If it was the back of the body possibly. Kidneys Brain Stem100% Front of the body splitting the chest and getting the heart maybe? Historically They were thrown. Might even sever limbs/ decapitate based on the Hunga munga forged in fire test. Paralization from the spine results in an instant knock down. So can a hard hit to the liver or taking out tendons or the knee. We can't ignore the concussive force either. So the weight of the axe has knock out power even if it hits sidways. As Tommy Moore would say your shaking the brain jelly. Technically on the heart and kidneys those are both knock outs with unconsciousness after 30 seconds and take 2-3 min to bleed out. Remember Goliath was knocked out then David took dudes head off with his own sword. Before the fact let him know he's crow food. If you ever need to throw a tomahawk at a bad guy I'm sure you'd have the same sentiments I would. The spike on the m48 might get the heart.
@@TheRealRomansThirteen thank you for comment brother, yeah i believe too that even smack with handle or head would make serious damage and possible even lethal bcs its really heavy blow....i seen people got messed up really bad just from the rebounces...full force throw must have been super effective and very devastating.
@@AdamCeladin That's why a spikehawk of some type is best for throwing combat... or a hurlbat, of course... you are just increasing your chances of penetration. Talking about the handle strike being deadly, you ever fully over rotate a spikehawk 1/2 a revolution? The handle strikes the target so hard, it drives the spike into the target. The cooler shot woulda been an underhand throw where the redcoat woulda never seen it coming! Lately, I practice right hand under, left hand over tomahawk/axes ALOT. Trying to teach myself throwing like that on the move, smoothly underhand with the overhand coming immediately after. With that momentum, they stick well grouped and with so much violence!
Those fellas fought with Tomahawks during the French and Indian wars. They were not novices but battle proven experts. The frontier was not a place for the timid.
A tomahawk is not soft anywhere, it is no Nerf projectile. Thrown at leisure to ensure accuracy of the hit and it still nails itself into the target deeply. Imagine dudes pumped up into battle ferocity levels. Whether you hit blade first or not, your head gets rung like a bell. A 20 oz. Tomahawk with a longer handle would be exactly like a professional framing hammer. Blunt force trauma kills more people every year than guns...
As someone who has Akwesasne Mohawk heritage and my ancestors were allied to the British in both the French & Indian War and the Rev War, there's a reason why the tomahawk and belt axes were so deadly even in close quarters. Even if they weren't thrown, the blunt force trauma of the flat or blunt side will fracture the skull, and the blade is more than enough to split it open.
just to contribute some self serving comment I am also a descendant of Mohawk stock. My great great plus Grandfather was Joseph Brant the Mohawk War Chief during the Rev. War.
@@mohawksteel2215 And that is where we get our city of Branford, in Ontario, Canada from. After the American Revolutionary war, Joseph Brant and his natives settled there to live by a ford in the river. Although he also built a house near Burlington.
The Last Of The Mohicans made me fall in love with tomahawks and also Chingachook's war club.The chase along the mountain top and the death of Magua is one of the greatest fight scenes ever committed to film. Then The Patriot came along a few years later and I fell in love all over again. Lol. It's no wonder that 'hawks were brought back into service. If I saw what it could do in the hands of someone who knew how to use it, I'd surrender!
20 seconds in and I say it's real. My wife is a champion axe thrower. She would save me in that scenario. Umm...I mean , I hope she would because she could.
Can I have a question? How many throwing axes could someone realisticly carry around? I have a character in the book I'm writing who has throwing axes, but her primary weapon is a halberd. Then, she also has an arming sword plus a buckler. Would there be place for two axes, or only one if there are so many other weapons on her?
@@hungariangiraffe6361 Did you play chivalry 2? I think the concepts in the game are pretty accurate (I do practice axe/knife/spear throwing myself). Idk if people would carry 5x spears like they do in the game though. Tomahawk thrower not the best class but it's not bad either
@hungariangiraffe6361 realistically, you want two. Double handed tomahawk technique is very effective at close range, and throwing would be limited to an all or nothing scenario, which is never ideal. Throwing one's weapon is effectively throwing it away. Holding two with established effective techniques is far more preferable to throwing, but if you must, make sure you have a second one in case you miss, and your opponent now has half of your hatchet collection.
