Stone age tomahawk
Contributors to this thread:Equipment
From: badguybuster
19-Jan-20
Just finished this one up. Im unsure of the actual stone, it was in a huge batch of stone i ordered off ebay. The handle is hickory from a broken sledge hammer shaft. Glued with pitch, 2 layers of bear sinew and then a couple wraps with synthetic. This one is for show as i did not but much of an edge on it.
From: hdaman
19-Jan-20
Neat little project!
From: Thornton
19-Jan-20
I've always wondered how much abuse they'd take chopping trees
From: wesleywalker
20-Jan-20
wesleywalker's Link
Do not lose the opportunity to finish your homework on time to spend you time on more interesting things.
From: KSflatlander
20-Jan-20
Very cool project. How many man hours do you have in it?
From: Pop-r
20-Jan-20
To each his own I suppose. I can't imagine wasting my time on that.
From: samman
20-Jan-20
Very cool. Nice work.
From: Habitat
20-Jan-20
wesley walker and Pop must both be spam,nice work
From: t-roy
20-Jan-20
Very nice buster! Did you knap the edge of it as well?
From: badguybuster
20-Jan-20
About 5 hours and yes, its a knapped edge. Just not as sharp as i normally do.
From: Bou'bound
20-Jan-20
Quality work
From: Fuzzy
21-Jan-20
nice!
From: Fuzzy
21-Feb-20
Thornton, I don't think knapped axes were used much for chopping trees, I'm inclined to think they were more used as weapons, and for disjointing large game carcasses and maybe for chopping small green roots and branches. A knapped edge can be re worked sharp several times and very quickly but it won't stand up to hard blows on hard objects.
LargeTree-felling and hollowing logs was more likely to have been done with "peck-and-polish" axes and when possible after burning the wood surfaces to charcoal (a laborious process I'm sure)
The smelting, shaping, and use of ferrous metals was a world-changing technology for sure.
From: Fuzzy
24-Feb-20
If I can offer some "constructive criticism" thew handle looks a bit beefy in relation to the head. foe the next effort consider trying to find a green yellow locust, or hickory branch close to the size you want, leave the head end full diameter for good "meat" to attach the head to and taper the handle to a bit slimmer profile, notch it out for the head then coat the wood with a thin layer of Elmer's glue and let it dry a few months. Those woods work more easiliy while green and are super tough when dry
