Story: Kōhatu – Māori use of stone

Making an adze

Leighton Hale from the Ngāti Hinewaka tribe is an expert in traditional stone tool technology. He demonstrates the main steps in making an adze (toki): flaking, hammer dressing, smoothing and grinding.

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How to cite this page

Phil Moore and Bruce McFadgen, Kōhatu – Māori use of stone – Ornaments and weapons, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/8884/making-an-adze (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Phil Moore and Bruce McFadgen, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Tony Smith
21 May 2024

Thankyou for posting this excellant artical. We have just returned from Tauranga Bay in Northland ,where, after a minor storm I found a stone adze washed up on the beach. It has not had the final smoothing by sand stone but has traces of many carefully selected chips. It is emarkable similar to the one on this video The hills overlooking the bay have clear evidence of early Maori settlement going back over 1000 years ago possible ?