Tomahawk dimensions?

[gudspelr]

Since finishing a couple projects, I am going to begin work on some tomahawks for the first time, hopefully soon.  These will be slit & drifted hawks and I was hoping to get some input from those who've made some before.  I'm not looking to necessarily re-create a historically accurate hawk from the frontier days.  I'm making a few out of low layer Damascus that will be hammer poll hawks and a couple that are going to be spike hawks.  I have some plans as well to use some WI that I was able to get.

So the dimensions I'm most wondering about are from the front of the eye to the cutting edge.  I've seen them with a whole lot of variation and am unsure of what one "should" be.  By that, I mean how thick should it be at the front of the eye, for how far, before tapering to what thickness?  I hope that makes some sort of sense.  I've seen some that appear quite thick at the front of the eye and remain that way, almost appearing parallel until the last bit before the edge.  I'm assuming that isn't necessary?  I rather like the looks of a gentle taper most of the way, but is there a strength issue (I'd like all of mine to withstand use) with having less thickness?  I want to think that a gentle distal taper would be a good thing, as it is with a properly tapered knife blade, but don't want to just assume.  What would a minimum thickness be for a standard sized tomahawk (I'm going to be using pre-shaped hawk handles with a corresponding drift)?  And on that note, at what point is a tool like the edge of a tomahawk getting too thin?

Thanks for any insights and advice.  Hopefully these won't all be a complete failure...   .

Jeremy

[Lin Rhea]

Jeremy, You are asking questions and thinking. That is a very smart thing to do when considering making these or any tools.

Your ideas of gentle taper are based on logic and solid thinking. An axe or hawk is not a hammer, so it don't need to be shaped like one or as heavy as one. In fact, it will perform better and look much better the way you have them visioned.

The human body is not parallel. The arms and legs are tapered to allow and follow principles of function.

Imagine a fine, top of the line tool of any purpose. A Bow is a good example. Then picture a cheap, crude knock off of that same tool, where taper, weight distribution, and appearance has been thrust aside to save some of the cost of production. It's easy to see right away when you hold it in your hand.

Just allow material for all of the parts, poll, eye walls, blade length(4 inches or so), and taper. Look at the ones you like and imitate those as close as you can or improve on the ones you have available. "Proportion" plus "Purpose" should be your guide.

[kuch]

Using an axe, just like using a knife will answer many questions. If you are able to handle and use some quality tools, Gransfors and wetterlings for example. Those are fine references and then you can adjust the design to fit your needs. USING axes ,and knives allows you to know what attributes are important to you, balance ,weight , taper.
 Sorry it did quite answer your question. But axes are more complex than I first realized, and I had to use them more and more to figure out what I think is "good"

[amar911]

Craig Barr makes hawk heads similar to the ones you are asking about. They are very high quality. I have several of them in various configurations and steels, including some made from Damascus. I have hammer pole (square and round poles), spike and rounded back heads he has forged. You might want to look at the pictures of them to see his shapes and dimensions. He sells all his production on e***. Craig uses the pierced slit and drift method and has a mandril that fits the same as the wood handles that another company makes to Craig's specifications. Of course, there are individual choices to be made to create the performance characteristics you may want. The videos Craig has on e*** will answer some of the questions you have about strength and other factors. You have already received very good advice from others here.

Allan

[gudspelr]

Thank you very much for the input-it's appreciated.  Hopefully I'll end up with a decent end product   .

Jeremy