An interesting variation on the tomahawk is the so-called “spontoon” tomahawk, what is a spontoon you ask? A pole-arm like a large spear or pike.

Where or precisely when spontoon-tomahawks came into being is lost to the annals of history. There is a suspicion that they may be French in origin due to the resemblance of the head to a fleur de lis, but to the best of my knowledge this has not been conclusively proven.

This one-of-a-kind tomahawk is based on earlier 18th century Eastern woodlands examples (though it does not copy any specific ‘hawk).

The head was hand forged from real wrought iron with a center laminated high carbon steel bit and a forge brazed chevron ‘saddle’ and pipe bowl. The head has been file sculpted and lightly etched/antiqued to show off the grain of the iron.

It is hung on a drilled white ash handle and is topped by a whittled oak clean-out plug and is fully functional as both a hatchet and smoking pipe.