Since America's war on terrorism began, Chattanooga bladesmith Ryan Johnson has become a celebrity and seen demand for his hand-forged tomahawk triple, as word about the lethal weapon spreads like a terrible swift sword.
"With our military people being on the ground in Afghanistan, and seeing the 'hawks, the word of mouth has been a business boon," said the 28-year-old mechanical engineer.
Mr. Johnson's tomahawks - and his story - have been hot items.
After wire news services picked up an Oct. 9 Chattanooga Times Free Press story about Mr. Johnson and his tomahawks headed to American troops in Afghanistan, the metal worker, through his company, RMJ Forge, has sent out 80 more Eagle Talon axes and has put legions of names on the waiting list.
Before Sept. 11, RMJ Forge seldom filled more than three orders for tomahawks a week, Mr. Johnson said.
"It was in the newspapers in Knoxville, Johnson City and Nashville," he said. "My brother in Nashville found it hilarious to read about me in USA Today."
Mr. Johnson reacted the same way when "Fortune Magazine Small Business" called him a week after the initial news coverage.
"I laughed and told them it was the first time anyone used the word 'fortune' in the same sentence with RMJ Forge," Mr. Johnson said. "It would have made more sense if 'Soldier of Fortune' had called."
Broadcast journalists also jumped on the bandwagon.
"Three days after the Chattanooga newspaper article hit, I was on NBC Evening News with Tom Brokaw,"' Mr. Johnson said. "I was at church and didn't see it."
The war made all the difference, he said.
"Before the military engagement, our customers primarily were collectors or woodsmen," said Mr. Johnson, who custom designed the tool at the request of Special Forces clients. "Now, 70 percent are military or law enforcement personnel."
Made of high-carbon steel, the tomahawks are 18 inches long and weigh two pounds each. They are designed with a 3-inch blade and opposing metal spike and can pierce Kevlar, the tough material used in bulletproof vests and protective helmets.
An Army wife and mother of two children, Robin Roth, 26, ordered an Eagle Talon as a Christmas gift for her husband, a nine year serviceman.
''A couple of guys in his unit bought tomahawks and went out and tested them," she said, speaking by phone from Fort Campbell, Ky. "They swung it once, and it cut through the whole thing (a log). They said, 'We're taking these overseas,' " she said.
But her husband received duty orders and left on Nov. 11 before the tomahawk was finished, Mrs. Roth said. Although the family has learned he landed at his destination safely, she said she doesn't know where he is posted.
"It's better for our safety, as well as his, that I don't know where he is," she said. "I'm trying to get the tomahawk to him through a friend. I can't mail anything like that to him."
She said her reluctance to mail the item stems in part from the weapon's price-$265 for military customers and $350 for civilians.
''A lot of military guys are interested in that tomahawk," she said. "It costs a lot, but it's definitely worth it."
Mr. Johnson said the Eagle Talon is undergoing tests at Fort Dix, N.Y., at this time in connection with an upcoming article in a trade periodical of edged weaponry.
"It's funny how being seen in the media can legitimize something," Mr. Johnson said.
In the wake of his widespread news attention, a customer contacted him with an offer to buy tomahawks for those who couldn't afford the ax on soldiers' pay, he said.
"He wanted to do. something, but said that everything (financial aid) was going to New York. So, he bought three 'hawks for military personnel who couldn't afford them," Mr. Johnson said .
"We decided to set up a deal where if a civilian buys two, we donate a third tomahawk in the customer's name to someone in the military."
Since that time, RMJ Forge has matched free tomahawks for orders that have been placed from Idaho to California, according to Mr. Johnson.
"But I've been dealing with a lot of wives crying on the phone," he said of other transactions. "One said she sent her husband's tomahawk to him in a pair of socks.
"That's the hot commodity, I hear. It amazes me that we have this multimillion-dollar military and they don't have enough socks."
