Hand Forged Tomahawk, 19 Inch Ash Handle with Hammer Poll

Camp chores are small and dull and they still have to get done. Kindling for the morning fire. A branch across the trail that catches everybody in the face. That is the work this one is for. It runs 19 inches overall, a 1095 high carbon head on an ash haft, plain enough that you will not mind the scratches.

Specification

The head

The steel is 1095 high carbon, forged to shape and left with its dark skin and the hammer marks on it. Only the bevel is taken bright, polished back from a 3.25 inch cutting edge on a head of 6 inches. The grind is thin behind the edge so it bites instead of bouncing, and the edge carries a gentle sweep, which lets you roll a slicing cut through a limb rather than hacking down at it. Carbon steel darkens as you use it and it rusts if you put it away wet.

The handle

Ash is what a lot of tool handles get made from. It is springy, so a bad hit goes into the wood and not up your arm. The eye is friction fit. The haft tapers and drops in from the top, no wedge anywhere, and the head lifts off if you tap the butt. A broken handle is a picnic table job. At 19 inches you get a real swing out of one hand and can still choke up under the head.

The leather head cover

The cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this head and no other, then stitched by hand. There is a welt inside the seam so the thread sits in its own channel and never rides against the bevel. The face is stamped in a basket weave and a snap strap holds it shut. Put it on dry. Leather over a wet bit holds the water against the steel.

Who it suits

This is a first tomahawk. Nothing on it is precious, so it lives in the pack and comes out when there is work.

• Somebody buying their first one
• Campers who want one tool for kindling and clearing
• Anyone who would rather use a thing than look at it
• People who like a handle they can swap themselves

What comes in the box

• The 19 inch tomahawk on its ash haft
• The stamped leather head cover
• A care card
• A gift box

Every piece is different

Every head is forged one at a time, so the hammer marks land where they land and the dark skin comes out lighter on one and deeper on the next. Ash varies as well. One haft runs almost white, another carries a streak of brown through it. The photographs are of one head, not yours.

Looking after it

Wipe the head dry after use and oil it before it goes away. The haft wants boiled linseed oil, three to five coats on a new one over as many days, then once a year. Never varnish it. Lay the oily rags flat outdoors to dry. Screwed up in a bin indoors they can catch fire on their own. Sharpening is a file first, then a stone, then a strop. More on 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, which is a name and a date, or the trip it is going on. We send a proof image first, so nothing permanent happens until you approve it. It adds 3 to 5 business days. Orders of ten or more are engraved free. See the engraving page.

Questions buyers ask

Is this a sensible first tomahawk? That is the idea. Nothing on it is decorated, so you learn on it and will not mind a scratch.

How does the head stay on with no wedge? The eye is friction fit. The haft tapers, drops in from the top, and every swing seats it tighter. Tap the butt and it lifts off, and a fresh haft goes in about a minute.

Can I hammer with the poll? No. The poll is shaped but not hardened, so keep it off nails and pegs.

Will it rust? It can. Wipe it dry after use and oil it before storage. The darkening is normal, the rust is not.

What does it really do in camp? Kindling, small limbs, a point on a green stick. It is not a felling axe.

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

For the same shape with a pattern on the steel, there is the Damascus tomahawk on rosewood. For a wedged head and a bit more axe, look at the hand forged bushcraft axe on the same ash. The rest sit in tomahawks, with more of this steel under carbon steel axes, and gifts for him.