Billhooks: The Forgotten Choppers of the Western World

Fortytwoblades my bill hook buddy love them hooked blades But for my use like to chop and dig with mine. But I've only got one that is modified and four that aren't so really I guess factory stock gerber is the best for clearing brush under the fence. Going to make a kydex sheath for mine soon so I can carry it without cutting my other gear.
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Those Gerber/Fiskars hooks are just about the only ones that are available in the US. The Condor Bush Knife wasn't available until relatively recently, too. We need us some more big chopping hooks! :D
 
Let's see what can be made. You fellas are giving me ideas. Should be a fun project...
 
cody1 said:
Let's see what can be made. You fellas are giving me ideas. Should be a fun project...
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Can't wait to see what you whip up. It's time for North America to catch billhook fever again. :D:thumbup:
 
Erlkonig said:
My billhook is a copy of this

This billhook was a Meiji period (1868 until 1912) army issued item, it did not looks like tranditional Japanese nata, during Meiji period , they copied everything from western world.
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Thanks for that image - very Italian looking handle, but blade shape is not common to Japan... Many armies issued the billhook as both a tool for the Pioneer Corps, and also for machine gunners (a harkback to the original use of the fascine knife for gun emplacements). European armies had them in both World Wars - the same pattern survived in the UK until the 1960's, I believe the French pattern is still an issue item.

I have several Finnish leather sheaths, but as yet not been able to locate an image, let alone an example, of the billhook issued to their troops. Hence my gratitude for the Japanese image...

Other military uses included Signals Units for clearing brush to lay telephone wires - and many large national companies and corporations, e.g. telecom, railways, utilities, also had a 'preferred' pattern, and also often had their logo stamped on as well (e.g. BR (W) in the UK, or PLM in France).

In my list of makers, I have missed out those from Spain and Portugal - I did not include any of the American makers either..
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Those Gerber/Fiskars hooks are just about the only ones that are available in the US. The Condor Bush Knife wasn't available until relatively recently, too. We need us some more big chopping hooks! :D
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I reckon any of the Italian makers would be willing to supply a US based dealer. Angelo will also make any pattern billhook to order, so if you wanted something that is not listed in their catalogue, they will make it (but I guess a minimum order quantity)... There was an Italian maker in the US some years ago, based in California.

Note: the Collins billhooks are stamped Made in Germany...

A lot of cheap Indian and Chinese billhooks are also being imported into the UK, and other European countries - one Italian dealer may be supplied by a Pakistani factory - they sent me some photos that looked identical to those I had seen on an Italian website (but have lost the links in my archives)...

It will be good to see a renewal of interest in the US - for some reason this universal tool never caught on there, despite the large European immigrant communities in many regions... Even the Woodsman's Pal was invented by a Swiss immigrant....
 
awesome thread! ive never really trusted the billhook (since i had never used it) until friend of mine had the Gerber (now fiskars) billhook brush knife...it was awesome at clearing...i think ill head down to wallyworld and see if they got any!
 
They're wonderfully versatile tools--you just have to be sure to select the right pattern for your region and intended usage. Do that and you'll be hard-pressed to find a better chopper.
 
The Fiskars billhook is an updated plastic handled version of the wooden handled tools they used to make, and has displaced many other European versions, especially in Germany and the Baltic countries.. It is also making inroads into southern Europe, although the French and Italians are holding their own... In the UK it is marketed as Wilkinson Sword and in the US as Gerber.... Plastic handles are great for occasional use, are rot free and shed water.... For long periods of use a wooden handle is better, less blisters, and it is more ecologically friendly than a petrochemical based product....
 
Over on the SBG forum, member 'chuckles' found this thread and asked if any bladeforum members would post this link for him (he's just being a helpful guy):
http://www.baltimoreknife.com/bareblades.htm
I obliged. If you scroll down the page a bit you'll see a bare blade billhook they sell which can be customized to order or further worked yourself.
Here's another link to the BKS knife page- scroll down and you'll see the bare blade billhook in hand- gives you some perspective of its size.
http://www.baltimoreknife.com/knives.htm
 
The dimensions are a little less than ideal for my own personal tastes, but it looks like quite a well-made piece of work! :cool::thumbup:
 
just ordered the friskars...ive been itching for one ever since i used one a year ago.

42B i agree on them being versatile! i had to process a bunch of strawberry guava Psidium littorale which grows like a weed out here. i was testing the 14" tram bolo the tram 18" latin and the 12" latin...i brought the friskars brush axe with me, just to try out. i ended up using it for the majority of the day..i seem to recall it having some sort of canvas zippered sheath..
 
