The one used in this video has the elegant simplicity of a Devon billhook, whereas the one I own is a Stafford pattern, similar to the Devon but with a flat blade of 4" or so along the back of the blade, towards the top. The Yorkshire pattern is longer and broader, shaped a bit like a paddle with the blade extending the full length on both sides and ending with a hooked tip on one edge. The Yorkshire billhook lends itself well to a longer handle for two handed use. Long handled billhooks were often the weapon of choice of the mediaeval footsoldier and I've seen a painting of enslaved plantation workers cutting sugar cane using billhooks similar to my own Stafford billhook.
Thanks for the video Kevin. My local hardware store calls the Sandvik a brush axe. They sell the replacement handles too which I've actually used as replacement handles on some hatchets where I've wanted a little extra length.
Billhooks have a very long history in they UK. Traditionally they are associated with coppicing and hedge laying. Different patterns evolved in different regions. The main advantage I see of the billhook over the machete and "Sandvik" is that it works well in a confined space where there's limited room to swing. The curved end enables you to hack across the base of woody growth without it catching in the earth, or reach into a hedge to cut at brambles and such like with just a flick of the wrist and a tug.
The machete you have is the one most people think of and you can argue it's possibly the best but it is a south American style jungle machete. They make all kinds of machetes and machete like objects if you want to try something a little different. The cane knife and the corn knife are north American machete type blades which are heavier and can be found easily and cheaply. The Australian bolo machete is a nice "edc machete" if that could be a thing, it's more stout than a jungle machete and shorter so it carries better. I am fascinated with the native tool/weapon type of thing that seem to be found in a strip of the world between napal and the Philippines hard to spell and pronounce things like the kukkri, golok, parang, duku, ect. The cool thing about them to me is their designs are the result of an isolated organic evolutionary process which at some point along the way(often before the influence of the western world) solidified as just perfect for what they were doing with the tool. They are just more exotic designs than what I am familiar with. I will sometimes carry a shorter choppy heavish tool like a cane knife, corn knife, or kukkri on a hiking /camping weekend as a hatchet /large knife replacement because even if they are heavy for a knife they are lighter and less cumbersome than a hatchet and a big knife. Paired with a small knife for fishing and carving it's about all you need if you don't plan on felling any substantial trees.
Yeah, I’ve used a few other machete designs. For walkig through PA brush, this is about right for me. The bill hook has limited uses for me, but I’m still glad to have it.
Thanks for yet another great video! I can recommend a Scandinavian brush knife / clearing knife (ryddekniv/ krattkniv/ röjkniv) for saplings. It resembles a short scythe with a hooked, sturdy blade. It is rarely seen here, and unsure if it is available outside of Scandinavia, but it works great for saplings up to an inch in diameter. The long handled knife is placed at the base of the sapling, and drawn towards you while the sapling is grasped with the other hand and bent towards you. This introduces tension on the cut side, so little effort is required. Cut saplings are easy to pile up or throw out of the way afterwards. (Previous comments seem to have been blocked?)
Excellent video! I've never used a billhook but it seems like a very useful tool. Good machete technique. People often try to hold them with a death grip. Happy Saturday!
Ahhh.....my kind of tools. I'm a massive billhook guy. Hardly use a hatchet tbh. To big task for the billhook I pick up the axe. Also since I was in Belize in the Army back in the day I've always had a machete of some kind around my bushcraft camps. Fun little story. My buddy Sam went on one of these "Bushcraft challenge courses" a week. Only a ferro rod, a wool blanket, a cook pot and ONE cutting tool. Most took a "survival knife" he took a billhook. By end of the week the 3 instructors had all ordered one each. It's a great foraging/woodlands tool. Really enjoying your channel mate.
Yeah, I really have no use for a hatchet. Only have one my dad bought me when I was a kid, and the head is loose. I have to intention of fixing it anytime soon. I could see how the Billhook would be useful in that kinda situation. Only thing it wouldn’t do well with is hitting or skinning something, but in a survival situation that ain’t happening anyway.
