War clubs and their more concealable cousins many of us carry today are effective and always in style. Sorry to hear Jack Vargo passed away. I bought over a dozen of his tomahawks and knives over the years and always looked forward to seeing him at the reenactments. Also have his book, a treasure trove of information on tomahawks.
He and his wife, Donna, were great. I got to meet up with them at the Fort Frederick Market Fair a couple of times. They weren't making any new blades at the time--just selling off inventory but they were still doing quillwork. He was one of the few makers with the access and knowledge to make truly accurate reproductions of historic tomahawks. I should do a video on the tomahawks of his that I have.
Another point with the context of eastern woodlands verses the plains is how dense the eastern woodlands really are. I know you are aware of it but people who have not visited the eastern woodlands may not realize just how tight that undergrowth can be. Swinging a larger size club at times is just not very manageable. As you talked about at the end, this is much closer to our modern day context of hallways and small car openings (though the woods can be way tighter than any hall way I’ve ever been in, I remain impressed with your knowledge and products, saving my money up now. You make a hawk that is maneuverable without becoming so short as to lose a major tactical advantage of the tomahawk over the average knife. You seem to have a true understanding of how the historical and modern tactical world meet,
I’ve been a tomahawk enthusiast ever since I read about Roger’s Rangers. Over 50 years ago. I learned to throw a tomahawk in 1987. That’s when I found the black powder lifestyle. We call the war club a ‘Pagamoggon’, a two pound rock on a two foot stick. 😉 I just subscribed to your channel. Can’t ever get enough tomahawk vids. Thanks for what you do.
Thanks for the subscribe! As a tomahawk enthusiast, you may already have seen this information, but others may find it interesting. If you scroll to the bottom of the link below, you’ll see a spike tomahawk that was very likely similar to what Roger’s Rangers carried. www.furtradetomahawks.com/spike-tomahawks--3.html A different site (on boarding axes) claimed that ‘the Ordnance issued 300 Tommihawks in 1761 to the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Americans’ - I believe the one pictured in the above link is one of these tomahawks. We are designing our own take on this tomahawk style-but it will be a while until that product line is reality.
@@wingardwearables I’ve never read a description of what the Rangers carried, and many resources refer to a ‘hatchet’. But that spike hawk is outstanding. Especially knowing it was issued to a soldier. That’s what I would have preferred to carry.
I have a Horse Jaw one with a deer antler handle. It is heavy, and not a nimble weapon. But I could not be happier with the way it feels on my hand. It is heavy, it is not nimble, but man would it be easy, in theory, to split a skull open with one. A full power throw from close range is gonna be a kill virtually every time. Especially spike/pickaxe shaped axe heads.
The history is interesting thank you! You are much less likely to hurt yourself carrying a war club too. A war club disguised as a hiking staff could be useful to ward off dangerous critters.
Thanks for the video, some great information that was new to me. On the point (pun intended) about spears and native americans - I'd also think that the lack of a war spear is also due to them carrying bows and arrows and the skirmishing nature of their fights. Big battles, shields and armour, stuff all possible with large supply lines all becomes impractical with individuals carrying their own supply to fight relatively close to home. And you have some cool products. Not that I'd be allowed to carry one here in Oz, and if I had a gun would it be as practical I doubt it. But it would be awesome and if you were in a hands on fight it'd be brutal. If it were legal I could definitely see myself ccw'ing a tomahawk because freedom! Anyways I mainly left this comment to help the RU-vid algorithm because I reckon you should have more subscribers than you do. Thanks again for the informative video.
I appreciate this comment. Yeah, spears really get maximum pay off as a weapon used in formation. The nature of frontier warfare and the terrain really made such maneuvers difficult to impractical. There are a few 18th century accounts from the American frontier of attempted bayonet charges (similar to a formation of spear men) being broken up or failing to physically push through due to the dense woods. There are a couple of accounts of spears being used by woodland warriors in raids, so obviously some valued the reach and the thrust, but the tomahawks and warclubs were far more common. Also we have a couple of tomahawks in Australia-a Backripper and an Empress. Won’t give you legal advice, but they get through customs just fine. Hopefully the RU-vid algorithm blesses my channel! We shall see.
