Converted Spike Tomahawk?
 

Hello:

Would appreciate any comments on this piece in my collection. I wonder if it started out as a pipe tomahawk, bowl was removed and spike welding on.

Vargo's Book "The Spike Tomahawk" shows a nearly similar example on p. 76, found in NY.

My piece is 8 inches (head) and weights 15 oz. Hand forged and spike is blunted. I made the haft.

Thank you

I hope you haven't paid any money for it! :rolleyes:

It's an abomination made by a layman who started electro welding!

I assume that you have reviewed Jack Vargo's book "The Spike Tomahawk" to elicit such an austere comment?

Here is a very good axe identification website.

Gentlemen, please look what we have here, it's an unprofessional electro welded monstrum, sorry!!
Look at the pic and the marked pearls from elektro welding. :rolleyes:

And here it's made longer, also with electro welding.

Dear Mgolab,

I don't need to have read books to judge what I see in your pictures as it is more than obvious that the piece is welded together. I am a mechanical engineer and did a lot of welding in my younger years, the beads/pearls I marked are only created by modern electro welding. The second mark is also more than obvious.
I don't know that modern electro welding was already common at the time where you think the piece was created. ;)
Everybody who has only a little bit understanding about forging and welding will see directly that this axe head is a unprofessional modified modern axe head, sorry.

Regards,
Detlef

See here what I am speaking of, it's the same what we see in my pic in post #5.

Detlef the first weld from #8 is beautiful. I strive to make those beautiful swirls on my welds. And yes, by all visible signs the OP is stick welded. My main question has been what did the socket start life as? Maybe a small mattock? That would naturally have a lug to weld the blade to, but it seems reshaping an ax blade on a mattock would be easier than the welding process. so maybe some sort of pipe?

IP, the pics I've taken from the net that mgolab can see what I am writing about. But, yes, I agree the first weld is a very good one. And yes, the OP is stick welded or mig/mac welded, who will know exactly. But it's important to note that the OP isn't in any way old/antique.
I guess that the piece started it's life as a small axe head, it was made longer at one point of it's history (which will be quite short ;)) but the welded-on spike is a very unprofessional work, especially the spike itself.
I don't need to be knowledgeable about tomahawks to see that even in the given pictures.
Regards,
Detlef

I sincerely hope that Mgolab does not feel attacked but instead takes a calm look at his axe and takes note of my arguments.
I think it makes more sense to tell the truth, it can be disappointing but ultimately it's helpful. At least I hope so! :)

Age question, please compare carefully.

First pic. OP, the others taken from old threads.

This forum exists so that collectors may receive assistance from more experienced collectors, even when the truth is not pleasant. I discovered the website that I linked to above after I bought a small "frontiersman's belt" axe at a rural estate auction. I wanted it to be true, but a few things didn't add up. The operator of that site will, for a nominal donation, provide an opinion on submitted photographs. My axe was judged as something reworked from a small claw hammer. I accepted my medicine gracefully. Ultimately, I did XRF and the condemnation was not surprisingly confirmed by the alloy. The estate was of a man who did bicentennial re-enacting. The above quoted website has an extensive gallery of forgeries as well as diverse genuine axes.