How to Throw a Tomahawk Like a Frontiersman

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

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[@maximobriggs8499]

Instablaster

[@J1fcl0wn]

THE best instructional video I have ever seen, I teach throwing and every point you made is spot on including the last about not needing a razor edge. So many like you say buy knives and axes thinking a sharp edge makes for a better throwing tool! ha! Many I have taught are a bit surprised when i tell them that!! Well done and I hope your range and you are going strong

[@davidmoorea1961]

I’m older (61), Been all over this planet [except Antarctica! Brrr..!!!], Witnessed plenty of both Good & Bad ~ prefer the former, over the latter (without putting too fine a point on it!!). Having typed all that, I have to say, your video & speaking manner is exceptional..!!! IMHO, after applying some work to it, you’ll be able to write your ‘Own Ticket,’ so to speak. God Speed!🇺🇸

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for sharing, really appreciate the kind words!

[@arctodussimus6198]

I really enjoyed this video. I got into the black powder lifestyle, and learned to throw a tomahawk in 1987. Been throwing ever since. It is my relaxation. My yoga. I’ve taught all my kids to throw, and all my Scouts when I was a Cub Scout leader. It teaches discipline, and patience. And gives a kid self confidence. Three things sorely missing in much of the youth today.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

I couldn't agree more. Thank you for your service as a Cub Scout leader and for your mentorship to others surrounding this skill. I have worked with many scouts and I've seen the light in their eyes when they master throwing. It never gets old.

[@cmoore7780]

💯% agreed thank you for that.

[@zip696]

I need some of this so called self confidence. Parents wanted a cookie cutter child I had ADHD and although was sweet and happy was hyper so they snuffed out my soul with Ritalin starting 6 years old giving me anxiety and depression at an early age and messing up the dopamine and the reward part of the brain. and locked me in a room with video games most of the time so they didn't have to deal with me fkt me during crucial child development time. You can meet all a childs needs food and shelter etc without giving them what they need most. Love and acceptance and compromise and ability to try different things without resorting to drugs and isolation so fast just because a teacher complains one time and says to go on meds. Shes a dumb ass elementary school teacher not s doctor fuck know it all teschers and fuck doctors that push drugs on kids and fk parents that tske the easy way out and just listen to whatever anyone's opinion is and blindly follow without a second thought. Sorry rant over maybe i will feel better for a little while i hope

[@arctodussimus6198]

@@zip696 How old are you now?

[@yeildo1492]

Muscle memory. Pretty much like any athletic pursuit. Like shooting free throws, in a lot of ways. In South Lake Tahoe CA there is a bar that has hatchet throwing. It was a lot of fun!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Awesome! I agree on muscle memory... it's a lot of fun once you get it down!

[@yeildo1492]

@@FrontierTradingCompany Indeed! We had a great time.

[@edwardrobison3684]

Just got my first tomahawk and have been having some difficulty getting consistency, I think the tips in this video will definitely help! Thanks!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching, I'm glad to hear that! Be patient and try and enjoy the process! You'll never have that same learning curve again once you get the hang of it.

[@angellee1763]

@@FrontierTradingCompany i think that is the best advise over all that you can get.. have fun throwing. And be patient.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

@@angellee1763 For sure!

[@WyomingTraveler]

Thanks, now I know why I never could think of Tomahawk.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

More information about my outfit can be found in my video on that topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYmzY4Z7osmcoLc

[@mikegrossberg8624]

When I do my Viking persona, the axe I throw is a battleax, about twice the weight, and a longer cutting edge, than a tomahawk, with a 24 inch handle, as opposed to the 18 inch length of the average 'hawk. The basic method, as you describe in the video, however, pretty much remains the same. I just have to throw it harder, to compensate for the differences

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

[@leanderdurrstein184]

Good stuff! will try that for sure in my garden this summer ;)

[@wolvenfire3780]

I will never forget sticking a tomahawk in another tomahawking that range.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

That's definitely something to remember!

[@wolvenfire3780]

Frontier Trading Company I still have the pictures of it

[@haroldconner2645]

Excellent presentation. Thank you

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Happy to help, thanks for watching!

[@quinntheeskimooutdoors6234]

Good tips, thanks for showing us. Take care.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you, you as well!

