[David R. Glier]

This may sound like a rediculous question (it certainly does to me), but has anyone seen any indication that langets (languets?) were used with tomohawks or trade axes circa the French & Indian war?

You see, I've just made one, and being hand made, I had to cut down the handle of this thing with a spoke-shave. I came to very much NOT want to do that again anytime soon, and my heart about stopped the first time I overshot and put a dent in my handle. Visions of shatterd hafts and hours spent shaving new buggering handles danced in my head. Being much more concerned with utility than authenticity, I immediately made a nice, long, thick langet to match. See for yourself.

AND I LOVE IT!!!

Mother of Mercy, why didn't I think of this before??? I think I'm going to be making these things for everything I own, certainly the sledgehammers, if nothing else.
And, since I'm in the process of making another hawk -this one almost straight out of the French and Indian War- a much nicer hawk, with a more delicate handle, I'm hoping and praying there's some evidence this was a practice used in period.


If not... well, I'm one of those heritics interested more in historical approximation than historical recreation, so I'll probably make one for it anyway. But it would make me much happier if I was copying a period practice, or even better, able to copy a period design.


Is there anyone who specializes in the mid 18th century around here who might be able to say?

[Sean Flynt]

Neumann (Swords and Blades of the American Revolution) is an incredibly rich source of info about hatchets in this period. None of the dozens of examples shown features langets, and Neumann makes no mention of them in the extensive text about manufacture and hafting.

[Peter Johnsson]

The only thing I´ve seen that comes close to the axe you made are the boarding hatchets used by different naval forces around 1700 (later-earlier?). The axe heads on these could be attached to the hatfs by langets that also passed through the eye with lugs on the outer side to lock the head in place. The langets were not very long, just 4 inches or so. Perhaps longer sometimes?.
It makes for a sturdy construction.

Some late 15th C and 16th axes can have features that reminds of this construction.

Tomahawks are an unknown continent to me...

Attached is a 15th C (16th C?) Swiss longhafted axe from the Army museum of Ingolstadt.
It has langets that help fasten the head. You may see how the langets are turned ower or widened on the side opposite the haft. As the haft grows thicker going away fro the head of the axe it is nicely pinched in place by the combined effort of langets and haft.

[Sean Flynt]

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about boarding axes (but were afraid to ask):

http://www.imacdigest.com/axe.html

Notice that some of these do have langets. The Danish and some French models have their langets in line with the blade, like yours. So, just add a back spike and call your weapon a European boarding axe!

[Jon C. Webb]

David,
I'm certainly not an expert on NE North American trade tomahawks ( and by the French and Indian War almost all would have been metal, of European manufacture, since flint knapping is laborious and stone edge-tools are fragile) but I've never seen any with langets, let alone the spikes on the back of the hatchet. I have seen decorative nails and sheet brass applied to wooden hafts and other wooden pieces. I think it is important to note the historical comments above, though, about boarding hatchets being contemporaneous with the era, and you can bet that somebody had gotten hold of one, and so you can probably say with some confidence that you traded it from a drunken sailor. I'll bet no one else will have one!

[Jon C. Webb]

David,
I'm certainly not an expert on NE North American trade tomahawks ( and by the French and Indian War almost all would have been metal, of European manufacture, since flint knapping is laborious and stone edge-tools are fragile) but I've never seen any with langets, let alone the spikes on the back of the hatchet. I have seen decorative nails and sheet brass applied to wooden hafts and other wooden pieces. I think it is important to note the historical comments above, though, about boarding hatchets being contemporaneous with the era, and you can bet that somebody had gotten hold of one, and so you can probably say with some confidence that you traded it from a drunken sailor. I'll bet no one else will have one!

[Scott Bubar]

SPIKED HALBERD TOMAHAWK FROM PENNSYLVANIA - Ca. 1730

Lot 16. A very early spiked Halberd Tomahawk from Pennsylvania, ca. 1730 - on it’s original hickory haft. It is very similar to the above Halberd tomahawk that has a symmetrical large crescent shaped blade hand forged of wrought iron with tangs on either side with two rivets holding the original hickory haft. Completely original and the earliest tomahawk on it’s original haft in the collection that is identical although larger than Peterson #61. (Overall length 16 inches. The crescent shaped blade is 5 1/2 inches tall and 6 1/4 inches wide.)
Catalog: 115 - "(Cat 115) The Tomahawk Collection" Price. . . . . $ 0.00 SOLD


Hendershott Museum Consultants

[Jon C. Webb]

David,
Well, there you go. Thanks to Scott, now we've both seen one.

[David R. Glier]

WOW. I think I'd get laughed out of a renacting group if I showed up with something like either of those, without the picture you just posted.

The boarding axes are closer to what I've made, but... wow. The things you guys come up with.
Many thanks!