Billhooks were used in Britain before the Roman Era (2nd invasion c 50AD) - iron tools were made and used in the Glastonbury Lake Villages - much of what is now the county of Somerset was at, or below sea level, and the region consisted of a series of lakes, swamps and marshes. Whether they were developed locally, or the idea was brought to the country by traders from Europe is not known (but trade with Europe was well established by the Iron Age, and had been so since the Bronze Age). Phonecian traders, buying Cornish Tin to make bronze, may have brought tools and weapons to trade.
Certainly during the Roman occupation, up to about 400 AD, the billhooks became widespread throughout Britain, and also spread from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe.... Many example survive from this period, and already a variety of blade shapes and sizes is evident...
 
Alright, because of you people I picked up a Fiskars Brush Axe on clearance.

I like the idea of the 2-sided billhook. Do you think the Fiskars could be sharpened on the spine to simulate that?

Now I want to get Condor's Bush Knife, although I do wish the handle was longer.
 
kage said:
Alright, because of you people I picked up a Fiskars Brush Axe on clearance.

I like the idea of the 2-sided billhook. Do you think the Fiskars could be sharpened on the spine to simulate that?

Now I want to get Condor's Bush Knife, although I do wish the handle was longer.
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You could, indeed, sharpen the back edge to produce a cutting edge that could be used in circumstances where the hook would be a hindrance. However, it wouldn't have the same chopping power as a true double-sided billhook because it would lack the extra mass of the back blade, which would cause your blade mass to be trailing behind the apex of your swing.

I highly recommend the Condor Bush Knife, though I wish they had the option for a version with a longer blade (I think the handle length is fine). It easily fills the role of a hatchet, and the back edge works better at wood-shaping tasks than a hatchet does. It bites deep! One of my favorite choppers, and my go-to baton maker!

tyr_shadowblade said:
Billhook! :thumbup:
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Smatchet! Billhook! :D:thumbup:
 
Thanks for your input 42Blades. I was playing with the Fiskars last night and you're definitely right about it not having enough weight and thickness on the backside. It wouldn't be even close to the same as the real deal.

I still may sharpen the top end of the back so that it could be more easily eased for kitchen work, if I so choose. I have this thing where any blade I take into the backcountry I have to be able to do all of my tasks with, from food prep to shelter building to wood processing. Plus it's fun and challenging to see what you can do to build a shelter with a little Gerber LST or gutting and finer carving with a large chopper. I can't imagine a scenario when I would have a large chopper but not a smaller companion knife, but it's comforting to know what can be done with what you have and to become proficient at it. After practicing a few times with the tool I like to head out to the backcountry and do it for real only carrying that blade (usually only an overnighter because I don't enjoy the hunger pains, but 2 nights is better to see what your shelter is lacking and how to improve your proficiency with that blade).

Your comments about the double-sided billhooks being as or more efficient than a hatchet is what convinced me to seriously look at billhooks as a real outdoor tool, not just gardening equipment. The double-sided billhook could be a serious contender for an excellent all around backcountry blade. Now if only we had more options stateside...

As always, thanks for your knowledge and input 42!

Now I need to find a panga with a sharpened backside tip (to aid in game prep) to experiment with. Condor's Swampmaster and Puerto Rican are looking pretty tasty. 2011 is the year of the chopper for me, and I've already bought a half dozen new choppers without the time to use them!
 
I've got the Viking, the largest out of that series. The sharpened clip does wonders on grasses and brambles. :cool:
 
Billman1949 said:
Billhooks were used in Britain before the Roman Era (2nd invasion c 50AD) - iron tools were made and used in the Glastonbury Lake Villages - much of what is now the county of Somerset was at, or below sea level, and the region consisted of a series of lakes, swamps and marshes. Whether they were developed locally, or the idea was brought to the country by traders from Europe is not known (but trade with Europe was well established by the Iron Age, and had been so since the Bronze Age). Phonecian traders, buying Cornish Tin to make bronze, may have brought tools and weapons to trade.
Certainly during the Roman occupation, up to about 400 AD, the billhooks became widespread throughout Britain, and also spread from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe.... Many example survive from this period, and already a variety of blade shapes and sizes is evident...
Click to expand...


Real useful information on this stuff, thanks! Its good to hear from someone who knows their stuff:thumbup:
 
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