[@rebeccaback3287]

Like this video! Verry good skill. Good teacher.God bless you! David Back from Menifee county Kentucky.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you for your support!

[@backwoodspiper3033]

Hello neighbor. Im from Powell county

[@rebeccaback3287]

​@@backwoodspiper3033sorry to wait so long ! Hello.

[@NightLight649]

Good job!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TheAngryHippie]

Thank you for this well made and informative video

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

You are very welcome! Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@terrancemiller8350]

Well, nice show hatchet man, I thought you were just learning but seems you've got it down in more ways than one. Are you a competitive hatchet thrower, looks like you do a very good job at it. Bye for now. Love ya. Keep up the good work.

[@mistermatt9056]

That looks like one of Beaver Bill's hawks. Nice video.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks! Was unfamiliar with Beaver Bill until this comment, but those are some nice tomahawks on his website. This one came from a local reenacting store. Appreciate your comment, thanks for watching!

[@KH-rt3ef]

I’ve had better consistency by extending my thumb along the spine of the handle, sort of a continuation of using your thumb as a bead when guiding the throw, except by this method, the thumb also guides the consistency of the rotation. Usually I extend my thumb, but if the range is short, I will wrap my thumb around the handle and sometimes even whip the handle toward me upon release to speed the rotation so the blade face strikes home; it depends on the type of spin I’m trying to achieve.

[@KH-rt3ef]

It might interest you to know that during the French-Indian Wars era, it was common practice for Infantrymen to be required to carry a hatchet both as a tool and as a weapon. Sharpened stakes were the original barbed wire; these and pits provided cover for muzzle loader warfare and made hand-hand fighting relatively difficult for enemies. Infantrymen would practice throwing hatchets roughly two-rotations’ distance, as 3 rotations is an unreliable Hail Mary of a throw, and at one rotation the hatchet is better kept in-hand.

[@Trish156]

Great video. Thank you

[@robertdlithgow]

Excellent video. I'd hasten to add that "sharp" for a hatchet is different than for a knife. Properly sharpened, hatchets, axes, tomahawks and such are sharpened with a wider-angled bevel and I wouldn't expect a sharp hawk to shave human hair; placing that sort of edge on the hatchet head would ruin the blade. Hatchets and hawks have wider bevels, no matter how sharp (how fine the edge is ground to) in order to allow them to repeatedly chop and hack, as opposed to a knife. Knives, like chef knives or shaving razors, are designed with much thinner blades and are typically meant to slice or slash (though perhaps not when shaving, precisely because they'll then cut flesh). If one were to hack or chop away at wood, bone, etc. with a thin knife blade, the blade edge will chip, nick and eventually fail. Hatchet/hawk/axe heads ought to be kept sharp, but the angle of the bevel is sufficiently wide that it won't readily shave or slice as a knife but is sturdy enough to split hard, dense materials like wood or bone. In my experience, dull hatchets (and my one tomahawk) have a much greater tendency to slip off target or bounce, which renders them more dangerous and less predictable controllable. Point made in the video is essentially correct, but from some comments it seems some viewers are confused about what sharp actually means, versus dull, and contrary to what a few have here said, I'd be more nervous about standing next to someone throwing a tomahawk that was just bragging that their hawk was sharp enough to shave hair: it suggests they know little about blades, likely have little experience with them (or they'd already have figured out for themselves why sharpening hatchet-type heads like that is a mistake), and it stands to reason that if they know so little about blade maintenance and safety, they probably don't know a whole lot about throwing tomahawks safely or well either, and I'd therefore guess I ought to give that person a little wider berth.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Good points! Thanks!

[@eriolduterion8855]

A SHARPE axe/knife/cutting tool is ALWAYS safer than a dull axe/knife/cutting tool because a) it takes LESS force to properly cut into whatever material, and b) IF you end up cutting yourself, it makes a cleaner cut (rather than a tear) which is easier to clean and actually heals faster. Granted that on your range, throwing into the grain of a round section of rotting wood can be done with a duller axe or knife; a plywood or fresh cut section or tree trunk target WILL require a sharpe blade.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Most definitely! I always advise against throwing razor sharp tomahawks at scout events because it just adds an unnecessary hazard... but as you pointed out, these logs have been rotting here for years! Thanks for the comment!