Yes please, more war clubs! EDC war clubs, going in the opposite direction, what is the largest "ball" that can be hidden? What is the smallest, densest, hardest, most efficacious design? I have a nightstick and "billy" made from Cocobolo, nonexistent in eastern woodlands, but so dense, they sink in water. Fighting with tomahawk and knife/war club and knife?
I don’t think you can conceal any spherical ball headed warclub. The smallest diameters were probably close to 2”-that’s a bigger diameter than standard revolver cylinders-and concealed revolvers typically are under 1.5” in cylinder diameter. However, you can “flatten” the ball section to about an inch and conceal with a covering garment. I wouldn’t go beyond 2-3/4” on the diameter. I think increasing weight can be best achieved by adding metal to the head section. Our first WearClub design features a 3” long, 3/8” diameter steel rod that adds 1.5 ounces. We are considering future designs that could add 3 to 5 ounces of mass to the flattened ball section. Also, regarding “dual weilding” knife and tomahawk/warclub-I think with proper training someone could definitely do it. It’s just not historically evident in the accounts, so if it was done back in the day, it wasn’t prevalent at all.
@@wingardwearables Then there is the mid weight ballpeen hammer. I outside carry an 8-9" slip joint plier in a leather pouch. I hear tell that it makes a reasonable blackjack, with "gripping" ability, but I wouldn't know, I just carry then because they're better pliers then my Leatherman. Dual weilding, 2 knives, big/little knives, pistol/knife, stick/knife... Don't know about evidence, just conjugating outside the box.
@@wingardwearables Just additionally, I already carry an ESEE fixed blade of some description, (usually an Izula II at work), so the addition of a stick/club/axe strong side, would be workable.
i collect everythingold school weapon related,but dont own any war clubs. But was allways very fasinated of them as a child. I got a kind wife,over a 100 swords on the walls and old guns etc and much more to hang upp. And over a 100 more too go on my gun room walls. Must be my mothers fault,she gave me my first large knife when i was 2 years old. Been hooked since that. Have a love for Tomahawks too,and knives off course,i mostly buy knives. And are setting upp my own forge this spring. I buy her knives,not flowers. So a knife innterest has been awaken in her,and for firearms,hunting and sports shooting with handguns.
Fortunately she’s my life and business partner, so selling them is definitely all business. It’s me buying them that has the low wife-appreciation-factor. I space the impact weapon purchases out but there’s still the sigh and the eye roll.
We might not be able to carry war clubs of those sizes, but saps and blacks jacks exist. Humans have a passion for hitting each other. Great video, and products
Take a leaf from the Irish with the Shillelagh. If it looks like a walking stick, and acts like a walking stick, then it's a walking stick. Until you add a brass mace head as a handle, and an Alpine spike on the end....
@@wingardwearables I'll look I saw a few years back but I will search I'm personally from the dawson city Yukon tribe and we used them also as far back ad I can remember I'm 50 now you can find old pics of miners and thier native helpers use them.
Awesome video, thanks for informations, I very like and apreciate what you do, I think true freedom is freedom where you can carry weapons in open space and noone can ofend you. Greetings from Slovakia 💪🏻🔥🇸🇰 Stay edgy and sharp!
Thanks for the greetings! I agree with you, but modern society apparently wants weapons to remain unseen. Good to have compact, concealable options. Best of Fortune!
I miss that society trust me big bro, these guns be giving every cow cow and cowards cowardly power, miss days where carrying around a Tomohawk was like carrying a cellphone
I think those days may return. With the work we accomplished, it’s now technically feasible to comfortable conceal carry a tomahawk or two. Dunno if culture will ever open up to it, so for now it’s a niche we are in.
