{"product_id":"hand-forged-tomahawk-curly-maple","title":"Hand Forged Tomahawk, Curly Maple Handle with Hammer Poll","description":"\u003cp\u003eCamp work eats handles. You come in low on a limb and the haft takes the hit under the head. On most axes that ends the tool until somebody with a drill press has a free afternoon. This one comes apart instead. The head is 1095 high carbon, the haft is curly maple, and at 19 inches overall it swings one handed or two.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSpecification\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e6.5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCutting edge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e3.5 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOverall length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e19 inches\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandle wood\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCurly maple\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead steel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e1095 high carbon\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDark forged skin with clear hammer marks, bright polished bevel\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEye\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFriction fit, tapered haft, no wedge\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHead cover\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHand stitched leather, stamped basket weave face, snap strap\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEngraving\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLaser engraving, 20 dollars per piece\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMade in\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForged and finished by hand in High Point, North Carolina.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWarranty\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLifetime warranty against defects, free sharpening for life.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe head\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e1095 is plain high carbon steel. It takes an edge quickly and comes back on a file. The head runs 6.5 inches with a 3.5 inch cutting edge, so the bit is narrow and goes into wood rather than riding on it. The bevel is taken well back from the edge and polished bright. The rest keeps the dark forge skin and its hammer marks. The poll is a plain hammer shape for balance. It is not hardened, so keep it off nails. Carbon steel darkens with use and rusts if you leave it wet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe handle\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCurly maple is hard and close grained, with the ripple grown in rather than sprayed on. It is stiff and does not go dead in the hand. The eye is a friction fit. The haft is tapered, it goes in from the top with no wedge, and it seats tighter the more you use it. Tap it back the way it went on and the head is off in a minute. At 19 inches you can hold up under the head to carve or drop to the end for reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe leather head cover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cover is vegetable tanned leather, cut to the outline of this head. A welt is sewn into the edge so the hand stitching sits clear of the steel. The face is stamped in a basket weave by hand, so each one lines up differently. A snap strap holds it shut. Put it on dry. Leather holds water against steel, and a cover over a wet bit is how a head pits.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWho it suits\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA friction fit turns a broken handle into a ten dollar problem and an evening at the bench, not a dead tool in the shed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople who repair tools rather than replace them\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCampers who keep a spare haft in the truck\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarvers who work with a hand near the head\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who has binned an axe over a cracked handle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat comes in the box\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe tomahawk, head fitted to the haft\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe stitched leather head cover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA care card\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFree sharpening for life, no form to fill in\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch3\u003eEvery piece is different\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery head is forged one at a time, so the hammer marks land where they land and no two dark skins read the same. The figure in curly maple is the tree's doing, not ours. Some hafts ripple the whole way down, others less. Yours will not match the photograph.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eLooking after it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWipe the head dry and oil the steel before it goes away. The cover goes on dry, never over a wet bit. The maple takes boiled linseed oil, three to five coats on a new haft over as many days, then yearly. Never varnish it. Linseed rags can catch fire on their own if left screwed up indoors, so open them out flat. File first, then a stone, then a strop. More on our \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/knife-care-sharpening\"\u003ecare and sharpening page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003ePut a name on it\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eLaser engraving is 20 dollars per piece, added on this page. Around 30 characters fits. On a head with this much forge skin it reads as a bright line against the dark. We send a proof image before the laser runs, and it adds 3 to 5 business days. Free on orders of 10 or more. See the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/engraving\"\u003eengraving page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eQuestions buyers ask\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if the handle breaks?\u003c\/strong\u003e Take the head off, taper a new haft, drive it in. Ten dollars of maple, not a dead tool.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow is the head held on?\u003c\/strong\u003e Friction. The haft is tapered and goes into the eye from the top, and the head settles onto the taper as you work. No wedge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWill it rust?\u003c\/strong\u003e If you leave it wet, yes. It goes grey with use, which is normal, and pits if neglected, which is not.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCan I hammer with the poll?\u003c\/strong\u003e No. It is for balance and it is not hardened.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoes it arrive sharp?\u003c\/strong\u003e It leaves here with a working edge put on by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow long does shipping take?\u003c\/strong\u003e Most US orders arrive in 5 to 7 business days.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the same eye under a patterned head there is the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/damascus-tomahawk-ash-handle\"\u003eDamascus tomahawk on an ash handle\u003c\/a\u003e, and for a wedged eye and a wider bit in green wood, the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/hand-forged-bushcraft-axe-oak\"\u003ehand forged bushcraft axe on oak\u003c\/a\u003e. The rest are in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/tomahawks\"\u003etomahawks\u003c\/a\u003e, the plain heads sit in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/carbon-steel-axes\"\u003ecarbon steel axes\u003c\/a\u003e, and the whole shelf is in \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/axes-hatchets\"\u003eaxes and hatchets\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Viper Edge USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44144462626934,"sku":"VEF-TOM-HC-441","price":175.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/2427\/9670\/files\/tomahawk-08-carbon-curly-maple_3aace505-9bbd-4854-9e9a-858c2f0051d2.jpg?v=1788840935","url":"https:\/\/viperedgeforge.com\/products\/hand-forged-tomahawk-curly-maple","provider":"Viper Edge USA","version":"1.0","type":"link"}