Tomahawks (weapons)

Scope note

Native American fighting hatchets used for striking blows and for throwing, consisting of a short wooden shaft and a head, originally of stone, later of metals such as iron and steel, with a blade usually narrow in proportion to its length. They were also used as tools, and sometimes combined with a tobacco pipe, the bowl being on the back of the blade. North American troops of colonial times and later often carried them in place of swords.