Rifleman Belt Axe

[Thimble Farm]

Hi Everyone:

I am new to this forum but have been collecting axes/tomahawks for 35 years or so. Here is an article I just wrote with some images:

"Early Fall 1776. Somewhere in Westchester County, New York. Late Afternoon.

A man climbs a tall Oak still under the shade of its leaves, slightly auburn with the changing of the season.

He gets a better vantage point or, perhaps, a better shot….a crack and a patrolling jaeger goes down 250 yards out. The man scrambles to descend the Oak, the band in his broad brimmed hat soaked with sweat… no time to re-load his long rifle while running to catch up with his unit in retreat. The remainder of the jaeger company give chase with their hunting swords.

Perhaps the man was county militia or a rifle company levied out of Pennsylvania a year before. Either way, the man was left with little else to defend himself than his rifleman’s belt axe or “tomahawk” after his single shot long rifle was discharged. With no time to reload and the enemy quick in chase, the man was left with his axe to defend himself.

What was the rifleman’s belt axe?

Blacksmith forged, individual and distinct just like its owner. No two alike. It contained a variety of different polls (hammer, square, etc.) and blade shapes. Quick in a pinch as a tool for light camp duties, it was nevertheless a weapon. The poll acted as a counter-balance for more driving force into flesh during the chopping swing. All else fails, the poll end went into the skull."

I’ve attached an image of an original, hand forged rifleman’s belt axe from Pennsylvania, late 18th century for comment and questions.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

18th century belt axe Sold at auction for $1600

My hammer forged tomahawk. This copy was made by a master blacksmith before he died.

I dont see a lot of difference.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Unlikely there was much commonality in what they carried. The popular shapes made by H&B forget and others are probably good representations of what most had.

 

[Thimble Farm]

Mine came from Bedford County, PA.

 

[tenngun]

In general it seems the belt axe was a weapon and not a tool. Most of our tomahawk are built as tools. And I’m sure they crossed over.
However the true one was made to be a head splitter and tended to be thin in profile and light.
I carry a British light infantry axe that would outweigh the slim easy to swing in a fight axe

 

[Rancocas]

In general it seems the belt axe was a weapon and not a tool. Most of our tomahawk are built as tools. And I’m sure they crossed over.
However the true one was made to be a head splitter and tended to be thin in profile and light.
I carry a British light infantry axe that would outweigh the slim easy to swing in a fight axe

I think you have it backwards. However, I am certainly no expert, and not even very well versed in these things.

With that said, here are my thoughts; I believe "belt axe" is a modern term. Originally there were hatchets and tomahawks. It is the tomahawk that is purely a weapon. They are too small and light to use for any heavy chopping, though they could probably be used to split some light kindling. Mainly, though, they were used to split skulls.
The hatchet was of heavier, stronger construction and was intended as a chopping tool. An axe, of course, was used for the really heavy chopping chores, but axes were not generally carried on the person.
The hatchet could be used as a weapon, but being heavier, it was not as fast and handy for that purpose as is a tomahawk.

Years ago I cut/ground down a common carpenter's hatchet. It now looks very much like the one pictured at the beginning of this thread.

 

[tenngun]

I think you have it backwards. However, I am certainly no expert, and not even very well versed in these things.

With that said, here are my thoughts; I believe "belt axe" is a modern term. Originally there were hatchets and tomahawks. It is the tomahawk that is purely a weapon. They are too small and light to use for any heavy chopping, though they could probably be used to split some light kindling. Mainly, though, they were used to split skulls.
The hatchet was of heavier, stronger construction and was intended as a chopping tool. An axe, of course, was used for the really heavy chopping chores, but axes were not generally carried on the person.
The hatchet could be used as a weapon, but being heavier, it was not as fast and handy for that purpose as is a tomahawk.

Years ago I cut/ground down a common carpenter's hatchet. It now looks very much like the one pictured at the beginning of this thread.

What we see archeologically is slim headed light and heavily curved blades, less than a pound in weight, often with pipe bowl or spike on the top, that went on a slim handle. Cutting edge is often around two inches
Then heavier blade, made for thick handles, closer to a pound in weight with cutting edges of three to three and a half inches. These are too light for an axe head but handy as a one handed chopper
Lastly axe head that looked like tomahawks grown up, heads in the two and a half to three pound range
We have evidence of small chopping tools carried on the belt
We have a long history of this. When Saxon fought Norman they had woodsman’s axes, heavy and great for felling trees and slim light axes great for felling men
Fire arms traps and tools of the Mountain man should be calls axes and other stuff, as almost half the book is about trade axes

 

[French Colonial]

When Europeans arrived the native Americans were living in the stone age, anyone who has seen the original stone axes would immediately grasp that the tomahawks that were being traded to them were a vast improvement and while the stone axes and tomahawks could both be used as weapons (almost anything can be with a little imagination) the light chopping that could be done in a typical native village could be easily accomplished with these new sharp edged tools.

Yes they used them in warfare but they make great tools for chopping kindling and for cleaning larger game animals.

