This is in response to a request from Blogger, Opus #6, who wanted more pictures of my Jenny Wren tomahawk, and more details. (Sorry it took so long to post this up, Opus)
In a close quarters battle, there is nothing that I know of that is as effective as a tomahawk. Bullets are often defeated by body armor, a tomahawk is not.
The Jenny Wren, made by RMJ Forge comes with this cautionary warning:
Caution: Your tomahawk is sharp. Care should be taken, especially with the beard, as you learn to eject and load your hawk. (into the scabbard) DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE YOUR TOMAHAWK OUT OF THE SCABBARD THE FIRST TIME EVER WHILE DRIVING. Doing so resulted in one weapons expert getting 15 stitches. However, this warning may be too late for you because if you opened your hawk while driving then you probably didn’t take the time to read the warning either.
We are certain you will cut yourself with your tomahawk. Just the nature of the beast so to speak. Heck, we make them and we are usually sporting bandaids.
Stitches, though rare, are a real possibility. Loss of digits, deep wounds, and maiming are much rarer if you don’t fool around. Serious injury or death are not beyond the sphere of possibilities.
It is a very sharp tool that was designed to penetrate steel, concrete, wood and synthetic materials.
And that sums it up.
The Jenny Wren Tomahawk is not big. It’s small and lethal. The entire head is a cutting edge (top, beard and both traditional striking surfaces.
It’s definitely not a Boy Scout hatchet. It’s a tomahawk and it’s a weapon to some and a “work tool” to others. It will peel the metal from an automobile and will chop through concrete or plywood. It will penetrate level 3A dyneema or level 3 kevlar as easy as a knife goes through butter.
This does not mean that I gave up my Eagle Talon Tomahawk. Different tools for different applications.
!!!!!!!!!!! Who, me? No sir, not a word did I say. That must have been some liberal twit, not me. Nice knife, sir. Or whatever.
It's just a work tool.
The really interesting part of all this is that an axe is legal to carry EVERYWHERE in the world including urban paradises in the developed world (Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, etc.). Even in Russia, knives other than a small pocket knife are illegal to carry. But an axe? Yes, you can carry an axe legally in Russia.
And little Jenny can fit almost anywhere.
New toy time. Thank you!
Hey, you could poke your eye out with that thing.
Just don't attach it loosely swinging from your belt.
Vikings from the distant past concur with your assessment. The mighty axe swinging warriors of Anglo-Saxon King Harold also concur with this review. I, however, prefer a battle hammer. Blunt force damage insured no matter what armor is worn by the enemy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dane_Axe
Or somebody else's
It could reduce me from 12 to 6 in a single accidental stroke.
Absolutely true. In fact, swords inflicted the same sort of blunt force trauma, which is why armored men wore padded gambisons under their armor (boiled leather, mail or plate). However a real war hammer had a spike on one side and a cutting edge on the other. The spike would go through anything and the hammer/axe end could cut.
rmjtactical.com/tactical_tomahawks_page_1.htm
I've owned an Eagle Talon since RJM forge started making them. They don't allow the long handle that one would use in a battle axe, but neither are they as brittle as the old norse axeheads were – or is there wood to break.
Early warriors (among who were the Norse) tended to use smaller "tomahawk style" axes for battle because they were very quick. Instead of using the blunt head of the axe, they'd use the beard of the axe to hook enemies legs in a shield wall. The beard is the most effective killing surface on an axe, not the standard chopping end — because it tears and cuts as it does so. As armor became better, the larger headed/longer handled "battle axes" came into common use for infantry in Europe but they never replaced the war hammers that infantry used to kill dismounted cavalry in heavy armor.
Likewise, Indian war clubs were in common use in the Americas (Last of the Mohicans has a good example in the film). While they were effective weapons, they didn't replace the tomahawk.
The Jenny Wren is particularly effective because it's small, light, exceptionally quick, every edge is razor sharp and it's legal to carry one anywhere in the world.
cheers!
You and Jenny sound like some pair.
Awesome.
Love is a many-spleandored thing.
Good summary.
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