Golok, Machete or Billhook
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as long as you sharpen it well, the billhook wins hands down in my opinion. It is after all what it was designed for! Amongst other things 
Until I played with a variety of tools to coppice hazel, I hadn't appreciated just how much easier the billhook was. the extra weight up front and the hook make them perfect for teh job
Until I played with a variety of tools to coppice hazel, I hadn't appreciated just how much easier the billhook was. the extra weight up front and the hook make them perfect for teh job I have no experiance with iether, but I like the look of thishttp://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gurkha-Jungle-kukri-knife-khukuri-khukri-kuuri-Nepal_W0QQitemZ220197274298QQihZ012QQcategoryZ72046QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The reason that I put a Golok in there was that I have used one for scrub bashing thru immature bamboo and that's not dissimilar to Hazel wands to clear
I can see the use of a Billhook in that there is less chance of it sliding off when cutting. I have seen pictures remarkable wounds caused by machetes. Usually caused by people letting go when their hands were slippery with sweat - in other words, always use a wrist leash with this type of tool.
Any tips on resharpening a Billhook. It must be quite hard to sharpen into that sort of shape?
Any makers / manufacturers to look out for? I appreciate the skill (and beauty) of Dave Budd's tools but don't really think that I could justify that much at present.
I can see the use of a Billhook in that there is less chance of it sliding off when cutting. I have seen pictures remarkable wounds caused by machetes. Usually caused by people letting go when their hands were slippery with sweat - in other words, always use a wrist leash with this type of tool.
Any tips on resharpening a Billhook. It must be quite hard to sharpen into that sort of shape?
Any makers / manufacturers to look out for? I appreciate the skill (and beauty) of Dave Budd's tools but don't really think that I could justify that much at present.
Ah go on, you know you want to
Billhook gets my vote too, it's just such an excellent tool; and this sounds exactly the sort of job it was designed for.
Somewhere on the site someone did a really good descriptive post of different traditional types, maybe someone will recall where.
cheers,
Toddy
Billhook gets my vote too, it's just such an excellent tool; and this sounds exactly the sort of job it was designed for.
Somewhere on the site someone did a really good descriptive post of different traditional types, maybe someone will recall where.
cheers,
Toddy
Having been a hurdle maker in the past and tried all three I would agree that the right bill hook is by far the tool for the job. Now here is the rub, they do varie a lot. Troll round boot sales, junk shops and even antique markets and you should strike lucky soon enough. Buy the one that feels right for you rather than what other people tell you as they will all be different. When you get the right one you will know and I bet like me you would not sell it for a £1000.00. Go for old rather than new as they are generally better quality steel and often better balanced. An exception to that would be something made by Dave Budd as he knows a good tool from what I have seen. Hope this helps a little.
If you want a bollhook then you can get an excellent quality old one on ebay for £20. One of the known name brands in a decent steel. The only question is what pattern? They come in a range of shapes and hooks, including double sided and two handed.
Thanks for the kind words guys
I completely agree with Roots. There are literally hundreds of patterns of billhook and while you could use any of them, they have all been developed for particular jobs (with regional varioations of course ). I would avoid an double edged hooks though as they are very dangerous! For coppicing I would go for something with a fair hook on it and a blade of between 9 and 13", based on the ones I've used but that's only me. The older hooks are the better hooks purely because they have good geometry adn are much more user friendly. Personally I prefer no9t to have a turned (ie round) handle as it twists in my hand, but some people like them.
As roots says, try some out if you meet up with anyone who has one and see what suits you My personal fave is one that I made a few years ago based on a 2nd century AD hook. It doesn't have much hook, so is not so good for coppicing, but for most other things it is brilliant!
