A Native Peace Pipe Tomahawk - The end piece of the peace pipe tomahawk incorporating the axehead (blade and corresponding bowl) are fabricated from iron and is magnetic. The blade measures 1.7 mm thick at its widest point near the haft (shaft) and 2.2 mm thick where it terminates into the bit. Each side of the blade has an engraved gilt bust, with thin gilt bands above each head, with alternating small and large deliberately engraved nicks flanking the gilt bands along the top edge of the blade. The opposite end displays the bowl with a fashioned narrow neck, the bowl with a thin gilt band running along the circumference at the mid-point, along with ornate, angled engravings at its base. The junction between the bowl and the blade features raised chevrons with multiple horizontal rules on either side butting the bowl, three vertical rules on the molding and additional vertical rules on the blade where it butts the molding on both sides. The eye is formed by a non-magnetic, oval saw-tooth edged blackened brass disk held in place via two small screws on the top, holding the haft firmly in place. The haft is fabricated from treated cherry wood, with three non-magnetic metal inlaid bands, one at either end: the top one securing the head, the bottom one forming the mouthpiece, along with a slightly-angled central band. Equidistant between the central band and the two end bands are non-magnetic inlaid elongated star-shaped insignias on both sides, totalling four in all. The mouthpiece has its bone stem intact. The pipe tomahawk measures 178 mm x 480 mm x 28.5 mm thick, inclusive of its stem, exhibiting very light contact, the wood with one small chip on the inner haft. Well-crafted, extremely fine. Footnote: Pipe tomahawks came into being during the early years of the fur trade. They were designed and made in Europe, combining the emblems of peace (pipe) and war (tomahawk). Many of these were presented as presents to Native leaders of tribes to encourage their loyalty, some with elaborate and expensive inlays and craftsmanship, and were carried as badges of social standing. They were multi-purpose tools in the sense they could be used in war and for smoking rather than carrying both items separately. But they were also very symbolic in that they could be used both for war and for peace. Many were made in Sheffield, England and in North America. Although any wood could be used, they often used Osage Orange for it's resistance to decay, or Ash because the saplings pithy core could be easily bored with a red hot poker or sometimes curly Maple with inlays, if a Kentucky Rifle maker was fashioning it. Some were made not to be used as weapons but as a smoking item reminiscent of days gone by.
