Should I bother restoring this billhook?
- Thread starter spandit
- Start date
Yeah mate, those are beauties!
Clean them up as much as you like but they look solid and fine to me.
Regarding the handles and any cracks, don't be affraid to load them up with super glue and even coat the entire handle in the stuff. Super glue works wonders on wood as it soaks nto the gain fast and seals it effectively. Give it a nice shine too. And it can be polished afetrwards or left lightly rough from a little sanding for extra grip. Oily wood handles on billhooks are a bit iffy imo. Unless you use a chemical loaded oil like 'boiled' linseed the oil can sit just on the surface for some time and come out the grain onto your hands when it gets warm.
If you do use raw oils, get the oil hot first then dunk the wood in and profusely rub it in by hand and then with a butt load of tissue to soak up any excess. Then wax it to lock in the oil in the grain. I've used babybell cheese wax in the past and it worked fine, so don't feel the urge to go out and buy a bar of beeswax, it's overrated and smells funny lol. Standard candle wax (parrafin wax) isn't great but is better than nothing.
For some inspiration here is a before and after super glue handle coat on a walnut fillet knife I made from a saw blade.
If you have no wax at all I can send you a little nub of bees wax. It does last longer and is grippier than other waxes I've used but the whole 'must use' aspect of it in buhscraft circles is a little annoying and over hyped. I make loads of stuff and upcycle just about everything and find alternatives just about everywhere, so again, don't feel pressured into doing what everyone else thinks is right. You can bodge and tinker with most things from junk around the house. (And never pass up on cheap packs of super glue! 99p shops etc do packs of 10 which I buy in abundance)
Clean them up as much as you like but they look solid and fine to me.
Regarding the handles and any cracks, don't be affraid to load them up with super glue and even coat the entire handle in the stuff. Super glue works wonders on wood as it soaks nto the gain fast and seals it effectively. Give it a nice shine too. And it can be polished afetrwards or left lightly rough from a little sanding for extra grip. Oily wood handles on billhooks are a bit iffy imo. Unless you use a chemical loaded oil like 'boiled' linseed the oil can sit just on the surface for some time and come out the grain onto your hands when it gets warm.
If you do use raw oils, get the oil hot first then dunk the wood in and profusely rub it in by hand and then with a butt load of tissue to soak up any excess. Then wax it to lock in the oil in the grain. I've used babybell cheese wax in the past and it worked fine, so don't feel the urge to go out and buy a bar of beeswax, it's overrated and smells funny lol. Standard candle wax (parrafin wax) isn't great but is better than nothing.
For some inspiration here is a before and after super glue handle coat on a walnut fillet knife I made from a saw blade.
If you have no wax at all I can send you a little nub of bees wax. It does last longer and is grippier than other waxes I've used but the whole 'must use' aspect of it in buhscraft circles is a little annoying and over hyped. I make loads of stuff and upcycle just about everything and find alternatives just about everywhere, so again, don't feel pressured into doing what everyone else thinks is right. You can bodge and tinker with most things from junk around the house. (And never pass up on cheap packs of super glue! 99p shops etc do packs of 10 which I buy in abundance)
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Nice work. Great looking tools there.
I was gonna fill the crack on the wooden handle with expoxy, but super glue or wood glue might work too I was wondering.
i did chop some logs in the garden this afternoon with the French billhooks, and they were working very well solid handle even with cracks. The balance was good in hand, and blades were sharp even after chopping many hardwood logs.
I was gonna fill the crack on the wooden handle with expoxy, but super glue or wood glue might work too I was wondering.
i did chop some logs in the garden this afternoon with the French billhooks, and they were working very well solid handle even with cracks. The balance was good in hand, and blades were sharp even after chopping many hardwood logs.