You will most likely need to regrind the edge and sharpen it as they get very worn and rounded off in use. To sharpen mine I use wet and dry paper wrapped around and stick. If I'm re-grinding one I tend to use and angle grinder (carefully!) but I have used a 1/2 round file in the past
I completely agree with Roots. There are literally hundreds of patterns of billhook and while you could use any of them, they have all been developed for particular jobs (with regional varioations of course
). I would avoid an double edged hooks though as they are very dangerous! For coppicing I would go for something with a fair hook on it and a blade of between 9 and 13", based on the ones I've used but that's only me. The older hooks are the better hooks purely because they have good geometry adn are much more user friendly. Personally I prefer no9t to have a turned (ie round) handle as it twists in my hand, but some people like them. As roots says, try some out if you meet up with anyone who has one and see what suits you
My personal fave is one that I made a few years ago based on a 2nd century AD hook. It doesn't have much hook, so is not so good for coppicing, but for most other things it is brilliant! You will most likely need to regrind the edge and sharpen it as they get very worn and rounded off in use. To sharpen mine I use wet and dry paper wrapped around and stick. If I'm re-grinding one I tend to use and angle grinder (carefully!) but I have used a 1/2 round file in the past
B
bushyboo
Guest
Hi
I use one of those cigar shape sharpning stones on mine it makes shapning the curve a lot easyer
Cheers
Gordon
I use one of those cigar shape sharpning stones on mine it makes shapning the curve a lot easyer
Cheers
Gordon
I'm gonna disagree with the maxim "go for old rather than new". In the south there were more suppliers and users of bills so you have better access to a tradition and better tools.
Hey I love billhooks, I've coppiced for years and worked with willow and hazel for years on commercial jobs and I've tried a fair few bills in my time. But beware...In Scotland it is really quite difficult to get a billhook and old bills are few and far between except:
1. Farmers used a bill like tool with a spike on the back-these were for howking and topping neeps and not for wood. These do not hold an edge suitable for wood.
2. The war office issue bills that were issued in ww2 to keep the road verges clean can relatively easily be found but the ones I've seen had a handle of a couple of feet long. Mor elike a cross between a bill/slasher-they tend not to be that great up here.
The only new hooks I've ever seen for sale in Scotland are
1. Swiss leather handled bill-huge curve, good quality
2. Morris Newton Bills the best moder hooks in the world! (esp if you get one a little bit older)
3. Bulldog-mass produced stamped steel as opposed to forged. TOTAL RUBBISH
There's some greast advice here on sharpening, however don't use sandpaper in the field...if your using your bill in anger for any length of time(working it), just get a cigar stone as previously stated and work up a good "slip" with it...ie; you wet the blade and create a very fine runny paste when sharpening. You'll get a Morris bill so sharp you'll
FREAK!
Build a sheath for it out of an old pai of boots, if you don't have leather just wrap it in an old pigskin (oiled) apron and you'll be fine!
Good luck
Hey I love billhooks, I've coppiced for years and worked with willow and hazel for years on commercial jobs and I've tried a fair few bills in my time. But beware...In Scotland it is really quite difficult to get a billhook and old bills are few and far between except:
1. Farmers used a bill like tool with a spike on the back-these were for howking and topping neeps and not for wood. These do not hold an edge suitable for wood.
2. The war office issue bills that were issued in ww2 to keep the road verges clean can relatively easily be found but the ones I've seen had a handle of a couple of feet long. Mor elike a cross between a bill/slasher-they tend not to be that great up here.
The only new hooks I've ever seen for sale in Scotland are
1. Swiss leather handled bill-huge curve, good quality
2. Morris Newton Bills
the best moder hooks in the world! (esp if you get one a little bit older)3. Bulldog-mass produced stamped steel as opposed to forged. TOTAL RUBBISH
There's some greast advice here on sharpening, however don't use sandpaper in the field...if your using your bill in anger for any length of time(working it), just get a cigar stone as previously stated and work up a good "slip" with it...ie; you wet the blade and create a very fine runny paste when sharpening. You'll get a Morris bill so sharp you'll
FREAK!
Build a sheath for it out of an old pai of boots, if you don't have leather just wrap it in an old pigskin (oiled) apron and you'll be fine!
