Olympic Peninsula Salish D-Adze with Figure

ca. 1920 - 1930

4" H x 8.25" L x 1.875" W  Blade 5.25" L x 1.75" W

Hand Carved Wood Figure with Steel Blade Attached with Leather

Excellent Condition

The Olympic Peninsula Salish D-Adze with Figure is a traditional carving tool used by Coast Salish peoples, particularly from tribes like the Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

A D-adze (named for its D-shaped handle) is a specialized woodworking tool essential for shaping large cedar logs into canoes, planks for longhouses, and other items. These adzes typically feature a metal or stone blade attached to a wooden handle, distinct from the shorter "elbow" adze.

The D-adz (also called D-adze or D-handled adze) is a traditional woodworking tool used by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It features a distinctive D-shaped handle (resembling the letter "D" when viewed from the side), with a metal or stone blade attached directly to the grip for controlled chopping and shaping.Carvers employed it primarily for roughing out and smoothing large cedar works, such as canoes, house planks, totem poles, masks, bowls, and other items. It contrasts with the more common elbow adze (short-handled with a bent haft), which northern groups favored.

The D-adz is most strongly associated with southern Northwest Coast tribes, particularly the Coast Salish peoples and neighboring groups. Examples include:Quinault — A well-documented D-adz belonged to a Quinault leader named Captain Mason, used for canoe carving and featuring a carved spirit figure on the handle.

Other Coast Salish groups (e.g., in the Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia regions), as well as related southern tribes like the Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka), Makah, and possibly Chinook.

Sources note that D-adzes are more common in the southern part of the Northwest Coast, while hafted or elbow adzes predominate among northern tribes like the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian (who are renowned for totem poles but typically used different adze styles).The tool remains in use today by contemporary Northwest Coast carvers, often with modern steel blades, for traditional and artistic woodworking.