Reddit reviews The Fighting Tomahawk: An Illustrated Guide to Using the Tomahawk and Long Knife as Weapons

Very cool, thank you for the follow up. To me, the tomahawk is quintessentially THE american weapon. Utilitarian and lethal. In addition, there are rudimentary examples of natives using stones as axe heads in a similar manner, before settlement when the Europeans introduced their own metallic version. I'm a fan of native american weapons.

I find mine invaluable around the camp but I also feel comfortable with it as a weapon. Theres a great pair of books if you want to learn more on how the tomahawk was historically used in combat 1 2

There exists no specific written material of tomahawk use but there have been some exploratory stuff done by bowie knife enthusiasts that match the two together. It is mostly a modern interpretation based off period sabre/cutlass drills. Link: https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Tomahawk-Illustrated-Guide-Weapons/dp/1581604416

​

Hatchet and round shield does not exist as a source. For round shield, Scottish targe is closest but even then there are precious few resources dedicated to how to use it.

​

If you are interested in axes & round shield in particular, you may find more information from reenactment or larp groups than from HEMA groups as we don't really 'do' axes unless they come in the form of a poleaxe. And even then, mostly in harness.

your dad sounds like mine, but with my dad I leave buying stuff that he likes up to him because he knows what he wants. That and a lot of stuff with sports logos on it are cheap knick knacks or gag gift things that won't really do anything except say "Hey I like this team"

Since your dad isnt too tech savvy like mine is as well, I would suggest a good wrist watch. looks good, but is tough and wont shatter if he drops it. A good watch is really the only "accessory" a man really needs. This watch here
can be used out on the golf course or any sporting event while also looking good. It's an analog watch, there's nothing digital about it. Each band is all one peice so you don't have to worry about any breaking parts or pinching. It's water resistant so if he spills any hot sauce on it there won't be any problem.

If I should be chosen I would really appreciate this gladius or this book whichever would be fantastic.

After reading The Fighting Tomahawk which discusses the axe from a Native American standpoint my eyes were really opened up to the versatility of the axe.

You can use the top to punch opponents, use the top edge of the blade in the opposite direction to "rake" across an enemy and give jagged wounds, you can of course slash, and probably the biggest advantage use the curved portion to catch an opponents weapon, limbs, or even shield, and redirect them.

If i recall correctly the author stated that the off balance nature of the tomahawk lent itself to either quickly killing an enemy or being thrown off balance yourself because it is a hard weapon to recover from a missed swing.