Billhooks

Mossyhorn

Mossyhorn

Enlightened Rogue
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How many of you have used a billhook on heavier woody brush instead of a machete?
 
I have used brush axes, they work great(on green brush) if sharpened on one side like wood chisel.Hard to cut close,amost need someone going behind cutting stobs.Great work out.
 
As a note, brush axes aren't true billhooks. I have and use billhooks often. Great chopper that has qualities of a hatchet and machete, but with a few unique tricks up its sleeve as well. If you have the chance to play with one, do it! :)
 
Brush axe:

315357d1332402570-age-brush-axe-14400030.jpg


Billhook:

RThomas.JPG
 
No problem. They're definitely similar in appearance to billhooks, but are very different in construction and use. :)
 
Another thread that I looked up. Billhooks are something that I just haven't had time to really experience and explore.
Not enough time these days.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/944693-Where-are-the-Bill-Hooks


There have been a few threads started on Billhooks.
I haven't heard much about it but Martindale has a Billhook that has my eye.
There are also a few made in Italy that have been imported that I'm interested in.

Just thinking about it makes me want to take a couple weeks off just to get out and enjoy some fresh air.
They are under rated tools here in the USA and have a serious history behind them in Europe.
 
I have 3 bill hooks and the slice very well. if you are out cutting small saplings of 2 or 3 inches they are awesome, it will slice right through in a stroke or two. kinda scary if you get a little wild you could really hurt ones self. also they are good if you need to do a small amount of sickle type work cutting weeds or grasses to clear an area without having another tool. a couple of mine are about 5/16 = 3/8's inch thick and compared to a machette trying to chop limbs and stuff as thick as your wrist, the hooks work better i think because the hook has more mass and won't deflect so much and carries deeper in to material.
 
42 Blades is that brush axe what George Silver was talking about when he said forest bill or is that something else entirely?
 
crossada said:
42 Blades is that brush axe what George Silver was talking about when he said forest bill or is that something else entirely?
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Something else entirely, as far as historians have been able to surmise. He does not outright describe what he means by Forest Bill, and the terms Black Bill and Brown Bill also appear in period documents--again, without description or imagery. However, it is possible to determine that all three such bills (not billhooks, but bills--the former being a weapon and the latter a tool) are purpose-built weapons that trace their lineage to the agricultural billhook. It is thought that halberds also evolved from billhooks.
 
I used to see a lot of billhooks for sale on the UK ebay. Apparently they're popular over there. There is a new show on about treasure hunter looking for diamonds in India. I noticed that he was using a billhook to clear brush away.
 
The British used billhooks to keep their hedges tight enough to hold livestock. You could cut partway through a branch and bend it in a new direction, weaving it with another branch, or to get more growth closer to the ground you could split a bit of trunk and pin it to the ground with dirt over it. It would send new roots down and branches up.
 
I've read where there are chisel grinds and convex grinds found on billhooks. Which is more preferred?
 
I've typically seen double-bevel grinds on Western billhooks. Chisel or single-bevel grinds are more commonly found on on Japanese billhook-style "nata" from what I've seen.
 
I have a British billhook with a single bevel grind. I haven't experimented much with it, but my understanding is that the single bevel allows for cutting at lower striking angles (tilted closer to the branch) without glancing off.
 
Steve Tall said:
I have a British billhook with a single bevel grind. I haven't experimented much with it, but my understanding is that the single bevel allows for cutting at lower striking angles (tilted closer to the branch) without glancing off.
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Correct. :)
 
The british used the Bill quite extensively during the war of the roses , I would hate to see what it would do to flesh.
 
I second omniviking/s warning. Too much follow-threw and the point ends up in your thigh, knee, or shin.
 
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