Damascus Tomahawk, 19 Inch Hickory Handle, Raindrop Pattern

Kindling for the stove, and a tarp peg pointed up before the light goes. Small jobs, and a light head on a long handle does them without asking much of your shoulder. This one is 19 inches overall, Damascus over a high carbon core, hung on hickory. Hickory is the plainest wood in the batch. It is also what most makers reach for, and not for its looks.

Specification

The head

The steel is Damascus, pattern welded over a high carbon core, so the layers wrap one working steel down the middle. The etch lifts a raindrop pattern across the whole head and down to a fine bright edge. The bit is 3.5 inches on a head of 6 inches, ground thin behind the edge so it parts wood rather than pushing it. The head is light and the mass sits forward, which is what does the cutting. Carbon lives under the pattern. It darkens with use and spots if left wet.

The handle

Hickory is stringy stuff. The grain runs long and it bends before it lets go, which is what you want in a handle. It is not the prettiest wood we hang. It is the one that takes a knock and stays whole. The eye is friction fit, so the tapered haft slides in from the top with no wedge. Pull the head off and a fresh haft goes on in a minute. At 19 inches there is room for two hands.

The leather head cover

The cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this head, then stitched by hand. A welt sits along the edge so the thread lies in its own channel, not against the bit. The face is stamped in a basket weave, pressed into damp leather, and a brass snap holds the strap over the haft. It goes on dry. Wipe and oil a damp head first. Leather holds water against steel.

Who it suits

For the buyer deciding between a handle that looks good and one that is still under the head in five years.

• Anyone who wants pattern in the steel and plain wood under it
• People splitting kindling around a camp
• Someone who has broken a handle before
• Buyers who would rather fit a new haft than start again

What comes in the box

• The 19 inch Damascus tomahawk on hickory
• The stamped leather head cover
• A care card
• A gift box

Every piece is different

Each head is forged and etched one at a time, so the raindrop pattern pools differently on every one. Some come out tight, others open. Hickory moves too, pale in one haft and darker in the next. Yours will be close to the photographs without being the piece in them.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry and oil the steel before it goes away. Never put it under the cover wet. The hickory wants boiled linseed oil, three to five thin coats over as many days when it is new, then once a year. No varnish. Rags with linseed oil in them can catch alight on their own, so lay them flat outside rather than balled up indoors. More in our knife care and sharpening page.

Put a name on it

Laser engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits, a name and a date. We send a proof image before the laser runs, so nothing permanent happens until you have seen it. Add 3 to 5 business days to the order. Ten pieces or more and the engraving is free. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Why hickory when other woods look better? The grain runs long and gives before it breaks, so it takes knocks that split a showier haft.

How does the head stay on with no wedge? The eye is friction fit. The tapered haft drops in from the top, and every swing seats it further down the taper. Tap the butt if it feels loose.

Will Damascus rust? It can. There is carbon steel under the pattern, so wipe it dry and oil it before storage.

Can I drive things with the back of the head? No. The poll is not hardened for pounding.

What if the handle breaks? Pull the head off and fit a new tapered haft. Plain hafts are cheap, which is one more point for plain wood.

How long does shipping take? Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.

If the pattern is not for you, the same shape comes in plain carbon on the hand forged tomahawk on oak. If you would rather have figure in the wood, the Damascus tomahawk on olive wood has it. The rest sit in tomahawks, with more of this steel under Damascus axes, and gifts for him if it is a present.