Excellent video Kevin !!! I love when you do the cinematic intros !!! Great comparison, I have to say I’ve never seen a sandvik, but it sure seems neat and it has a beautiful looking handle on it. The bill hook seems like a beast and very handy, I need to keep my eye out for one, I’ve never seen one in person yet. Ahhh yesss the trusty machete, one of my favorite companion tools when out in the woods in spring and summer, it seem you can always find a reason for one !!! Awesome job again man !! I am looking forward to hearing more about the sandvik, at first glance it seems cumbersome and seems like a tool I would over look, but after seeing it in use it seems quite capable !! 🤙
I wouldn’t be without a machete in the late spring and summer. The sandvik or brush axe definitely has its place in trail clearing, I think. I’ll keep you updated.
Addendum: the machete, while a great movie, was developed for the less dense vegitation found in the tropical setting. Great reach, low weight...swing that king all day. The Billhook can be argued as an ancient tool of the European climbs. Generally a gathering tool. Grasp wheat with one hand - pull toward you with the hook. Some varients come with a blade on the 'back side' making it a multi-tasker. A medieval farm without this guy was truly boned. 🌦
Envious of that billhook and I love the handle. I will get my hands on one someday. "Sandvik" is what I've heard used, along with Swedish brush axe, or clearing axe, for those. I guess that's like Kleenex for tissues. I have one but the head is got bent enough at some point that it's hard to swap the blades (I have to do it on a bench vise) and so I've found myself not using it much. Too bad because a lot of what I need is something to do really brushy work. Anyway, a great thing about them is that you can carry multiple blades and replace a dull or nicked one easily in the field (although the trick to popping the blades takes some practice). The blades are easier to hone on a stone if you pop them out. I've heard them called 'safety axes' too but that might be a bit optimistic. However, when I was young and enthusiastic I definitely whacked myself painfully but recoverably with one more than once in a way that would have been devastating if I'd of had a regular axe. Basically, with moderate amount of luck, if you catch a glance, you are likely to smash yourself with the tip of the frame instead of digging the blade in. For that reason they are popular here for trail clearing crews staffed by summer students. One word of caution is that it was over enthusiastic use of a sandvik that triggered my initial bout of tennis elbow, which I know you've also had issues with.
Thanks for the info. I was eyeing that blade yesterday and thought that looks tricky to get out. You think they’d make one of those pins pop out for easy access. I’m guessing you have to tweak the frame a little? I was happy to see I could file this. Definitely be easier out of the frame, but I was worried I wouldn’t get it back in lol.
@@KevinsDisobedience I was going to reply with more info but I can't find anything online. Zilch! If I can borrow a working one maybe I'll make a video because it seems like a void to be filled. They used to come with a pamphlet that had a diagram for doing a field blade swap. Basically you use a stump, log, or stout limb that just passes through the frame. If you nick off one side to make it D-shaped in cross section it's better. Then push on the handle and the blade should pop out. Getting the new blade in is super easy, you just set it in place and then give it a whack against a stump or other solid piece of wood and it will pop right in.
Sweet video! Nice of Ben to send that to you. I bet it’s pretty old. The billhook is my personal favorite of those three. I recommend buying a billhook holster if you can find one online or make your own. Rinaldi makes them, but you can find them on Howland Tools website I think. Sandvik is both the tool and the name of the company that invented them. I have an old sandvik bowsaw. I remember when I was in Boy Scouts they gave me one of those tools to do brush clearing and trail work. Absolute beast for small saplings. The thin edge is intended to be replaced, but you can easily sharpen it. Even with a dull edge, the thinness makes it good for chopping. Though word of caution, if you try to chop anything 6inches + expect that blade to go flying into the woods🤣. Thanks for sharing, good stuff!
I’m assuming you learned from experience that 6” is the max lol. You look like a scout, and that’s not a insult. I wish I had went through the program. Do you teach these days? If not, you should.
