bill hooks, why???

[sargey]

the bill hooks have been mentioned in lots of threads, but we've not had a discussion centering on them. so lots of questions for jack, or anyone else in the know. feel free to answer in small bursts as you have time jack! :-D

if bill hooks can cut better than a hatchet on the green wood, how do they fair against axes on bigger or harder stuff? how do you cut a log without the nose getting in the way?

what is the nose for?

i have long maintained that a hatchet does, what a hatchet does better than anything else. but a short stout machete is more versatile. is this where a billhook fits in?

i really need to get a japanese limbing axe, this one!

why should i buy a bill hook instead.

cheers, and.

 

[maddave]

I used to use a newtown billhook a lot when doing fast pruning when I was a countryside ranger. They're a lot lighter than axes and have a thinner blade

I have't used one for about 8 years now though.

For all things billhook related, Jack's yer man, and I'm sure he'll bung a few tips up here when he sees the thread

 

[Jack]

Dave, I have seen this thread and all I can say is that, Sargey is asking for trouble!.............

 

[MartiniDave]

I'm in the process of refurbishing an old billhook that rather strangely belonged to my Grandmother - an old Fen girl. Its the type with a second straight cutting edge along the spine. Once the work is done I will put it and a newer "Bulldog" example through it's paces on clearing some brush and saplings.

Jack,
Any comments on the "Bulldog"? It seems OK except the blade looks to have twisted a little during heat treatment, is that usual?

Dave

 

[sargey]

all I can say is that, Sargey is asking for trouble!.............

Jack,
Any comments on the "Bulldog"? It seems OK

i reckon martinidave is asking for more than trouble! :yikes: :mrgreen:

cheers, and.

 

[MartiniDave]

Sargey,

Why? What have I done without realising? :-o

I bought the bulldog about 15 years ago, it was all I could get from a local agricultural supplier. Soon after I was introduced to a tramontina machette which was better suited to what I was doing then (building pigeon shooting hides), being lighter, cheaper and easier to get a decent edge on.

Dave

 

[Ed]

Why? What have I done without realising?

Bulldog billhooks.... Jack thinks they should be band!!!
See his post in the hurdle thread here
http://www.bushcraftuk.co.uk/community/viewtopic.php?t=777


Ed

 

[MartiniDave]

Oh, I see what you mean! :shock:
Shucks Jack, no offence meant or anything. Once I've got the old one - the makers mark on it is something like GH,"edited to add - resembles the Staffordshire pattern on Jack's website" - restored I'll consign the bulldog to the back of the shed, well out of the way!

Happy chopping everybody!

Dave

 

[sargey]

that was it! thanks ed, couldn't for the life of me remeber where it was!

d'ya reckon jack's winding up for a major dissertation then?

cheers, and.

 

[sargey]

it's all gone a bit quiet in the sharps dept, so i'm bumping this thread, and also coz i went out for a quick go with the japanese limbing axe, and it's great! i think the wildlife hatchet is all but retired.

so why billhooks jack?

cheers, and.

 

[alick]

it's all gone a bit quiet in the sharps dept, so i'm bumping this thread, and also coz i went out for a quick go with the japanese limbing axe, and it's great! i think the wildlife hatchet is all but retired.

so why billhooks jack?

cheers, and.

Where did you get the japanese axe Andy ? It looks good & I like japanese tools. Cheers.

 

[Adi007]

What's a Japanese limbing axe Sargey? :?:

 

[Stew]

What's a Japanese limbing axe Sargey?

It's one of these! :-D

 

[sargey]

alick, the nata azumagata came from http://www.dick-gmbh.com/ it was about 30 quid with shipping and german vat, no need to worry about customs or the taxman in the EU. goto axes, and then japanese cleavers. but i would advise against it, they have some fantastic kit, and it could get expensive

quick specs:
weighs 750gms 1.5lbs
oal 360mm just over a foot
length cutting edge, 135mm just over 5.5 inches
thickness cutting edge 7mm, 5/16 of an inch.

more info from singularity (surprisingly :-D ) here: http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=111

cheers, and.

 

[Adi007]

That's interesting Sargey ... a pinned rat tail tang axe ...

Looks nice and multi-purpose!

 

[sargey]

it's more of a flat tang!

this bit below, is copied from stuff i wrote, on a "big knife or small axe?" thread on another forum:

i tend to think of a hatchet as an excellent tool in it's own right. as opposed to thinking of it as simply a small axe. it takes a pretty big and heavy knife to even attempt to keep up with a hatchet in the chopping stakes, the harder the target the more the balance shifts in favour of the hatchet.

there is no way that either my BK9" or RTAK will keep up with the wildlife hatchet chopping hardwood. the're both well convexed. chopping the hard stuff can be down right painful sometimes, resulting in arm numbing shock and a blade flying loose.

that said, a large knife has more cutting edge, better for whacking through brambles, you can baton a big knife to split lumps of wood that defeat even a small forest axe. then there's the durability question, what happens if you damage the eye and or break the hatchet handle? it happens.

so after considering all the options, i realised i needed a hatchet with a solid head and a long cutting edge, or a knife with a longer shock and vibration absorbing handle.

preliminary indications are that both the gb wildlife and the BK9" are redundant. the RTAK never made it into practical use really.

i'm still intrigued by the bill hook though.

cheers, and.

 

[Adi007]

Send em to me and I'll dispose of them for you safely!!! :-D

Seriously, why did the RTAK never make it into use?

preliminary indications are that both the gb wildlife and the BK9" are redundant. the RTAK never made it into practical use really.

i'm still intrigued by the bill hook though.

cheers, and.

 

[Lithril]

k so now for the £1,000,000 question and the only life is to ask the forum... Which do I get for my first axe/billhook/japanese cleaver/etc. As most of you know I'm relatively new to bushcraft so would it be worth getting the billhook and learning to use that (something I'm very tempted wtih) or would it be best to start with an axe/hatchet???

 

[sargey]

the RTAK's been used a fair bit, mostly round the garden. it is very big, very light and very fast, but perhaps a little too tall. i've long maintained that a short stout machete was one of the most useful bits of kit, the BK9 is a little shorter and a little stouter and just a little handier, so it gets used more.

cheers, and.

 

[Jack]

Dear Sargey.

Sorry, haven't been ignoring, honest. If someone could tell me how to get pictures on here then we can let the great debate unfold!!!

We have just taken another delivery of hooks today so I can get some great pictures of newly, hand forged hooks up to show you. We sell more hooks than all of the other edge tools on the site, put together! :yikes:


Not that there is much competition out there for the billhook! :notworthy

BILLHOOKS - THE ULTIMATE EDGE TOOL.

Best wishes

Jack.