True! But playing cards don't bend, twist, dodge, duck, or side-step. And a thrown object (knife, tomahawk, spear) do not travel nearly as fast as you might think they do. They are actually relatively slow moving and are more easily dodged than movies portray. And then, there's the guy who is certain you're gonna move and aims to the side - but you don't move, or you go the other direction.
@@mcmneverreadsreplys7318 I throw nearly every day to keep the practice up for competition. The axe hits the target fast! It's not an easy dodge by any stretch of the imagination especially given that reaction times are delayed and by the time you realize the axe is in flight you have milliseconds to dodge. The hand is always faster than the eye. Spears on the other hand are quite a bit easier to dodge when thrown considering their much slower speed off the hand. The distances you engage with them are also different. Spear is 15-25 ft. Axe is 10-15 ft.
Great comment. I use to compete at the black powder rendezvous. We would cut up cards at 21 feet or 7 full steps. We would also do complete cuts Most points). Won the district one year. Beat the guy who won it 4 years in a row on my first competition.
I used to work at an axe throwing range... It's not as hard as most people think. We would have people "Sticking the Target", within a few minutes... My favorite technique, was throwing double axes, one overhand and one underhand, at the same time... Not gonna lie, I spent alot of time practicing, until I finally got that down... 💪💪💪❤❤❤
I recall being call to an Assembly in our High School Auditorium, given by an American Indian WW2 Euorpeian Combat Vet, with dozens of KIA credits against the Germans. His weapons being knives...and a tomahawk.......and he operated in total darkness. This was in the late 1960's, and endorsed by our Educational Professionals, and sense of actual Historical Education. It was an honor and that man gave a lot, so that literally hundreds, if not thousand af American GI's came home from that bitter conflict. In retrospect, thanks for your skill and dedication. Wokeism has decided that Historical facts and circumstances should be altered and changed, to reflect a fantasy of what the woke think it should be. Perhaps there is hope, as I now see knife, axe and tomahawks throwing ranges and competitions are becoming common.
Thank you for watching and comment its really nice to see those ranges all over the world these days and its just matter of time when we see some cool competition also on the TV :)
Back in the 1980s I competed in tomahawk and knife. We would through 3 distances. 7 paces, hawk would stick handle down (1 rotation). 5 more paces, with bit to the back, the hawk would stick handle up(1.5 rotations). 5 more paces, and the bit to the front again and the hawk would stick handle down (2 rotations). But at the meet you couldn't pace the throw. PS I think the 2 rotations was 5 more but it could of been 7 paces. It's been a long time! At most meets it was only 1 rotation. At the Ohio state championship at Great Trials in Malvern in 1984. I took 3rd in tomahawk and 2nd in muzzle loading rifle. Thanks for the video!!!
A long time ago when I was young I used to complete in the 1838 fur trade reenactments. When I was taught how to throw a hawk, was to keep the hand about 1-2 inches from the bottom. That and to adjust the one spin through depending on paces. Later when I got better I used a battle ax. Similar to a Dane ax but for one hand throwing. After the third target log I split in half i was banned from using it lol
Once upon a time, I made a war hammer fronted with a slight hook for throwing, there was such a penetration that you often had to baton the blade to help hammer it out. It was shaped like a Japanese Kama, or scythe blade and in this case needlessly sharpened...
I think, but I could be wrong, that throwing is tomahawk wasn’t supposed to be so hot as we think. Indeed, if you throw your weapon, you are disarmed, and in the middle of a battle it is a very bad idea. I believe more in knife and tomahawk battle scenes against swords and guns.
It fascinates me that Viking and American Indian Axes are so similar. My personal thought are that in the time of Lief Ericsson those Vikings that went to North America, the Indians were using flint or stone axes, and Viking axes were either traded or won. And as such will have been more valuable to the Indians. Later during colonisation by the French firstly, trappers noticed how useful the axe was/is so blacksmiths started making them, and again they were used for trade.
This is not remotely true, axes have been used for well over thousands of years by many cultures. French and English did not discover their usefulness from the Natives, so that's rubbish. Since Axes are far cheaper to make than swords they were the most commonly used weapon in war for the common soldier for over a thousand years in Europe (besides the spear). Long before the English ever knew Naive Americans existed they were using axes in war and around the home. BTW American Indian Axes similar to Vikings??? Wrong, native stone axes would look more like the English Tomahawk just because you can't make the curved blade out of stone like the Vikings axe. So Viking and Native American axes looked nothing alike. There were no Iron hawks made by the natives. Nearly all the metal hawks were made by English or the French since Natives didn't know how to smelt metal or have any metal workers. Furthermore French and Viking axes were shaped similar, as French hawks have a very curved blade just as the thrower in the video was using. That was a french design hawk. English hawks looked much more like the Native American hawks. So you are way off.