@@KevinsDisobedienceThanks! Yes, I help out at a few troop functions every year. I’m close with the current leaders of the troop I went to not that long ago. Scouting gets a bad name, but it’s really what you make of it that matters. I always thought it funny that most skills associated with bushcraft have been common knowledge to scouts. Fire building, knot tying, shelter making, and first aid and safety are all pillars in the skills I learned as a kid. Leadership, public speaking, and being able to teach skills to others all formed in time. I think highly of the program, but without good role models it never would have meant much to me. That’s why I like to give back when I can.
Good to keep yourself safe. A scabbard is easily made and fun to do. For a stop-gap to protect blade and self, I have split a length of hose pipe along it's length and simply 'clipped it ' along the edge. Hold in place with a couple of diy rubber bands made by cutting 1/2 inch wide sections of a bike inner tube.
@@KevinsDisobedienceif you want a good kindling chopper, that Japanese nata I showed in my bowl carving video is a beast. Has a blunt nub on the end of the blade so that it doesn’t get stuck in the chopping block. A really great tool.
Great topic. The odd guy is a Swedish brush axe - mostly for limbing branches to a certain height for the benifit of both the tree and underbrush in a manufactured forest - aka tree farm. At least over here. Cheers from the other coast and best of the season! (BTW...I'm partial to the billhook)
In Germany we call that thing a "Bügelaxt". ("Hangeraxe or Bowaxe?) Sandvik was the manufacturer, a swedish steel specialist, who also produced axes and really fine wrenches wich are sold in germany as Sandvic-Belzer. It cuts like hell and is very useful in young birch forests. Greetings and thanks for your videos!
Awesome! For bush regen and trail work here I'm always lookin for weird tools like this. Billhooks, and machetes of course, are awesome. Never tried the "sandvik", here when you can find em they're generally marketed as a "brush axe". Been intrigued by the design but never seen one used. Stihl for a while here was selling a kind of hybrid tool, a small (maybe 6-7 inch) bill hook blade with a socket, mounted to a handle similar to the sandvik. Some of these newer husqvarna forestry hand tools are pretty cool, and good value. Is the stream running though your camp gunna freeze over soon?
Yeah, the brush axe would work good on some of your stalky green vegetation. I’m think of whatever that ‘palm’ was you had a go at with the tassie that one time. The creek usually freezes, yes, but we’ve had a very mild winter so far. No real snow to speak of and 50F weather most days.
Great vid brother... I'm not sure where in the country you're located, but when you said "jaggers" I figured you must have some relation to Pennsylvania? Maybe I'm wrong...
In the uk billhooks are mainly used for laying hedges, there is the “Yorkshire” style version which has a straight blade along its back edge that would be perfect for kindling. Long handled hedge trimmers used to be common too (bill hook with a 2’6” ish straight handle). Have been watching and enjoying you videos, thanks 😀👋🇬🇧
glad you like it. Billhooks are definitely better in woody material than machetes from my experience. The one I sent you is a very typical general purpose but there is quite a lot of variety to excel in different tasks. there is very light, longer, thin ones that feel similar to a machete to swing right up to heavy 2 handed boys axe size such as the yorkshire pattern. here is a very good old video showing hedging with billhooks and slashers th-cam.com/video/WoprVhpOKIk/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=BFI
It does seem strange to me that billhooks never really seemed to be popular across the pond, I wonder why that is... they are such an efficient tool and very adaptable.
I’ve watched some of this before. Definitely a great hedging tool, which every garden in suburban England seems to have if I remember correctly from my short stint abroad.
Sandvik. Meh. I might be concerned about failure at the welds. Billhook I'd try that for small saplings, sure . I have a Gerber Machete (24" I think, same length as yours , looks like) and I freaking LOVE it, the handle is awesome and I can brace it to my hand with the lanyard to help eliminate hand shock and it just feels more secure. I annihilated about a 1000 white pine saplings with it. I thought it had plenty of power to do thicker limbs too. It has a saw on the back side of the blade, which helps a lot, but some caution on that.
