Comments on: How to Throw a Tomahawk Like a Mountain Man

By: James

James — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 22:22:38 +0000

I learned how to throw a tomahawk a few years back at a boy scout camp by a gentleman who would probably be very capable of providing articles of manliness on this site.

Just wanted to give a heads-up to those looking to buy tomahawks for throwing… I was told by the gentleman who taught me that a good tomahawk will have a slightly tapered handle so that the top of the handle (closer to the blade) will be wider than where you grip it. Technically speaking, the very top of the handle should be slightly wider than the hole in the blade where the handle passes through. The main reason for this is that as the handle slowly starts to loosen up over time, you can be assured that if it ever fails, the blade will not fly off the handle during a swing, making it significantly safer.
I guess a secondary effect of this is that it also shifts more of the hawk’s weight towards the blade, which can help with getting it to rotate fully in a shorter distance.

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 23:21:21 +0000

“Tomahawks” have been around since before settlement. Most were of stone and the stone head is called by archaeologists a “celt” and it is much different from the stone head of an indian adze, though bother were used for woodworking and such. There was another type of head called a spud but these seldom if ever show use wear., they look a bit like a spiked hawk. Some groups had access to copper by trade, and they made celts of copper. These copper celts were set in a handle carved to look like the open mouthed head of an ivory bill woodpecker, and these were present in the record before any Frenchman ever set foot in North America and were a product of what is called the southeastern ceremonial complex. The copper was set in the mouth of the bird. There should be photos online somewhere. Flintknapper Larry Kinsella has some info on his page on how to make and haft a Mississippian celt and he’s also made replicas of the copper version with the carved woodpecker handle.

By: Tomahawks

Tomahawks — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:23:16 +0000

Great article! I had no idea that some military units still use the tomahawk so that is very interesting and cool.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:18:13 +0000

I protest! The fine art of the tomahawk throwing has been sullied by this article! Having personally thrown tomahawks professionally for years I can say that the method presented here is a good way to lose a portion of your skull. More over the shoulder and NOT LIKE A BASEBALL, more like hammering a nail. And for the record the tomahawk came from France. The axe was known as a francisca, giving name to the Frankish tribes of western Europe. From there it was Franks to French, and French Imperialism took it across the Atlantic. Also, never use a hatchet in place a good tomahawk.

By: Mick

Mick — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 09:37:55 +0000

Great article. We used to chuck axes around when I was a kid. Carried it on as I got older. The only difference was the axes got bigger. Tomahawks aren’t as easily available (or weren’t before internet shopping) in my country, so we just used your everyday camp axe or hatchet when I was a kid and moved on to heavier axes as we got older. Also chucked knives as well. We were all quite good and close to pinpoint accurate as well.
I want to get one of those Vietnam style tomahawks now. Curse this obsession for sharp things! :)

By: Critical J

Critical J — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 01:31:55 +0000

As the only lad among daughters, my folks were far too over protective of only male heir investment – tomahawks, fixed blade knives, guns, etc. I had to learn it all solo. As such, one day I fully intend to take any future sons out to the woods at the right age and pass down one of my ‘hawks to each of them w/ the whole “This is a tomahawk, boy. It’s an exclusive part of your American heritage, so lets learn…” speech ready to go. Can’t wait!

By: Stymie94

Stymie94 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:42:01 +0000

Cold Steel sells nice prices hawks with a little mods they work great you can google and find them after shippin for about $35

By: Matthew Arant

Matthew Arant — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 02:29:20 +0000

Dixie Gunworks (www.dixiegunworks.com) in Union City Tennessee is a great place for purchasing your own tomahawk and possibles bag. My family volunteered at the Homeplace 1850 in Land Between the Lakes, close to Paris Tn when I was younger. We were “allowed” to do what we normally did during the week, except at the Homeplace, it was in the “old fashioned way”. A mountain man named Hawk Boughton taught us to throw knives and tomahawks along with shooting blackpowder rifles. Great memories and fun, especially if I got to beat my brother!

By: Brohammas

Brohammas — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:52:18 +0000

turning the hawk’s head backwards, so the blade points toward the thrower, results in the hawk sticking upside down, and also makes it more likely to stick with less revolutions (as the upper corner of the blade approaches the target before the handle).
8 paces with one step foward while throwing, was standard in my experience.
Also, be warned that crooked throws, or off rotations, often lead to dramatic and dangerous ricochet (sp?).

By: Cody

Cody — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:15:04 +0000

Along with playing the game of handles, another good game is to play with a card as a target. Just pull out an old deck of cards and stick it to the backstop. If you hit the card you get 5 points and if you cut a piece off the card you get 10 points. Break up into teams or go head to head. The first one to 50 wins. It gets more challenging as the card gets smaller from being cut. If it gets too small, just throw another card up. There are 52 in a deck. :)