My instructor taught me to grip the handle as low as possible in a hammer grip, draw back and throw with elbow and shoulder, open the fingers for a consistent clean release.
I say it always depends where you are aiming at, say like the nape of a person's neck will put a dreadful slow down to a stop to them, while it may not be immediate it will get the vitals needed to stop the heart if you go a little up with it will hit the part of the brain that controls the heart... however you gotta get through the skull when you throw it though....soooo...
As a U.S. Marine we were taught the no reflex zone from the front is from just above the eyes to just below the eyes. The projectile must penetrate to the back of the skull, or back to front. As a paramedic we had a patient with a machete IN his skull , he was still winning the fight.
I don't like throwing weapons but if I was gonna throw my hand weapon, it would end up being a short handled shovel, I can throw it zero rotations and at eight yards bury in the center of your chest deeper than the length of your fingers Not instant death but you aren't gonna be doing anything while your torso fills up with blood
The Franks were famous for using their throwing axes (francisca) to break shields before they charged in for the main attack. Any damage it caused to the person behind the shield was just a bonus.
@@AdamCeladin yes it's on you tube. Search ed Ames, tomahawk throw, Jonny Carson. Ed Ames was an accomplished singer. One of a group called the Ames Bros. He was staring on a T.V. show (Daniel Boone) where he played the role of an Indian warrior This is why he was demonstrating the tomahawk throw. It's worth watching,!
These soldiers fought arms to arms combat during those days. They used melee weapons most of the time and so frequently when the line clashes. To them, it's so often which is like eating a meal. No way anyone of us today could match their skills. It's in their blood which we do not have. I truly believe that could happen and it's not a myth.
Thanks for the video. In this example, I don't think either of those throws would have killed as quickly as they did in the movie. Assuming that pork ribs are a good analogy to human ribs, the throw into the back might or might not be fatal, but the kill would not happen quickly unless the blade hit that big artery in the back. If the blade didn't hit the artery, the wound to the ribs would be painful and eventually debilitating. However, a person full of adrenaline might keep running. Maybe that person would bleed to death over the next hour or so. A more likely scenario is that the person would die of infection. If the axe penetrated the front of the skull, that wouldn't might not be immediately debilitating. If the blunt force produced a knockout, the person might fall that way, but knockouts to the forehead are rare. An injury to the front brain is serious, but a person in a fight doesn't always stop immediately. People have been stabbed in the forehead and kept functioning. I don't think he would have kept his son from being stabbed in the throat.
The one thing that can't be recreated is the skill of a veteran of hand to hand combat. They fought on the 18th century frontier, where battles often became hand to hand affairs, especially against Cherokee guerrillas. The tomahawk still had a place on the battlefield, and when you've taken numerous lives with one, that is skill and experience that can't be duplicated today.
There are variety of short clubs, throwing sticks, and axes that were used world wide for fighting at one time. Some of these sticks and clubs are still used in southern africa today and perhaps elsewhere for contests. I do know that the hatchet was at one time also used in africa. When I was younger I did try throwing a carpenters hatchet. I found out that even a strike from the end of the handle when thrown transmitted a lot of force. The problem with throwing your tomahawk, is that you no longer have it one it leaves your hand.
Brilliant video, Adam. When I am throwing, if I have a photo or a drawing of a person as a target, my accuracy goes way up: I think the simulation of a life or death sitiation does wonders for your instincts.
What I’ve heard is that Tomahawks were almost never used as throwing weapons against humans. But in skilled hands they were great against small-medium game animals, like raccoon, rabbits, foxes, and squirrels.
My tomahawk has a 3 and one half inch edge, the shape is consistent with the French and Indian war. My handle is 24 inches long. I don't even practice throwing. I would use mine in my strong hand with a large Bowie knife in my off hand. As a melee weapon, it would be hard to defeat.
