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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 87
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Hi all.
I am interested to hear your comments on this Weapon. Made of Iron its in Relic condition. I can only think its a Hand Held Axe with Matchlock. The Total length is 41cm, the Barrel is 16cm with a 12mm Bore. As can be seen theres a seperate Lighter that although degraded would have reached the Touch Hole. Theres two makers marks that although degraded appear to be the same. What period do you think its from? It looks as though it was a River find. Many thanks!! |
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#2 |
Lead Moderator European Armoury
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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Fascinating piece. I hope you have it identified
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NC, U.S.A.
Posts: 2,087
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Very interesting piece! I personally believe its either one of two things, based on it's primitivity and thinness of the iron (I'm not being snooty here with my 'primitive' comment. I think its a fantastic item!). I beleive what we have here is either a colonial-made halberd for the early colonies here in America. See Neumann's and Peterson (Colonial Weapons in America) for similar. Another possibility is that it is a blacksmith-made halberd style tomahawk ax sans hilt. There are very similar examples to this style seen in Hartzler and Knowle's volume Frontier tradeaxes and Indian Tomahawks, etc. Many tomahawk heads, especially pipe axes, were made from old musket barrels.
Check out this site for similar http://furtradetomahawks.tripod.com/id9.html Last edited by M ELEY; 6th September 2014 at 08:55 AM. |
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NC, U.S.A.
Posts: 2,087
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The more I look at it, I'm convinced its an early trade tomahawk. The halberd types were early, mimicing the European weapons of the same name. The native Americans were captivated by the shapes of these weapons. Besides the halberd style, there were also 'spontoon head' tomahawks. I'm guessing the date on yours to be 17th to early 18th c. The French fur traders coming in through the Hudson River valley would have been the first to encounter and trade with the natives. You have an amazing piece!! Love to have it for my collection-
The site I referenced above is hard to pull up. If you do a general google search for 'halberd head tomahawk', you will see examples of this rare style of trade axe. |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 87
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Interestign thought regarding Amercian use. But would that explain the Matchlock Mechanism, which had largely died out by 1700.
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#6 |
Lead Moderator European Armoury
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
Posts: 9,694
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Great approach, Mark ... and excelent food for thought
![]() Say templarnight, why are you so sure that such appendix is a matchlock mechanism ? It is true you are able to observe the piece at naked eye; pictures posted are not so elucidative (for me ![]() I will be ridiculous but, it looks like a twisted belt hanger ... ![]() ![]() Also that orifice is rather misplaced for being a touch hole, am i right ? , |
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