Join Jack Vargo as he explores a popular tool and weapon in Colonial North America in The Spike Tomahawk. This book discusses the origin, methods of manufacture, distribution and importance of a tool and weapon during the colonial period. Vargo's intention in writing this volume is to provide readers a comprehensive study of just one type of trade artifact, a small hatchet having a metal head with a cutting bit at one end and a pick or spike at the other, known by most as the "spiked axe" or "spike tomahawk".

Join Jack Vargo as he explores a popular tool and weapon in Colonial North America in The Spike Tomahawk. This book discusses the origin, methods of manufacture, distribution and importance of a tool and weapon during the colonial period. Vargo's intention in writing this volume is to provide readers a comprehensive study of just one type of trade artifact, a small hatchet having a metal head with a cutting bit at one end and a pick or spike at the other, known by most as the "spiked axe" or "spike tomahawk".

This classic, scholarly history of the fur trappers and traders of the early nineteenth century focuses on the devices that enabled the opening of the untracked American west. Sprinkled with interesting facts and old western lore, this guide to traps and tools is also a lively history. The era of the mountain man is distinct in American history, and Russell’s exhaustive coverage on the guns, traps, knives, axes, and other iron tools of this era, along with meticulous appendices, is astonishing. The result of thirty-five years of painstaking research, this is the definitive guide to the tools of the mountain men.

The low-tech, high-impact tomahawk has been carried in every American war, including Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Here the author traces the origins of the tomahawk and uses his dynamic drawings to show how it can be utilized singly or with the long knife in both offensive and defensive encounters. Includes fighting scenarios, throwing lessons and applications of the war club.

With over 300 step-by-step pictures, the Backyard Bowyer is geared for the beginning bowyer, backyard hobbyist, and anyone who has ever pondered building a wooden bow. Easy to read and follow steps go down to even the smallest detail in the design and construction of basic archery bows. Learn to craft fine wooden bows without huge investment in equipment and materials, and without being bound by location and limited workspace. Learn to construct: A classic target flat bow, an English Longbow suitable for hunting, and even your own strings and arrows for traditional and primitive archery.

Master the Japanese art of shuriken throwing with this illustrated martial arts guide. Japanese Throwing Weapons: Mastering Shuriken Throwing Techniques is a detailed instruction manual for learning authentic shuriken throwing techniques as practiced in Japan, known as shuriken-jutsu. Daniel Fletcher studied under Japan's most notable shuriken sensei, Yasuyuki Otsuka, of the Meifu Shinkage Ryu and in this knife throwing book he reveals the secrets learned in his years of study and training. Fletcher explains the origins and purpose of the shuriken as a weapon and provides information on the various types of shuriken used by the historical samurai and ninjas. Fletcher's expert instructions, along with over 200 photographs and the enclosed DVD can help anyone become proficient with Japanese throwing techniques. Weapons instruction includes: Shaken Shuriken--The most familiar of the shuriken family, this sharp-edged, star-shaped weapon is the one typically seen in martial arts film. Bo Shuriken--Shaped like a spike, easy to manufacture, economical, and convenient to carry, this simple weapon is a staple in the arsenal of the Japanese warrior. Teppan Shuriken--A multi-purpose weapon made from iron plates, it can take a variety of shapes and is used both for throwing or hand-to-hand combat.

The 2004 book The Fighting Tomahawk revolutionized modern study of the combat use of the American tomahawk. Now, author Dwight McLemore presents an expanded course in every aspect of this formidable, iconic weapon. In The Fighting Tomahawk, Volume II, McLemore shares additional details, thoughts, and informed speculation on the tomahawk of the American frontier of the 18th and 19th centuries and the explorers, settlers, long hunters, traders, and Indians who used it. He has mined original historical sources from the colonial era to develop more in-depth insight and instruction in such essential areas as cutting, chopping, using the back spike, frontier "rough and tumble" fighting, throwing the hawk, and training with and without a partner. As always, the centerpiece of McLemore's latest book is the hundreds of precise illustrations depicting step-by-step details on wielding the hawk in training and combat. Anyone who uses a tomahawk today-armed professionals, martial artists, historical reenactors, and stage combatants-will gain valuable insights into this hallmark weapon of the traditional American blade arts.

This essential review of knife- and axe-throwing basics presents and analyzes the best throwing knives and axes on the current market, different throwing techniques, the basics of competition rules, legal issues to understand, and the general care of throwing knives and axes. The budding knife and axe thrower will also receive valuable tips for getting started in throwing and how to prepare physically and mentally for training, as well as your first competition.

Featuring 155 color photographs and illustrations, Native American Weapons surveys weapons made and used by American Indians north of present-day Mexico from prehistoric times to the late nineteenth century, when European weapons were in common use. Colin F. Taylor describes the weapons and their roles in tribal culture, economy and political systems. He categorizes the weapons according to their function - from striking, cutting and piercing weapons, to those with defensive and even symbolic properties - and he documents the ingenuity of the people who crafted them.