore Cooper and George Catlin there was created the fearless
and enigmatic 'noble savage' for Eastern readers thirsty for Western adventure to devour. Early descriptions
of mindless, marauding, blood thristy, tools of the devil were also portrayed by the media of their day. The truth is
more often in the middle of those extremes, but like any race, both good and bad exist. Even in today's media they are
portrayed in movies as having supernatural powers and able to mysteriously shape shift into living animals at will.
Some myths die hard & Hollywood doesn't help. It is well worth discovering who the authentic North American
Indian of history actually was ...and is.
I will be sharing some photos of my collection as well as from other collections. Those
pictures framed in black are from my collection for those who are keeping score.
For now this is a work in progress so check back often.
I have also started an Indian Trade Collectors Forum that addresses questions & comments concerning all types of
Indian trade collectables including tomahawks. So please feel free to join in.
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Originally (early 1600's Jamestown era) the Algonquin term 'tӓmӓhâk' used by the local Virginia Algonquian Indians referred
to virtually ANY stone cutting implement. Then when Europeans began trading the iron hatchets the English corrupted
version of the term tomahawk grew to apply only to iron axes traded to Indians in Virginia in the 1620's.
As time went on the differentiation & also confusion between tomahawks and every other axe/hatchet expanded, much
to the chagrin of researchers. Today most collectors and museums refer to stone tomahawks as simply 'stone axes'.
What this website will be dealing with will be the metallic axes that were traded with the native Americans as well as
trappers, hunters and explorers during the fur trade era of contact.
Besides Native Americans, men such as explorers, trappers, traders, hunters, riflemen and even Revolutionary
War & War of 1812 soldiers carried tomahawks. Some used belt axes (smaller trade axes) with just the hatchet blade to
carry on their side or back which was used as a weapon & as a tool for sectioning a large animal or making kindling to
get a fire going etc. In the West they used Missouri War axes which were large thin bladed round polled axes which were
7-10" long and often used on horseback. Axes were traded almost from the first European contact period
until the early 20th C. In the 20th C. they were obviously no longer used in as weapons but as symbolic
items used in dances by that time or as tourist souveneirs, although the pipe tomahawks still portrayed great prestige
among their owners.
Pipe tomahawks were used by Eastern and Western native Americans,
and even a few white people, & which were highly valued. They smoked it like a pipe with the handle being hollow
& on the other side was a blade. The blade was used for chopping wood, as a weapon, or just symbolic and not used as either.
The smoking of the pipe was a sacred practice, thus having even more special meaning to them & probably the most important
part of the pipe tomahawk. Native Americans believe that the pipe itself has both spiritual powers and actual
powers but when the tomahawk was combined with the pipe that meaning took on even greater power to them.
Eastern Native Americans were quite adept at throwing tomahawks from an early time and practiced
wrestling with them and knives to hone their skills. Daniel Boone carried his favorite spike tomahawk (an Halbert Tomahawk)
with a blade on one side, a spike on the other and a spike on top, greatly improving the odds of hitting his target when thrown.
Many of the tomahawks were made in Europe such as England, France, & Utrecht, Holland to be imported
to North America. Many others were made by blacksmiths that were either independant traders or those hired by the govenment
to satisfy treaties and to entice Native Americans to ally themselves to their side. To a lesser extent there were also
some Indians who did blacksmithing for themselves, more often the pewter and brass ones although some did it in iron.
No website can be a substitute for conscientious research of publications and hands-on
study of a wide range of specimens as well as listening to those whom are more experienced. Hopefully
this website will encourage readers to learn more rather than allow this to be the extent of their education on
tomahawks. Frankly we know so little about these objects that much of what we do know has to be drawn from clues
here and there from records. Fur traders were in business so we know far more about their prices than we do about the
specific variations of tomahawks & why they were preferred. With so many reproductions, deliberate fakes and
wannabe experts out there it makes learning much more challenging. It requires a great sagacity and unbiased, dispassionate
judgement based on experience & knowledge of both the originals and the fakes.
Much of a tomahawk's value is centered on it's 'degree of authenticity', as I like to call it--meaning
the amount of doubt, or lack of doubt, concerning the identification of a particular tomahawk as an original
genuine artifact by all concerned. When there is no doubt as to a tomahawk's authenticity then there are more bidders
willing to pay more money. Unfortunately there are no unbiased, scientifically accepted tests available to us to unequivicably
determine a trade item's origin & age other than experienced opinion which can vary from expert to expert.
That is why authenticators with great reputations who study these on a daily basis are worth the money they are
paid.
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Here is a nicely cast & polished reproduction of a Missouri War Axe made in India with pierced
cut outs (sometimes just referred to as piercings) which has been and is available on the internet and re-enactor catalogs.
