Damaged Boarding Axe?

[M ELEY]

The haft does indeed look very old. It could perhaps be a 'field piece', a primitive type spike axe/tomahawk. The langets not typical for -hawks, but there are so many variations based on the smith. It could still be a much earlier repurposed piece as well. I see what you mean about the thinning of the eye-

[mgolab]

Thanks again Mark for the comments. I found the attached image, No. 42, on the right, from the old book Armouries in the Tower of London. I though it bears some resemblance.

I gently cleaned the axe up a bit and, interestingly, the cutting edge and spike, appear to be forge welded in steel. The rest of the head what appears to be iron.

Curious piece, in my opinion.

[mgolab]

Also not sure whether this is a faded maker's mark. Hard to tell.

[CutlassCollector]

Yes, definitely looks more like a weapon with that thinness of blade, lightness helps with speed.
Fire axes/hatchets tend to be chunkier designed to break through doors or open up the roof to let smoke out. So, not a fire axe after all.

Normal, of course, to have a steel insert for the blade. Unusual that the spike maybe steel as well.

Sorry, can't help with the maker's mark.

[M ELEY]

Thanks, David, for coming in on this one. Although uncommon, there are spike tomahawks that will occasionally be found with both a steel bit AND a steel spike, like this early one from my own collection. This one dates pre-1800, has very thin 'walls' around the eye and possibly an original haft-

[M ELEY]

It makes sense that a piece of steel might be used for the spikes on some of these types. Just as the bit was inserted to make the cutting edge stronger, a steel spike would'nt blunt or bend as easily.

The axe under discussion is probably a spike axe, like the kind carried by frontiersmen, trappers and militia. I think the only difference between it and the one I possess is that the steel inserts were not 'blended' better and thus stick out a little more. It's also possible someone polished the heck out of this one, removing any natural patina that might have been there once!!

[mgolab]

Thanks Mark. I think that analysis makes a lot of sense.

What is throwing me off are the langets. Could this piece be a re-purposed British/American Colonial blacksmith made boarding axe that fell into Native American trade? I know that we have seen examples of early boarding axes where the spike was removed and repurposed as a belt axe.

I suspect the spike was much longer at one stage and in its current state, the head is already 6 inches.

Anyway just a thought.

[CutlassCollector]

Originally Posted by M ELEY

Although uncommon, there are spike tomahawks that will occasionally be found with both a steel bit AND a steel spike, like this early one from my own collection. This one dates pre-1800, has very thin 'walls' around the eye and possibly an original haft-

Thanks Mark,
Interesting and I was not very aware of that, good to learn something new. I will look at my own collection with a new eye to see if there are any steel spikes.