I make my own, I do not buy any. It does of course take knowing your woods, because some will not work as well, some will be awful for some types of clubs, and some types of wood are just a terrible idea all together. I tend to use black locust the most, it is a very hard and very dense wood. I do have a war club I have also made from sassafras as well that is quite beautiful. Maybe when I have time I can make one and send it to you
Thank you for your comment. I have a ton of respect for folks who have the skill of woodworking-especially harvesting the wood from the forest and aging/conditioning it prior to finishing. Depending on the wood, the root burl clubs can get tricky. The example I show in the video-it was made from hop horn beam-and the grain definitely showed separation at the surface as the wood dried-I know the maker had to fill the checks/cracks with an epoxy resin. It appears something similar was done on historic clubs as well (with presumably a natural resin). Holds up great for impact but just one of those subtle details that a lot of people wouldn’t think about.
@@wingardwearables those knots can make carving a nightmare too, which makes it very impressive that many of those weapons were once made with stone tools at one point. After drying and all that, it take me about a week minimum to get one club depending with a pocket knife and sandpaper. So with stone tools? Jesus.
I've got a bunch of literature on Shillelagh, walking stick and quarterstaff techniques and drills. If you can become proficient in killing with a weighted stick, you'll do well with a sword. 👍
Cane fighting definitely has its place. A lot of good options for cane heads, even axe-like heads. For me, as an able bodied person in modern life, I couldn’t justify carrying a cane-the utility and defensive aspects were outweighed by the inconvenience of carrying a 30+ inch long object. It tends to get in the way a lot or requires my hand when I’d rather be doing some other manual task. Also in my social circles you get odd looks if you carry a cane and don’t have a limp. However when I would hike, like in scouts, a walking stick/staff, way longer than a cane, was very useful and socially acceptable.
@@wingardwearables A walking staff is always a good thing to have on a hike. Multi purpose, and if anything can't be killed with a few whacks from 7 feet of Hickory or Oak, then bullets probably won't work either. I hear you on the cane though, can't justify giving yourself a limp just to carry a cool stick 🤣
@@jimmyrustler8983 Agree! I’ve had a couple of incidents with dogs on trails-no leash, behaving erratic to aggressive. Fortunately I never had to strike anyone of them, but definitely kept the staff between me and it’s mouth. Some appeared to be genuinely wild/feral dogs. Others just got a whiff of the wild air and escaped their owners.
@@jimmyrustler8983 Definitely! This also reminds me. I ought to do a RU-vid video on the Porksickle project we took on last year. The customer finally got the mount. Pretty big hog.
There are a few different clubs around the world that look similar to this and the Irish weapon, but the Native American clubs tended to have features for enhanced lethality-often heavier ball sections with projecting spikes or studs
I know the feeling.maybe it's that atavistic warrior trapped in our DNA.Occasionally in western new York you find carefully ground ball or eggshaped stones, that were wrapped in rawhide,and affixed to handles. It frustrates me,can't figure out how to send a decent photo.but I have an Indian made axe, I have never seen such a heavy crude monstrosity.
If you do get a digital photo you can share it on RU-vid. Just go to your channel page, tap on the “community “ tab on the top, and you should be able to upload pictures. I think you can tag my channel too, which can notify me.
@@wingardwearables do you have a po box address? Im old,sick, no family.You can have it.Found it in a junk shop. No story or info.Always wanted an experts opinion on it.when I say crude,unweildy inch thick, poor quality iron, I mean it. Done a bit of smithing myself.the thing tells a story.cant think of anyone else who may find it unusual.I Am serious,pass it along, you can't own history...
@@mikereilly7629 Mike, I hope you are doing alright. Annoyingly RU-vid concealed your comment-the algorithm “held it for review” . . . Weird. Anyways, send an e-mail to be_edgy@wingardwearables.com with an attached picture of it and I will take a look. That’s a generous offer. Please pardon the delay. I am not great at RU-vid but they also could do better on notifying when comments are made instead of hiding them.