[@shihanjulio]

Excellent video, thank you.

[@linhtran4949]

So cool!!

[@j-wilky]

Did you make that outfit? Looks warm, would love something similar for hunting in montana!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

I have made or bought it all! If you are looking for an outfit that is historically accurate to your area, I imagine you would want to focus a little more on the mountain man era than the colonial/longhunter era. My outfit is warm, but not warm enough for a Montana winter! Thanks for watching, I appreciate it!

[@jeffshootsstuff]

I have been throwing hawks since about 1983 and some old greybeard at a Wyoming rendezvous taught me to step with my right foot, rather than my left, to throw right-handed. That's how I do it and how I've taught my kids to do it, but I wonder if it's got any inherent advantages versus your method. Have you ever heard of any other right-handers stepping with their right foot, or was the guy just messing with me LOL

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Haha, I have not heard of that, but so far I have been in a position to teach rather than to be taught -- I was taught by camp staff before me, and continued to pass down the same method. I'm really not sure!

[@HistoryOnTheLoose]

As our host pointed out in the video, the wind-up and release should/must be on a circular vertical plane. While it might make sense that the "power" foot, the side you throw FROM and off of (for power) and plant in throwing and batting, in order to maintain that plane, hthere is more at work. I can think of no throwing sport, other than darts (and that's not really a throw), where the dominant, same side as the working hand, foot is led with. While thorough in his instruction, one point missed (easily, because it's just natural) is the use of the weak hand. During any throw that hand and arm are used for balance (to a lesser degree, if throwing sidearm it keeps you from spinning and pulling something). The entire motion of throwing requires the weak/off/lead foot to move, along with the weak/off hand/arm, the strong foot to plant, the dominant hand/arm to do its thing, AND the eyes to remain on target. All simultaneously, maximizing the body's mechanics. Leading with the same foot obviously works for you. But, as distances increase and .multiple rotations are required, the power and balance just won't be there. Watch someone who "throws like a girl" when throwing a baseball farther than a toss. They will lead with the same side foot, or keep their feet nearly even.

[@outpostraven]

Great stuff

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Appreciate it 🤝

[@johngetz8585]

You covered the aspects of throwing the hawk. Throwing a tomahawk is pretty much of a modern-day re-enactorism. Something I've seen at rendezvous and events since the 1970s. It's fun to do. What you should have done was thrown in a little historic context into this video. I've never read an account of a Frontiersman throwing his Tomahawk. But I have read one or two accounts of Indians doing it? Outside some of the forts during the build-up for the Braddock Invasion, it talks about officers and soldiers watching the Indians amusing themselves with doing it. Does that mean no frontiersmen ever threw his tomahawk? Unless it shows up in somebody's first-hand account, I know of none? So perhaps an asterisk beside this particular video? I know a lot of people who throw tomahawks. I know a lot of people who throw weighted knives as well. That's one of my pet peeves as nobody in the right mind would have toted a throwing knife in the 18th century. That is definitely a modern-day reenactorism. With all that said I don't want to be the wet blanket here. I'm glad you make videos and enjoy the time frame.

[@dontall71]

Good points, once they're thrown, they're no longer yours

[@douglaspefferd.c.2988]

Eric culla friend I knew who was a special forces back in Korea and his response to throwing a knife possibly not tomahawk was that if you have a weapon you don't throw it cuz your odds of missing are pretty high in the enemy has your weapon and you need to keep the weapon in your hand you don't say anything about Jim Bowie throwing his knife away that doesn't mean I haven't thrown knives tomahawks and shortcomings it's just a consideration

[@14etha]

I was there for the making of this... so basically I’m cool

[@robertcornelius3514]

Thanks. By the way, when do you show us how to scalp with a tomahawk?

[@ok-wo9oy]

Nice video!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching!

[@michael2962]

This is sick

[@timothyhood3143]

You can also throw from 9 paces but you have to turn your tomahawk blade toward you and the blade will stick upside down

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Haha thanks for sharing, there are all kinds of variations... Beginners take note! This is the stuff you can do once you nail the basics!

[@christopherbunik2116]

You can do that pitching under hand like you are blowing.

