New here, with Pete LaGana history

[Silly Rabbit]

wow, thanks for the pdf, very cool!!

 

[Glock17JHP]

Like this one??

Bobby,

Any chance we can see the one on the left (The Amazing Vietnam Tomahawk)???

 

[Bobby Branton]

Bobby,

Any chance we can see the one on the left (The Amazing Vietnam Tomahawk)???

See what?
The whole book? That will take a lot of time to try to scan.
I'll see if I can shoot some pics.
BB

 

[Glock17JHP]

Sorry... I assumed it was a booklet of about 14 pages like the one next to it in the thumbnail you posted...

 

[Devon Smith]

It's been awhile! Home again after visiting family and brought back this gem:

Looks as nice as the day it was forged. According to my uncle who grew up across the street from Pete, this one may have been built before Pete had the final handles done for the three production runs he did back in the day.

I also have my hands on a copy of the other booklet and will be scanning and linking to the PDF soon.

Two other hand-me-downs I brought home were a gorgeous .300 Savage model 99 inlayed by Pete and a pristine 1917 Mauser Gewehr 98 shipped back from Germany by my grandfather after he landed on Normandy beach.

Devon

 

[JayGoliath]

Looking forward to the pics Devon!

 

[Longknife3]

Thanks for sharing Devon! I have scoured the web for every scrap of information I could find on Peter La Gana, as I found him to be a facinating individual. And, yes, that is quite a gem you have there!! What an heirloom to pass down

I've seen original La Gana's go for thousands, especially with the original sheath. The service men of the era found it difficult to deploy the axe quickly and usually discarded it in favor of simply sliding it though their belt. Thus an origianl axe & sheath combo is a very rare find... not to mention signed by the man himself:thumbup:

Thanks again and please share any new discoveries

 

[leebrewer]

Wow! Thats incredible!

 

[Glock17JHP]

Devon... I was very happily surprised to find this reply after this thread lay dormant for a while!!! I am assuming the 'red' haft is not original and the 'blond' haft is... yes?

 

[Devon Smith]

Devon... I was very happily surprised to find this reply after this thread lay dormant for a while!!! I am assuming the 'red' haft is not original and the 'blond' haft is... yes?

Happy to have this kind of news, all smiles here!

Pete gave the 'hawk as-is to my uncle Ted Mattiuz after signing the pieces including the extra haft. According to Ted, Pete told him to discard the short haft and affix the longer one, but Ted just left it all untouched. The blonde haft still has its wedge taped in place; both look to be typical hardware store material. Ted never did the swap, and i don't plan to, either.

Seems they're both not too dissimilar to other handles/hafts Pete used at one time or another, referencing this photo:

Thanks for the interest, guys.

Devon

 

[Devon Smith]

Thanks for sharing Devon! I have scoured the web for every scrap of information I could find on Peter La Gana, as I found him to be a facinating individual. And, yes, that is quite a gem you have there!! What an heirloom to pass down

I've seen original La Gana's go for thousands, especially with the original sheath. The service men of the era found it difficult to deploy the axe quickly and usually discarded it in favor of simply sliding it though their belt. Thus an origianl axe & sheath combo is a very rare find... not to mention signed by the man himself:thumbup:

Thanks again and please share any new discoveries

Thanks for your interest! Here's another Pete La Gana pic for your collection, his smiling face is upper right:

Devon

 

[Devon Smith]

Hi Folks, for Pete's booklet titled "The Amazing Vietnam Tomahawk". please send me an email.


Devon

 

[Square_peg]

Thanks, Devon. Nice piece of history there.

 

[Devon Smith]

Thanks, Devon. Nice piece of history there.

You're very welcome.

Here's another contribution, video of Pete that was shot in 1999 by my oldest uncle Ted Mattiuz who grew up with Pete, only eight years younger. Pete was born 1 Nov 1926, died 24 Aug 2002.

Enjoy. I've never seen his throwing routine on video before.

http://youtu.be/DmgWiDlkvGI

Devon

 

[Devon Smith]

Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope all is well with you & yours.

Earlier this year I bought an early Christmas present for myself, thanks to a friend of Pete who knew him in Ebensburg. It's one from his original runs, the only defect is that the haft was damaged at the eye and refit. Another one of Pete's signatures, to boot! The seller was thrilled to know that I as a buyer we had a common tie with Pete and we had fun conversing.

Devon

 

[Dusty One]

I missed a lot of these posts Devon some great info and wonderful Lagana tomahawks...Thanks for sharing...I have one of his fiberglass versions will post photo later.

 

[Shoki]

Wow, Devon! Thanks for the awesome history!
Back when I bought my VTAC, I remember wondering who this LaGana guy was and then spending a good chunk of time reading everything I could find about him.

 

[Dusty One]

Here is a photo of one of his fiberglass handled versions with heavy leather sheath....

 

[Devon Smith]

Here is a photo of one of his fiberglass handled versions with heavy leather sheath....

Thanks for this. That's the best look at one of these I've had to date.

Devon

 

[Liam Ryan]

Thanks for your interest! Here's another Pete La Gana pic for your collection, his smiling face is upper right:

Devon

Wow, 5 pics of the teacher, sorta creepy.
Some awesome history here, it's provoked me to do some research and maybe get my own Lagana, I know nothing about the guy other than what I read in this thread.