Throwing a Tomahawk

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

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Smith357 said:
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.
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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. :)
 
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
 
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I think we may have a member here at the S&W forum, who knows how to properly handle, sharpen and throw a tomahawk.:)
 
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. :eek:
 
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.
 
Put a blade at both end's and double your chances. :)
 
The head boats are still going out, I think the cod fishing is slow this year.
 
labworm said:
I think we may have a member here at the S&W forum, who knows how to properly handle, sharpen and throw a tomahawk.:)
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Why, thank you for thinking of me :D

98886__the-elder-scrolls-online-viking-viking-armor-sword-ax-and-beard-mountain-ancient-scrolls_p.jpg
 
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5-Shot, would that be the tennessee longhunters?

Throwing a hawk is a learned skill. I've seen a guy who could stick his hawk in the back of a target by letting the handle hit first. He was an old man then and everyone called him Cricket. He loved the young kids and would chirp for them when they were around.

As far as throwing your hawk in a fight that would be a last resort type move. A lot of the throwing and ceremonial hawks are and were small and light not suitable for fightinbg. I had two, myself. One for games and a working hawk. The gameing hawk was designed for throwing and was of medium weight (about 1 1/2 pounds) with a long curved bit and a shortened handle. The working hawk had a straighter bit and wieghed about 3 pounds with a longer handle. That would get through your heavy clothing. It was a bitch to throw. Both were kept sharp. Sold the throwing hawk and knife several years ago. Still got the worker.

Throwing a hawk takes a lot of pracrice. Playing "handles" can get expensive. Ash hawk handles are not cheap even 35 years ago.

Sorry this is more than I started to post. Later, Dudes!
 
My best friend, who was a Green Beret in Viet Nam, spent quit a bit of time behind enemy lines. His job was to look for and assist downed US airman. His weapon of choice was a tomahawk. He said he used one on many occasions to get rid of enemy soldiers who would encounter in the jungle. He would wait in ambush and pick out one and when he came near, he would kill him and slip back into the jungle.
 
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Myself and a few shooting buddies have recently purchased and been practicing with some Cold Steel Tomahawks.

If we find the "sweet spot" in distance, we soon begin to stick 'em with nearly every shot.

When we start to hotdog and throw from random distances.....not so much!:o

fun tool to have around though....but I better stock up on handles!
 
BigBoy99 said:
My best friend, who was a Green Beret in Viet Nam, spent quit a bit of time behind enemy lines. His job was to look for and assist downed US airman. His weapon of choice was a tomahawk. He said he used one on many occasions to get rid of enemy soldiers who would encounter in the jungle. He would wait in ambush and pick out one and when he came near, he would kill him and slip back into the jungle.
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The US issued tomahawks from the American Tomahawk Co. for a spell in Vietnam. These are highly valuable and often counterfeited. Extremely bad press came of this piece of equipment and they were recall and presumed destroyed. What liberal thinking that was. Seems we can kill the enemy with fire, bombs, bayonets, knives, entrenching tools, tanks, machine guns, napalm, grenades and the likes, but we can hit him with a tomahawk. A spike type point was on one end and a small blade on the other. Presumably the pointed end could pierce an enemy helmet given enough force and a strong handle. I have one of these in a commercial offering and it is fairly lightweight. Definitely not good for throwing.
 
In short...You bet it is possible. I spend a lot of time with blackpowder rifles and pistols and can stick a tomahawk with regularity into a cedar butt we have set up. I've watched the guys that really know what they are doing and they have no problem at all hitting a playing card tacked to the butt, from distances that are pretty close to 20ft. I throw best allowing for a spin and half of the hawk, the guys that are better can throw from varying distances and are suprisingly accurate. I can throw a tomahawk alot better than I can a knife and at further range.
 
Great Movie BTW. After watching some YouTube tomahawk videos I'd say it's more believable than Mel and his grammar school aged kids taking out a squad of Redcoats without a casualty.

I'd also guess Mel would have negotiated his sons release for the guys save passage.

Love that movie.
 
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YES IT'S TWU, IT'S TWU!

Whenever I hear the word tomahawk I think of that Ed Ames video and chuckle when he proves it is accurate enough to perform vasectomies. That NEVER gets old.
 
Pecos Bill said:
5-Shot, would that be the tennessee longhunters?

Throwing a hawk is a learned skill. I've seen a guy who could stick his hawk in the back of a target by letting the handle hit first. He was an old man then and everyone called him Cricket. He loved the young kids and would chirp for them when they were around.
Click to expand...

I got to meet Cricket some 40 years ago in Friendship IN at one of the NMLRA shoots to which my Uncle Johnny took me. Being just a youngster he seemed like a giant of a man, I remember his hands were big enough he could drop a quarter through his ring. He gave me my first lessons and I bought one of his throwing hawks, which my mother promptly took from me when I got home. :) I have been addicted to tomahawks and axes ever since. I sure wish I had that old Cricket Throwing Hawk. I do have a couple now that mom can't take from me.

Beaver Bill Premium Thrower
throwinghawk-1.jpg
 
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