Billhooks: The Forgotten Choppers of the Western World

Shotgun said:
True it wasn't limited to Europe but that's where most of the steel came from back in the day. Same with axes. I don't think people in South America were swinging 2 foot long sharpened stones.
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Actually, they were. Obsidian imbedded sticks were used for agriculture up to the introduction of iron by the Spaniards and Portuguese. Obsidian glass actually cuts better than iron or steel, but is just more brittle.

Also, you are under the false impression that Europe was the only user of metal tools. The Bronze Age originated in the Middle East, and the Iron Age also began in the Middle East & Asia. Introducing iron to South America 4500 years after the first use of metal is a small "blip" on the history of metal working.
 
Ookami said:
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Very interesting. I've been interested in Japanese Nata for quite a while. Actually I even own one.
Generally more an hatchet than a machete or billhook, they are often like 6mm thick and very forward balanced, although there are so thin ones that are very like billhooks too (as you pointed).

The main problem I have had with Nata is the fact there are chisel ground.
Contrarly to a popular belief it doesn't make "per se" the edge any more brittle than a double bevel edge of similar angle and steel.
The main problem is that if you try to batton with those , if you can't do the split early, the edge will go sideways which is hard on tool edge (while when battoning with double edge, it is not uncommon to have the edge not touching wood most of the time) and also will make splitting harder.
 
Nata are not made for major batoning. Because of the laminated steel you can even bend them quite easily if you pound on them too hard - good thing is, you can bend them back into shape (wouldn't do that too often, though).

They are used to split kindling (i.e. branches, not tree stumps), to shave and carve wood, to split off shingles, for limbing and the like. Their range of application is situated between knife and axe. Japanese tend to use the right tool for the job, so they will split bigger logs with an axe, not with a nata.


Ookami
 
In fact, I would say their application is between a Euro-type billhook and a heavy knife. Even a little farther away from the axe side of things. :)
 
Hi Ookami

Can you post images of the various nata-kama, or tell me where can I find more information on the regional blade variations??
 
Ravaillac said:
Very interesting. I've been interested in Japanese Nata for quite a while. Actually I even own one.
Generally more an hatchet than a machete or billhook, they are often like 6mm thick and very forward balanced, although there are so thin ones that are very like billhooks too (as you pointed).

The main problem I have had with Nata is the fact there are chisel ground.
Contrarly to a popular belief it doesn't make "per se" the edge any more brittle than a double bevel edge of similar angle and steel.
The main problem is that if you try to batton with those , if you can't do the split early, the edge will go sideways which is hard on tool edge (while when battoning with double edge, it is not uncommon to have the edge not touching wood most of the time) and also will make splitting harder.
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In the UK, France and Germany most billhooks are double bevel, but in some areas single bevel versions are found, available in right hand and left hand versions (usage c.f. a side axe, used to cut a clean face, rather than as a froe, i.e. to cleave)...

I have several nata kama-with a beak, like a billhook.... Two right hand single bevel, one left hand and one double bevel... You need to get a double bevel type... Unlike the European billhook, the nata-kama I have are not sharpened to the end of the beak (like a sickle) but it acts as a stop or guide to prevent the blade sliding off, or striking the ground (c.f. the Chinese stick chopper)
 
You can find pictures of nata-kama with the Google image search function. Just enter 鉈鎌 and off you go.
Speaking of nata-kama, they are sharpened like a sickle, hence the name. Don't mix them up with kuchibashizuki-nata (嘴付き鉈) which have a blunt "beak".

As for regional variations, there was an article in a past issue of the Japanese Knife Magazine (http://www.monoshop.co.jp/shop/products/list.php?category_id=19). I don't know any web resource on the topic off hand.


Ookami
 
Just picked up this billhook today as a gift for my mom (also a c-clamp for myself):

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It was $15 and made by Cornelius Whitehouse and Sons in Cannock UK, with a hedgehog stamp.

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And it says it is guaranteed hand forged:

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I cleaned it up a bit with a brass scrubbie and some salt water, then put a bit of an edge on it with a mill bastard, a diamond file and a 1000 grit waterstone.

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I'm sure that I did not sharpen this correctly... it was definitely hard to get the curve, I suppose I need a rounded file to do that properly.

My thought was that this would be a useful tool for my mom, who enjoys clearing away a mix of wild grape vine (having read that a common use for billhooks in europe is on grape vine), branches, wild rose and raspberry etc... I'm not sure how well this will actually work, especially without a really good edge. It seems to cleave better than anything. Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice, pointers or recommendations that go beyond what I've read in this thread and the couple others that mention billhooks.

Thanks a lot.
 
Nice score! Indeed, a chainsaw file or half-round file will do a good job of the initial bevel repair work. :)
 
Thanks FTB.

Should it be a single bevel from the edge up to the top of where I've filed? Or is it more like an axe where you would put a bevel on the very edge and then a shallower angle grind above that (like on a banana or half-banana grind)? Sorry for my clumsy language in talking about this.
 
The broad bevel is the primary grind, then a slightly more broad edge bevel applied through honing. The bevels are reground/filed when the edge starts getting a bit thick.
 
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