Have you considered using ballistic heads and hands for the reenactments? It would be very interesting to see what kind of damage the axe would have on a head , or throwing knife to the hand balistic dummy
The Indian French war was brutal hand fighting with some amount of cannon and firearms. But often was hand to hand fighting so battle hardened vets where the first special forces of the frontier.
When I was young, and living on an island off the Maine coast, (65-70 years ago! LOL) I practised evey day with not a hawk, but an old plumbers hatchet, which is almost the same shape, but with a short hammer head opposite the blade. Same hatchet, several tears of daily practice, and I could hit "properly" (your description) from anywhere from a few feet to maybe 20 yards). I had no set start point, but after the first million or so throws, it becomes another part of your mind as far as to how to spin it, or when to release it. Same with a knife. By the time I was 15 or so I could do either from just about any distance, even hunting rabbits and gamebirds with it. It, like in any skill, practice, practice, pracice, that makes perfect. Love your shows, but frontiersmen (and women, as well as Indians) didn't have to measure distances, the weapon was simply a part of them that they understood well. I an not entirely convinced the weapons didn't think of themselves the same way.
The tomahawk throwing intriguing and great. But what I really need to know is the story of the "Disco ball" hanging from the ceiling? Great video, rock on 🤘😎
I recently found a new U-tube video of a Swedish soldier who was packing his war axe. I have a few skills, and I may have an interest in learning more about the arts of throwing steel. I am a confident and experienced seventy one year old who is currently living a few blocks away from a supplier of wickedly ace battle axes! I am a Cold War veteran who would like to take my NATO solidarity to the next level! I aim to watch as many of your art videos as possible . I believe that I could have some fun for axe 🪓 throwing tournaments that would connect Cold War veterans with NATO to a brother and sisterhood of defense . ♤♤♤
For longer throws i just use the double rotation throw or slow the rotation down by holding the hawk with a thumbs up grip instead of the handshake grip. Middle distance i like the 1.5x spin starting with the blade facing backward and sticking the hawk upside down in the target. Takes a lot of practice but it insanely fun and addicting.
I love throwing tomahawks it's so weird but it feels so natural I would throw knives and fail constantly (unless I used a Ka-bar weird idk why myself) but with a tomahawk it was so easy to aim and almost never missed and always stuck to my target idk what I'm doing never took lessons but tomahawks are badass
How about the penetration of bone? Lets see some tests against beef or pork slab with the ribs in or better yet an actual skull. Cold Steel does those tests but I have never seen a tomahawk test on bone
Another great video Adam, I actually just got my first throwing tomahawk last month. I'm into Bushcraft and liked the idea of how easy it is to carve out new handles for them in case they break. I'll be sure to take it along with me next time I go out for some target practice with my Hibbon knives. 👍
@@KevPage-Witkicker I personally haven't broken a handle yet although my older brother broke the handle on my splitting maul because he kept missing and hitting the handle on the logs
Hatchet and tomahawk throwing was something I did alot in my younger days. It was a fun thing to do. My dad chewed my ass about the trees so I had to build targets. It never struck me as the most efficient thing to do for combat as throwing your weapon away is not the best solution in close quarters. But in a situation where it is necessary being proficient is handy. 21 feet seemed to be a magic distance for me.
The pork hit... That was a surprise. I didn't expect it to bounce out And leave such a deep wound. I thought it would stick in, but it also went deeper then I suspected.
Me neither :O really nasty wound i think similar thing could happen even with the clothing on like just bounce off but huge wound Thank you for comment and watching :)
@@AdamCeladin , Demonstration needs to be reversed. Hard surface in front equal to thickness and hardness of a human skull. Then a piece of meat, boneless, to mimic the brain tissue behind.
It's possible if you have enough time and experience with your weapon, I know everyone talks about set distance in throwing with axes, but if you're experienced enough, you can apply enough force to control the the rotation. I tell people when I'm teaching them to throw axes. Is to imagine the rotation from where they are positioned, and it works all the time. You have to do your own calculation in your head to land the shot.
You showed that the fatal throw was possible. But if I was the brit soldier,I would have put the boy in front of me to take the hit. I think the running throw is more realistic just because the brit never saw it coming. But I enjoyed the presentation,your throwing is amazing. If I ever had to do hand to hand combat,I would want a long handled tomahawk and a long bowie knife. Or better yet,two long handled tomahawks. Great video!