But.....
| BEFORE |
|
| reproduction |
....below here is what it looks like after it has been aged in an acid or salt solution
with a handle that has been doctored with tar or black paint. Notice the exact same fluted grooves, 8 pointed stars,
dotted outlines, shape, decorative notch, dimensions, etc as the previous one. The blackening of the handle near the
eye (see arrow) was meant to simulate the natural leaching of iron to bare wood contact over many years exposed to the weather. Notice
the artificial leaching appears blotchy like it was applied here and there, and appears more like a surface coating
rather than ferric oxide leaching out and soaking into the wood fibers. Look for signs of hand forging (lapping
over of iron inside eye) or if it was drop forged or cast (no seam remnent inside eye or inside piercings). Complete
originals have been sold for up to $44,000. This is why we need to be so careful!!! See pages 17-20 for
more characteristics to watch out for and also my Ebay Guide.
| AFTER |
|
| STILL A REPRODUCTION --FAKE 'PATINA' ADDED |
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This particular authentic pipe tomahawk is probably the most often photographed.
It has many gold and silver inlays, multi-faceted bowl, ornately engraved on blade & inlays, and an ivory stem marked
on the handle P.C. Angstadt-- Peter C. Angstadt, a Kentucky-Pennsylvania rifle maker in Berks County, PA. It is
believed to have been made between 1800-1815 when he was at the peak of his craft. Angstadt lived from 1765-1815
although the faceted bowl style is thought to date to at least the late 18th C. The engraved 'F. Hoff' was the
person it was presented to. Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifle gunsmiths were already adroit at engraving, woodcarving,
silversmithing, and forging so more than a few of them were employed to make these fancy pipe tomahawks as presentation pieces
to Indian Chiefs. Even the curly maple haft matches their rifles.
| Peter C. Angstadt Presentation Pipe Tomahawk |
|
|
|
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This beautiful spike tomahawk below was recently found by metal detector by Kevin
Hughy of St. Ignace MI. near the old Fort Du Buade of the 1600's era. An identical example measuring
10.5" was found in the Winnepeg River in 1966 & can be seen on page 83 of "Voices From The Rapids; An Underwater Search
for Fur Trade Artifacts 1960-63" by Robert C. Wheeler et al. Probably French made. To my fellow metal detector hunters
& collectors, please tag your items with location of find, date found and whatever else you know about the location.
Documentation makes it not only more valuable but it may help us date them or tell what tribe used them, and when, etc.
| Spike Tomahawk recently dug at St. Ignace, MI |
|
| Now that is patina! |
| View #2 |
|
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This pipe tomahawk is of the style of the American frontier smithy J. Wilson with rocker engraving
of leaves and flowers typical of his work with brass inlay. Circa 1850, collected from the Omaha Indians 1860.
Notice it has been in a preserved collection for 150 years so oxidation is minimal. The head measures 8.5"
long and is 23" overall in lenth. Similarly marked pipe tomahawks by this maker can be seen in American
Indian Tomahawks, by Harold Peterson,1971, item 188, p. 118 and item 198, p. 120 and Tomahawks
and Pipe Axes of the American Frontier by John Baldwin, 1995 pg 103.
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|
|
This pipe tomahawk above was said to have been used in the Whitman 'Massacre' in 1847 (there
is some dispute in that provenance). In 2005 the tomahawk was stolen from the Whitman Mission Museum
near Wala Wala, Washington. In 2006 it was returned by mail anonomously with a note asking for
forgiveness. The FBI is still investigating the theft.
On November 29, 1847 14 white settlers & missionaries were killed by the Cayuse.
Nobody seemed to know the exact reason for the attack at the time ...but then they never asked the Cayuse. There is
another side to this story seldom told.
READ THE REST OF THE STORY HERE...
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The next 3 images are of a very lightweight spike tomahawk that came from an Albany, Ny estate
& also was unmarked & undocumented. It weighs a mere 7.6 ounces total, measures 10.5" in overall length, the
head measures 6" x 2" overall. It has an eliptical eye & small square nails in the handle top. The hole
at the bottom was probably for a leather thong that would wrap around the wrist so as not to lose it's grasp unless thrown.
No fancy engravings, no filed notches, nor intricate inlays of silver--these weren't just a symbol of war-- they were
the tools of war.
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This spike tomahawk head was clearly a dug specimen that was a bit over zealously cleaned on part
of the blade with a grinder many years ago which created the smooth surface, but now that has patina over it as
well. It is always better not to alter them and leave it as you found them. If you feel you need
to preserve it, a light coating of oil (Boeshield T-9 is my favorite) or a high quality wax such as Renisance wax.
Whatever you use its only job is to create a temporary barrier between the metal and the moisture from the air so be sure
it is thoroughly dry first or you will be sealing IN the moisture. Museums refer to their protective coatings
as "reversable", meaning it can be easily removed without damaging the artifact. Keep them stored in low humidity
whenever possible.
The head on this one measures 9.25" x 2.125" and weighs 12.2 oz. without the haft. The
haft was recently added from an old chair rail, but makes a great looking replacement. Just because the handle is
old, doesn't mean it came with the tomahawk either.
| 18th C. spike tomahawk |
|
|
| replacement handle from old chair rail |
|
