A mate of mine did me a huge favour on my car (turned out it was only a 5 min job and a £20 part, but he saved me around £200!). He mentioned that he didn't have a billhook and fancied one (he's a landscape gardener, uses power tools but loves using hand tools where he can).
So I found this blade online ripe for restoring
After sharpening the blade up it was ready for a handle. I didn't have the means to drill all the way through the handle so I found the longest bit I had and trimmed the tang to match the depth I could reach. I chose a nice bit of straight grained cherry and carved it up kinda rough for a grippy effect. To add some extra security I fitted the blade to the handle then drilled a 3mm hole and used a piece of galvanised nail to add a pin through the tang. After plenty of epoxy resin everything felt solid.
The sheath was made from 9mm ply, cut to shape, glued, sanded, tacked and finally varnished. With some 4mm leather I created a belt loop with a popper and a handle safe with a popper. The original idea was to thread the leather through both slots but the 4mm was thick and unweilding so I wet formed it through one slot, dried it and stiched it up. It's taken a surprising amount of time but I'm happy with it, it's a bit rough and ready but hey... its a rough and ready tool.
So I found this blade online ripe for restoring
After sharpening the blade up it was ready for a handle. I didn't have the means to drill all the way through the handle so I found the longest bit I had and trimmed the tang to match the depth I could reach. I chose a nice bit of straight grained cherry and carved it up kinda rough for a grippy effect. To add some extra security I fitted the blade to the handle then drilled a 3mm hole and used a piece of galvanised nail to add a pin through the tang. After plenty of epoxy resin everything felt solid.
The sheath was made from 9mm ply, cut to shape, glued, sanded, tacked and finally varnished. With some 4mm leather I created a belt loop with a popper and a handle safe with a popper. The original idea was to thread the leather through both slots but the 4mm was thick and unweilding so I wet formed it through one slot, dried it and stiched it up. It's taken a surprising amount of time but I'm happy with it, it's a bit rough and ready but hey... its a rough and ready tool.
