Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. We have offered some gorgeous original Native American tomahawk heads in the past, but this is only the second time we’ve been able to offer a complete & unaltered smoking tomahawk. This gorgeous spontoon shaped pipe tomahawk retains its original pewter-inlaid mouthpiece as well as its lovely original period buckskin thong affixed to keep the head from sliding. There is a large crack in the shaft traveling its length on one side, so extreme care must be taken when handling this piece, and it can no longer be smoked out of. You would be hard-pressed to find one of this caliber in a museum, let alone available anywhere for purchase. This example likely dates to the 1820s / 1830s based on the construction.

An ingenious combination of smoking pipe and weapon, the pipe tomahawk was used in trade and diplomatic agreements between the white settlers and the Native tribes. Pipe tomahawks were produced by American and European blacksmiths for trade to the Native Americans and these were almost never Native American-made items. A tobacco bowl is attached to the back of the head, which integrates into the length of the shaft, the top of the shaft having a “clean-out plug”, and the mouthpiece of the shaft having a hole to smoke through. It is therefore incredibly difficult to find a pipe tomahawk with its original shaft, as the intricate design of needing a hollow shaft makes them very weak in comparison.

The tomahawk measures 22⅞” in overall length, with the head measuring roughly 10½ x 1¾”. The head is no longer tight to the shaft and falls downward if it’s held upright too long. The buckskin thong is a bit redundant at this point, as the head falls in its direction, but is still well-retained for display purposes. This would be best displayed mounted on the wall or in a display case due to the fragility. The head has certainly always been with the shaft, with the age and wear of the buckskin thong very good evidence of that. The pewter mouthpiece has a lovely incised design as shown.

The shaft of the tomahawk has been carved with a depiction of a Spontoon or Partizan, which appears as a long pole with a pike head and cross bar underneath. The regulation spontoon (sometime known as an ‘espontoon’, ‘pike’ or ‘half pike’ and also loosely known as a ‘halberd’) was around 7- 9 feet in length and was in common use from the mid-17th to early 19th century. The short cross metal cross bar was to keep the blade from penetrating too deeply into the body of an enemy – which would make it hard to withdraw the weapon. In defence, it had a long reach and was a smaller version of the 15 foot pikes wielded in the English Civil War. A spontoon was of use when infantry had to repel cavalry, an advantage given by the long reach. As muskets replaced pikes, the latter became more a symbol of authority and discipline. Common soldiers stopped carrying pikes, which were used solely by sergeants. It was carried by centre company sergeants (i.e. not by the light or grenadier company sergeants).

The head of the pipe tomahawk is gorgeously designed and still appears to be in working order, although we would not recommend smoking out of it. The chevrons are still well-defined on the side of the head as shown, with some light oxidation across the piece. Moving the head from its spot on the shaft reveals the small hole underneath to allow the user to smoke out of it, a great bit of detail. The shaft appears in severely rough condition but should remain intact so long as the tomahawk is treated as a display piece and is not used in any way that would damage its construction.

Original non-ground dug tomahawk heads are incredibly difficult to find, but to find a complete and unaltered example like this is next to impossible. This is the second we have ever offered and we likely won’t ever see another of its construction again. Comes ready for further research and display.