Toki (adze blade)

This very large toki (adze) was found in sand hills at Ohau in the Horowhenua district of the North Island. Toki of this size and quality are very rare. The distinctive shape identifies this example as type 1A (Moa-Hunter type) in archaeological terms. Type 1A adzes are found in the earliest archaeological sites in New Zealand and are typical of early East Polynesian adzes common throughout Rarotonga, the Cook and Society Islands, Rapanui, Marquesas, Manihiki, Tokelau, Nassau, Hawaii, and New Zealand.

Pakohe
This toki has been made from pakohe (slate), a dark metasomatised argillite found in the Nelson-D'Urville Island region of the upper South Island. Pakohe from this and the Southland region was highly valued for adze blades. The stone is free of flaws and homogenous enough to enable the blade to be shaped relatively quickly by flaking (striking pieces off with a hammer stone), hammer-dressing (bruising or pecking with a round quartz-type stone), and finished by grinding with various grades of sandstone and water. The rock is hard and strong enough for the blade to retain its edge without excessive resharpening. When completed, it would be lashed to a wooden handle ready for use in adzing timber.

Today
Pakohe is still used in toki-making by a handful of skilled craftsmen who are preserving and passing on this traditional craft.