[@chainsawchanselour5452]

Next tell me how to get that get up Thats beautiful

[@jehovahuponyou]

FESS PARKER COULD SPLIT A TREE WIDE OPEN WITH HIS THOMAS-HAWK - YES SIR!!!!!!!

[@danhaywood5696]

If somebody can sharpen their tomahawk that sharp, they should be able to throw it at least as well and safely or better than somebody who shows up with a dull bouncer. Lot more difficult to sharpen than a knife, and sharp is safer, because it cuts or sticks as directed instead of bouncing and doing something unexpected out of control. In my opinion anyway. You have far more experience in this than I do. I understand not trusting others with tools or weapons. I won't even be around other people who are armed and practicing with anything. It seems to me that chopping wood is more dangerous than throwing. Yeah, I seen too much of mistakes both myself and others to trust being around anybody with anything in hand. Besides I gotta dog, and though I'm always aware of her in advance, I know others will not be. Great explanations. Hope I get my own forest someday, right now I don't even know who's land I use daily, but I cannot be with out such now.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Thanks for watching, I suppose I should have mentioned how rotten these logs are. By the time I filmed this video they had sat out year-round for 2-3 years each. Just about anything you throw at them will stick in the face of the log 🤣 Good point about your dog... stay safe out there!! Thanks again for the comment.

[@ivengideonv6428]

Hit someone in the head with any part of the hawk , will put them down , but like you say about 7 paces is combat range

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Simon Kenton took the bowl of a pipe hawk in the back of the head and lived the rest of his life with the indentation. Incredible stuff, he was certainly the odd one out.

[@johnclarke6647]

Is there a balance point for a tomahawk?

[@suwonid]

도끼던지기는 자연에서 재미있는 놀이입니다

[@snakejumper3277]

If you clip your ear, do you hear it hit the ground?

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

If a tree falls in the woods...

[@angellee1763]

I don't care if this guy is right, it still sounds funny when he says that throwing is safer with a dull blade. Hu huuuhaw!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Haha for sure, it sounds backwards! There are many reasons for this, though. There is always a chance the hawk will bounce off the target because the blade won't make contact if you have the wrong distance/force combination, and then you've got a flying blade... If that happens, as it often does while you're learning, it had might as well be dull. Dull blades also encourage softer targets, which means you don't have to throw the hawk as hard to make it stick- slower, more graceful throws are less likely to result in the hawk bouncing back as mentioned above. Start slow and get yourself comfortable!

[@georgearagon2546]

WHERE, can I obtain a tunic like that!! I want one!!

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Mine is from Smoke and Fire Co, located in Waterville, Ohio. They have an online storefront where they currently sell one at a slightly shorter, Revolutionary War length. Might be worth calling them if/before you order to choose the proper size and such.

[@qpmkro]

you should be able to throw from any distance

[@mentalimbalance6808]

Sub’d this video gold.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

🤝

[@thf1933]

Im sure the real warriors who used it to hunt, fight and survive could throw it from any spot, not a special spot for it to do 3 turns or 4. You can move your upper body a bit forward or a bit backward, also you can control the rotating speed. If they were true masters they could feel it like we feel our steps when walking and probably even better.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

For sure!

[@davidj6755]

With practice you can modify the spin based on distance. Once you’ve mastered one distance, try moving back a yard or so and try the same throw with slightly more forward movement.

[@outdoorlife5396]

I know this, if you throw your tomahawk and miss, you just disarmed your self.

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

True... this is something I should have discussed in the video. There are accounts of Native Americans and frontiersman throwing tomahawks for fun or competition, but outside of a few action shots in movies I really can't place any record of them being thrown with the intention to kill, except in torture situations at a tied up, stationary target.

[@outdoorlife5396]

@@FrontierTradingCompany It's a movie thing

[@alexrrr1887]

Up

[@matthewwalburn2529]

W

[@randygraf2474]

keep it throwing.

[@oldeays5085]

Pancakes. What?

[@FrontierTradingCompany]

Every scout has flipped at least one pancake off of the camp griddle and onto the ground at some point 😮 it makes a sound like what I imagine an ear would sound like...

[@robertlevy105]

meh

[@elim7228]

hem -> mayhem

[@gcarson19]

Isn't 'meh' actually an Apache word, meaning 'judgemental turd?'

[@dorianwolf2198]

Nice skills