Pipe tomahawks have always intrigued me. There are countless accounts of longhunters, pioneers, military representatives, and politicians taking the time to share a pipe while visiting with, or discussing the myriad issues with the original inhabitants of our lands. The Indians saw this as an integral part of the process of any discussion. The reason I find these so intriguing is the fact that they were a combination of peace making and war making in one object. "Smoke softly, but carry a sharp axe" would be an apt description of their not so subtle meaning.
The pipe hawk I have created here is one example of the many styles of pipe tomahawks that were seen across our continent.
The head of this hawk was forged for me by H & B Forge to my specifications. I had asked for a general shape of the head and bowl, but with plenty of material to allow for shaping to the finished profile I was trying to achieve. They delivered exactly what I was looking for. The handle, or haft, is from Dunlap Woodcrafts and is a very hard and tight grained piece of curly maple.
I filed the hawk to shape and then engraved the borders and images seen on
the head of the hawk. The mouthpiece is poured pewter. The engraved hunters
moon shows a slight smile on one side, and a slight frown on the other side of
the hawk, symbolizing the pipe tomahawk's potential for multiple personalities.
There is a sterling silver decorative band inlaid into the wood of the haft.
The hawk has been slightly aged.
No comments:
Post a Comment