I stand at twice the distance away from my target when throwing a tomahawk and opposed to throwing my professional throwing axe. Plus depending on the design you can really sink it deep into a target.
Running makes no difference, because at the point of throwing you are stopped and the momentum is pushing you forward, which is your natural rotation when throwing.
It all depends on who is throwing it. I know an ex marine who can throw an M7 bayonet and drive it up to the hilt into 5/8 plywood at 10 paces. Most others I know, who can even throw properly, can't get it 1/4 inch into plywood.
So finishing afterwords, it mostly fit into my hypothesis. But the problem is the test cannot exactly be busted or proven as the meat shows the great capacity of the tomahawk being able to cut. But the problem is it didn’t simulate a skull well as you didn’t cover it with a material equal to that part of the skull. You can either do so to make it more realistic with getting the conditions as close as possible for it to count or get a ballistics head that will work seamlessly and show you the damage with the blood pouring out if it cut well enough or was lethal I enjoyed it either way and hope the port was delicious. I learnt a lot today
Thank you very much! There was Ballistic head actually in the video maybe you missed it was scene from Zombie Go Boom where i threw on Zombie Skull and was able to penetrate it and that skull has bigger density then human skull actually
Your video popped up because I'm a big fan of the patriot movie. Mel Gibson is absolutely insane(in real life) and you can totally see it in his eyes while watching his films. Especially this one. Anyway very cool content. I wish you much success.
The Nordic axe has different balance characteristics from the Americanized tomahawk because the tomahawk has a hammer/counterweight opposite the blade on the head. The tomahawk would be preferable imo as a throwing weapon because as one holds the haft at the lowest end for near absolute let off from the hand at launch. But it would interesting to see which weapon is preferable in performance when it comes to how each spins on its axis.
That wound is kind of weird and even more so when you say it was a great penetration 😂 I love this kind of video. Well done Adam. Stay safe and enjoy your lovely family. 😊
You have DIRTY mind my friend :D :D But yeah it looks kinda a strange :P :D hehe thank you brother i like to make those movie break down i will make more of this this year for sure
The tomahawk was and still is a resourceful tool to have. Such a wonderful multitool! It takes a bit of practice to learn all the full capabilities of such a great tool.
It's pretty easy to learn how to throw. Within two hours of being taught I was able to hit bulleyes with either hand 70% of the time, and I'm just an average middled aged dude. However, throwing with accuracy and deadly force under pressure is an entirely different thing.
I've been throwing knives all my life first time I threw a tomahawk wow it smashed through a fence but there's just about knowing your tools and knowing where the hold it for what distance practice makes perfect
Its possible the soldier in the creek didn't die instantly but was paralyzed from the tomahawk severing his spine and couldn't move while he got hacked.
I have no doubt a skilled axe thrower can reliably hit their target. However, to instantly decapacitate the target, I believe the brain stem must be destroyed. Taking an axe to the face is likely lethal, but not an instant kill.
It would have to be really PERFECT hit in order to be letal but nothing impossible if you think about some cultures threw projectiles in order to survive.
I have seen the but of the handle of a hatchet strike an oak tree and burry itself more than half an inch into the bark. So even if you don’t stick the blade. If you hit a human the weight alone will drop them. Regardless of what part of the weapon hits them. At least temporarily incapacitate them
how often do you throw axes at that range and they dont hit right and bounce back? I went to an axe throwing place one time and after following the instructor my first throw the axe hit wrong and bounced back and came back so close I could feel the wind from it on my face, I'll leave it to the professionals lol
I taught my brother to throw a hawk. He got pretty good at it and told me how that would be a killer. I said not to much. I went and stood by the block and told him to throw . I stepped one step away before his blade hit the block
The immediate kill with the are stuck perfectly in the skull is the made for movie dramatic effect. Yet, even if the tomahawk made a glancing blow, I imagine there would be enough of a gash or distraction to accomplish the end result.
Tomahawks are very logical sidearms for the frontier because it's the blackpowder age where no one is wearing armour or using shields because they're largely invalidated by said firearms so bladed projectile weapons as sidearms are going to be pretty effective at close range. A pair of tomahawks also isn't very inconvenient to carry.
The black powder shooting club I was in had hawk throwing competition. You got points nicking the playing card. The rule was you must hold your gun while doing so.
