Throwing a Tomahawk

[Onomea]

I do love this scene, from the movie The Patriot, but, is it really possible to throw a tomahawk with such accuracy?

http://youtu.be/F-BQi0JjY2w

 

[5-Shot]

I have not done it in decades but, yes it is. Years ago I was a member of a very active black powder club where the members were VERY traditional. During every gathering a tomahawk session would erupt. I was invited in once and was shocked at how easy it was. It's far easier than throwing a knife. We were throwing at perhaps 10 to 15 feet and the most satisfying throw was to split the handle on the tomahawk of the guy who threw before you. It happened fairly often.

Ed

 

[vonn]

Liked that movie. Would think that swords,bayonets,knives, and tomahawks were used as shown because of the slow reloads .

 

[da gimp]

when the mountain men rendezvous occur now(a camp of like minded folks) they have contests for shooting their rifles, handguns, bows, knife throwing, tomahawk throwing & sometimes even ax throwing. Some of these folks are pretty dern good..... but I'd say that most would want to keep control of their defensive weapons, as almost all firearms were single shot muzzle loaders, often they were flintlocks. The only repeating weapons of sorts, would be bows & arrows, lances , tomahawks & other edged weapons such as knives & sabers.

 

[islamoradamark]

lots of practice started out when young throwing stars then that led to knives then someone brought a throwing ax or a tomahawk its fun and some thing to do outside while camping with the gang or in a buddys backyard with a proper backstop

 

[reddogge]

When throwing a knife or tomahawk you have to be pretty spot on to your perfect distance to make it turn over once and stick so it would make a bad weapon to just throw willy nilly at a foe. Clunking him in the chest with the handle would tend to tick him off I would imagine.

 

[italiansport]

Ed Ames demonstrated the "perfect" tomahawk throw on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show many years ago. It was the longest sustained audience laughter ever recorded on TV.
Jim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8

 

[mc5aw]

Hawk throwing is an art unto itself. There are numerous forges that make beautiful period-correct hawks specifically for throwing. The Rendezvous folks are much like the CAS crowd ... very prideful of their weaponry, and very competitive in showcasing their respective skills.

In all the reading and studying I have done on 1700s-1800s military and frontier history, every example of tomahawk usage that I can recall came via hand-to-hand combat and not throwing. A stout tomahawk was a fearsome weapon for everyone from Rogers' Rangers to various Indian tribes.

 

[Arik]

Use ninja stars! Can't miss!!!!

 

[Smith357]

Yes it is possible to be that accurate, it's pretty easy when your just hanging out throwing them for fun at a known distance, to do it under the fluid conditions of combat is another thing entirely. It goes against logic to throw your main weapon to your enemy.

 

[Arik]

It goes against logic to throw your main weapon to your enemy.

Then why did all those military bolt action rifles come equipped with 3 ft speers attached to the barrel? Huh?!?!
[emoji6]

 

[JSR III]

I participate in the NE Primitive Rendezvous every year. I have thrown a "hawk" for over 10 years now. It is very tough to get the hawk to turn the correct number of times to have the sharp edge hit a surface and stick. If it hits anywhere but on the 3" sharp edge, it will do nothing and fall to the ground.

There are folks that are quite good and there are lots of fun games played with a hawk.

Walking the hawk across the face of a wood block is neat. You start at the left edge and throw your first attempt. The hawk is removed and a toothpick or stick is placed in the block where the hawk stuck. Your next throw must be to the right of the toothpick and so forth across the block. The person with the most hits across the face is the winner. If your hawk doesn't stick and falls to the ground, you are out.

It's much harder than one might think but lots of fun.

I can't imagine throwing a hawk to save my life while someone was lowering their flintlock to place a 50 caliber round ball in my mid section.

 

[Alpo]

Yes it is possible to be that accurate, it's pretty easy when your just hanging out throwing them for fun at a known distance, to do it under the fluid conditions of combat is another thing entirely. It goes against logic to throw your main weapon to your enemy.

One of the early Sackett books. Indians attack the fort, are beaten off, and as they leave one of the settlers throws a knife at one. The Indian turns, plucks it out of the air, and hollers something like, "I'll bring it back, next time".

Always thought that was funny.

 

[italiansport]

Footnote to my above Ames/Carson tomahawk throwing post:
I happened to see this live and due to what I suspect is political correctness part of it was omitted in later showings.
The other guest on the Tonight show that evening was the old time Jewish comic Myron Cohen. After the laughter had subsided a bit he turned to Johnny and quipped:
"Vell Johnny; If he vasn't Jewish before he's Jewish now!" This set the audience off for several more minutes.
Jim

 

[labworm]

I think we may have a member here at the S&W forum, who knows how to properly handle, sharpen and throw a tomahawk.

 

[Salty RI]

Never had a real one but my grandfather was Native American and when I was a little kid he would make me one out of wood, good for playing cowboy's and Indian's they did hurt if you whacked someone over the head with it, they didn't work too well trying to scalp someone with it either. We did have throwing knives when we were in grammar school, we would throw them into at a tree during lunch break, try that today.

 

[30-30remchester]

I as well have actively thrown hawks and axes, and as stated exact distance is required so as to stick the blade and not hit the assailant with the handle. In the real world I doubt any positive results ever happened. First, the distance must be precise, and the throw must be accurate. However hawks are very lightweight so little kinetic energy is transferred. The lightweight hawk must now penetrate several layers of heavy wool with enough force to actually cause a disabling wound. I doubt it could have enough force to actually penetrate a skull with enough depth to be instantly fatal. My belief is the "stuck" enemy would simply say ouchie that hurts. And why would a person throw away a perfectly good weapon? Would you throw your gun or sword at an enemy? Also these hawks were used as a utility tool and seldom sharp would be my guess. Check any 10 people you know who actually use their hatchets in the woods and see how many of them are very sharp after months away from the garage. In a act of desperation maybe throw your hawk. With luck it may even hit the target and stick. Inflict a disabling wound is very questionable in my eyes.

 

[Salty RI]

Put a blade at both end's and double your chances.

 

[labworm]

Put a blade at both end's and double your chances.

And make the handle like one from a boomerang, wouldn't that be fun.

I thought you would be out fishing today for some of those Winter Cod.

 

[Salty RI]

The head boats are still going out, I think the cod fishing is slow this year.