Good luck
Definately a difference of opinion when it comes to sharpening I think
Cigar stones are very aggressive, so put a quick toothy edge on that will dull faily quickly. The wet and dry (hell you could glue it to your stick!) can give you as fine an edge as you like. I use wet and dry in the field (the woods actually) to touch up my hook, though it rarely needs it of course. I've never had a problem with the wet and dry and for a finer than saw-like edge it is what I have got used to
Everybody is different, and that is just how I do things
Cigar stones are very aggressive, so put a quick toothy edge on that will dull faily quickly. The wet and dry (hell you could glue it to your stick!) can give you as fine an edge as you like. I use wet and dry in the field (the woods actually) to touch up my hook, though it rarely needs it of course. I've never had a problem with the wet and dry and for a finer than saw-like edge it is what I have got used to
Everybody is different, and that is just how I do things
I see where you are coming from Dave, I guess it's down to what works for the context you are in. I used my bill, for weeks on end, 8-12 hours a day, usually working knee deep in water and I only needed to give it a quick run with the stone when it dulled. I used to do all that fancy edge work with wet n dry but in the field there is no way I could afford the time when I'm cutting willow/hazel for faggots or making willow revettments in stream banks and working to deadlines. We usually alternated between two hooks. One sharp, one in the van just in case it dulled.
To give you an example of how sharp my bill was...during a particulalry hard month trying to meet client deadlines and working to the times you've hired jcb's... in a huge bank stabilisiation job using rip rap and willow faggots, I was working hip deep in the pissing rain in a stream trying to get the job done as everyone was waiting and I slipped after I swung the bill, it went right through the tip of my index finger, then through my waders and right into my knee cap The surgeon said he could not have sewed it together so well if it hadn't been such a sharp tool!
To give you an example of how sharp my bill was...during a particulalry hard month trying to meet client deadlines and working to the times you've hired jcb's... in a huge bank stabilisiation job using rip rap and willow faggots, I was working hip deep in the pissing rain in a stream trying to get the job done as everyone was waiting and I slipped after I swung the bill, it went right through the tip of my index finger, then through my waders and right into my knee cap
The surgeon said he could not have sewed it together so well if it hadn't been such a sharp tool! 
I'm not an expert but I am a student who is learning and I'd say that the billhook is the tool for the job. Traditionally different regions had different designs of billhooks though so you'd need to find the design that best suits you.
You can get some information about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook. It doesn't show all the various permutations on the design at this site but it gives you an idea.
I bought a non-traditional style billhook from Homebase on special offer (£15 - that's £10 off their usual price) a week ago. It's made by Wilkinson Sword (Fiskars) and is a kind of cross between a billhook and a machete. It's very modern in design so won't appeal to traditionalists and I think it's too long for some jobs like hedge laying but it's great for clearing brush, snedding, and just slashing through stuff in general. Thicker branches can be hacked with this knife like an axe and the elliptical handle gives good grip for prying. Many cheap billhooks are horrid stamped steel jobs at least this one is not.
I was going to show you a picture of the what I bought but Photobucket is down for maintenance right now so here's a link to the Fiskars Website with picture and information.
http://www.fiskars.com/wps/wcm/connect/d1d2c60045cd9235bc9dfc0fc61cf272/7860_p.jpg?MOD=AJPERES
You can get some information about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook. It doesn't show all the various permutations on the design at this site but it gives you an idea.
I bought a non-traditional style billhook from Homebase on special offer (£15 - that's £10 off their usual price) a week ago. It's made by Wilkinson Sword (Fiskars) and is a kind of cross between a billhook and a machete. It's very modern in design so won't appeal to traditionalists and I think it's too long for some jobs like hedge laying but it's great for clearing brush, snedding, and just slashing through stuff in general. Thicker branches can be hacked with this knife like an axe and the elliptical handle gives good grip for prying. Many cheap billhooks are horrid stamped steel jobs at least this one is not.
I was going to show you a picture of the what I bought but Photobucket is down for maintenance right now so here's a link to the Fiskars Website with picture and information.
http://www.fiskars.com/wps/wcm/connect/d1d2c60045cd9235bc9dfc0fc61cf272/7860_p.jpg?MOD=AJPERES
