page_title: Tomahawk
section_title: Modern use
hierarchical_section_title: Tomahawk / Modern use
caption_attribution_description: English: Traditional tomahawk by Steve Opperman
context_page_description: A tomahawk is a type of single-handed ax native to the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. The term came into the English language in the 17th century as an adaptation of the Powhatan word.
  Tomahawks were general-purpose tools used by Native Americans and later the European colonials with whom they traded, and often employed as a hand-to-hand weapon. The metal tomahawk heads were originally based on a Royal Navy boarding ax and used as a trade-item with Native Americans for food and other provisions.
context_section_description: Tomahawks are useful in camping and bushcraft scenarios. They are mostly used as an alternative to a hatchet, as they are generally lighter and slimmer than hatchets. They often contain other tools in addition to the ax head, such as spikes or hammers.
  Modern tomahawks were used by select US forces during the Vietnam War and are referred to as "Vietnam tomahawks". These modern tomahawks have gained popularity with their reemergence by American Tomahawk Company in the beginning of 2001 and a collaboration with custom knife-maker Ernest Emerson of Emerson Knives, Inc. A similar wood handle Vietnam tomahawk is produced today by Cold Steel.
  Many of these modern tomahawks are made of drop forged, differentially heat treated, alloy steel. The differential heat treatment allows for the chopping portion and the spike to be harder than the middle section, allowing for a shock-resistant body with a durable temper.
caption: Traditional form tomahawk
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