 

[Rancocas]

What we see archeologically is slim headed light and heavily curved blades, less than a pound in weight, often with pipe bowl or spike on the top, that went on a slim handle. Cutting edge is often around two inches
Then heavier blade, made for thick handles, closer to a pound in weight with cutting edges of three to three and a half inches. These are too light for an axe head but handy as a one handed chopper
Lastly axe head that looked like tomahawks grown up, heads in the two and a half to three pound range
We have evidence of small chopping tools carried on the belt
We have a long history of this. When Saxon fought Norman they had woodsman’s axes, heavy and great for felling trees and slim light axes great for felling men
Fire arms traps and tools of the Mountain man should be calls axes and other stuff, as almost half the book is about trade axes

Exactly; that is what I said.
"...slim headed light and heavily curved blades, less than a pound in weight, ..." That is what I call a tomahawk. It is a light and handy fighting weapon with a hammer pole, a spike, or in some cases a pipe for smoking.
"...heavier blade, made for thick handles, closer to a pound in weight with cutting edges of three to three and half inches. ..." This is what I call a hatchet, or sometimes in modern parlance, a "belt axe". It is a light cutting/chopping tool slightly larger and heavier than a tomahawk. Not meant as a weapon, but can be used as one in a pinch.
"... heads in the two and a half to three pound range ..." That is an axe; a heavy tool depending on the design, used for felling trees, splitting logs, hewing logs, etc.

Now, if we really want to get into semantics: My old American Heritage Dictionary, copyright of 1976, describes a tomahawk thusly;
"tom-a-hawk 1. A light ax used as a tool or weapon by North American Indians."
The same dictionary describes a hatchet this way;
"hatch-et 1. A small short-handed ax, for use in one hand."
This dictionary does not give a definition for "belt axe".
This dictionary does give a definition for an ax;
"ax, axe 1. A tool with a bladed head mounted on a handle, used for felling or splitting lumber."

Maybe we're disagreeing on what, exactly, constitutes a "belt axe". I don't know. Who cares, anyway.
():>)

 

[tenngun]

Exactly; that is what I said.
"...slim headed light and heavily curved blades, less than a pound in weight, ..." That is what I call a tomahawk. It is a light and handy fighting weapon with a hammer pole, a spike, or in some cases a pipe for smoking.
"...heavier blade, made for thick handles, closer to a pound in weight with cutting edges of three to three and half inches. ..." This is what I call a hatchet, or sometimes in modern parlance, a "belt axe". It is a light cutting/chopping tool slightly larger and heavier than a tomahawk. Not meant as a weapon, but can be used as one in a pinch.
"... heads in the two and a half to three pound range ..." That is an axe; a heavy tool depending on the design, used for felling trees, splitting logs, hewing logs, etc.

Now, if we really want to get into semantics: My old American Heritage Dictionary, copyright of 1976, describes a tomahawk thusly;
"tom-a-hawk 1. A light ax used as a tool or weapon by North American Indians."
The same dictionary describes a hatchet this way;
"hatch-et 1. A small short-handed ax, for use in one hand."
This dictionary does not give a definition for "belt axe".
This dictionary does give a definition for an ax;
"ax, axe 1. A tool with a bladed head mounted on a handle, used for felling or splitting lumber."

Maybe we're disagreeing on what, exactly, constitutes a "belt axe". I don't know. Who cares, anyway.
():>)

Sorry gave you the wrong impression I wasn’t disagreeing with you, just expanding

 

[Thimble Farm]

Continuing with my articles, I’ve attached an image of another hammer poll axe in my collection. This axe has a more “traditional” tomahawk style blade and a, somewhat, interesting history.

The axe is hand forged with an elongated octagonal poll, dating to the late 18th century. Light weight, slightly over 1 pound.

It was owned, at one point, by an individual with an Acadian surname from Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Interestingly, that family surname was inter-married with other Acadians loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution. Almost seems counter-intuitive after the 1755 removal of Acadians. Nevertheless, these loyal Acadian family provided intelligence, acted as guides, and interpreters to the British Crown prior to 1783, were at Fort Howe, otherwise “served in Canada”, being recommended for land grants in the 1783 Studholm Report.

Was this axe part of a loyalist guide’s kit?, a gift from the Royal Fencible American Regiment? Or perhaps carried by an interpreter for the British Indian Department?

Interesting to ponder…

 

[Flintlock Whiskey]

Hi Everyone:

I am new to this forum but have been collecting axes/tomahawks for 35 years or so. Here is an article I just wrote with some images:

"Early Fall 1776. Somewhere in Westchester County, New York. Late Afternoon.

A man climbs a tall Oak still under the shade of its leaves, slightly auburn with the changing of the season.

He gets a better vantage point or, perhaps, a better shot….a crack and a patrolling jaeger goes down 250 yards out. The man scrambles to descend the Oak, the band in his broad brimmed hat soaked with sweat… no time to re-load his long rifle while running to catch up with his unit in retreat. The remainder of the jaeger company give chase with their hunting swords.

Perhaps the man was county militia or a rifle company levied out of Pennsylvania a year before. Either way, the man was left with little else to defend himself than his rifleman’s belt axe or “tomahawk” after his single shot long rifle was discharged. With no time to reload and the enemy quick in chase, the man was left with his axe to defend himself.

What was the rifleman’s belt axe?

Blacksmith forged, individual and distinct just like its owner. No two alike. It contained a variety of different polls (hammer, square, etc.) and blade shapes. Quick in a pinch as a tool for light camp duties, it was nevertheless a weapon. The poll acted as a counter-balance for more driving force into flesh during the chopping swing. All else fails, the poll end went into the skull."

This reads like a J. Peterman catalogue advertisement, no disrespect intended at all, I liked it. I'd also like to get my hands on one of these.

 

[Thimble Farm]

that's a compliment. I really appreciate it. more articles and axes to come...