TheKRiddler ...................liar.

Wait.... is he actually going to be on Forged in Fire!??

Brian Pierce .......No!, him not big Chief Suckerface. Him not tough enough, him wanna be seen here and have big pride think good things of himself......wait!, is that an eagle feather hangin out-cher-ass?? U in big heap sky-bird trouble!

Robert Langley what

..... or maybe a copy of the SOG Pentagon..... my favorite GOMK that lived "center mass" on my plate carrier in the service.

I'm neither a historian , nor a metallurgist m'Lady. I could recommend Roy Underhill of Colonial Williamsburg. His Gung-Fu (translated as "skill") is remarkable as a historian, woodwright, blacksmith, craftsman and by my account (without meeting his family) probably a gentleman of quality. He could answer your questions based on the time frame apparent. I only know the tools I've worked with. Smelting of various ores was done in North America before my whitey ancestors came, but it was based on ores that had lower heat requirements, such as copper derived from malachite. Green tinged stones sitting in depleted streams. Not the hardest material, but it hardens as you work it or strike it. All the same, I'm not sure if they ever added tin to the copper or understood alloys in any way until steel was given by way of carbon/iron bonds that we use to this day with very specific measurements that give us cast iron (which has high carbon without ductility, thus breaking easily), wrought iron, which is my favourite for withstanding abuse, and tamahagane (the best steel based on carbon content used by swordmasters in Japan). I can be long winded, but I hope this directs you towards your answers Rachel..

Like I said at the beginning, I have zero expertise in this...so I'm not making any claims to any deep knowledge. The main source I used -- the book that I linked to up in the description -- has photos of a number of very old Mocotaugans, and most of them have straight blades. It could be that over time or between different parts of the country, etc. there may have been a fair amount of variation. Just speculation on my part.

Does anyone know if there is some difference between what is referred to as a "Crooked Knife" and a "Mocotaugan" ??? They seem identical except for the curve near the end of the blade. So I think they are one and the same.

My lady is an Ojibwe too. How about you make us all a tomahawk? =)

Respectfully, my work is more on the organic end of things. Happy to fit a haft to the eye though (which is a skill better learned than offered. Makes hiking/camping that much lighter and less bulky when going through the sticks). Besides, the whole point of using a tomahawk was that it was light and versatile during a time when there wasn't a lot of steel traded. These days you want a long handled felling axe, a set of gluts (wooden wedges), a maul and a hewing axe even if you're minimalistic to build a cabin. If you're looking at just basic camping though, yup, a tomahawk head in your pack is pretty damned sweet.