If the welds are good, should be as strong as the frame. I can always tack it back in place if it does fail. But definitely don’t underestimate the billhook for brushing out woody material.
This wartime public informattion film is the best example I've found online of using a billhook in its "natural environment" by someone who really knew what they were doing. th-cam.com/video/WoprVhpOKIk/w-d-xo.html I see that Sandvik and shudder; it's an ugly inelegant contraption that looks especially suited to getting caught and tangled in a thorny hedge!
Interesting. I've used hooks and Sandvik brush axes. I have a biped of that size and pattern. Made by Parkes in Willenhall (Birmingham). You've fitted the handle (probably the only Biped with an Osage orange handle) as a half-tang handle. Originally it was a full tang, which long term would be more robust. Have a shufti at this vid for hooks: (including a Biped) th-cam.com/video/mLgI6txnEls/w-d-xo.html. And this one for sharpening: th-cam.com/video/DyOHfL7BNt0/w-d-xo.html There is another one on there about handles and one showing handles for hooks being made from green wood (easier and faster and do it the right way and it will not split). This vid shows how I cut kindling: th-cam.com/video/BSSY0luouDk/w-d-xo.html Your Biped is a general purpose hook. Good for cutting in-rotation hazel coppice, so it would eat saplings. Bend them over slightly before cutting and the cut will 'clear' and the work will be easier. The Sandvik brush axe fits a niche similar to the hook, but 'safer'. If you go too enthusiastic at too-large stuff and the blade will bounce out. There is a trick to getting it back in. Best cut at an oblique angle ans it will tackle surprisingly large stuff. Hope this is all useful.
Kevin. I apologize, didn't mean it that way. I was actually slow on responding to you. Didn't think you would get back to me so quickly. I drive for a living and don't have WiFi at most places I go. I was joking with you
The one used in this video has the elegant simplicity of a Devon billhook, whereas the one I own is a Stafford pattern, similar to the Devon but with a flat blade of 4" or so along the back of the blade, towards the top. The Yorkshire pattern is longer and broader, shaped a bit like a paddle with the blade extending the full length on both sides and ending with a hooked tip on one edge. The Yorkshire billhook lends itself well to a longer handle for two handed use. Long handled billhooks were often the weapon of choice of the mediaeval footsoldier and I've seen a painting of enslaved plantation workers cutting sugar cane using billhooks similar to my own Stafford billhook.
Thanks for the video Kevin. My local hardware store calls the Sandvik a brush axe. They sell the replacement handles too which I've actually used as replacement handles on some hatchets where I've wanted a little extra length.
Have you had to replace the blade yet?
@@KevinsDisobedience I don't have the axe itself. Just picked up the replacement handles to use for hatchets.
Billhooks have a very long history in they UK. Traditionally they are associated with coppicing and hedge laying. Different patterns evolved in different regions. The main advantage I see of the billhook over the machete and "Sandvik" is that it works well in a confined space where there's limited room to swing. The curved end enables you to hack across the base of woody growth without it catching in the earth, or reach into a hedge to cut at brambles and such like with just a flick of the wrist and a tug.
Those brush axes are my favorite I use mine alot on my property’s
What do you find it’s best for?
Great comparison! I do like that bill hook. I use a brush axe here often. Works fantastic
So you have one too? Everybody but me has heard and used one of these things lol.
The machete you have is the one most people think of and you can argue it's possibly the best but it is a south American style jungle machete. They make all kinds of machetes and machete like objects if you want to try something a little different. The cane knife and the corn knife are north American machete type blades which are heavier and can be found easily and cheaply. The Australian bolo machete is a nice "edc machete" if that could be a thing, it's more stout than a jungle machete and shorter so it carries better. I am fascinated with the native tool/weapon type of thing that seem to be found in a strip of the world between napal and the Philippines hard to spell and pronounce things like the kukkri, golok, parang, duku, ect. The cool thing about them to me is their designs are the result of an isolated organic evolutionary process which at some point along the way(often before the influence of the western world) solidified as just perfect for what they were doing with the tool. They are just more exotic designs than what I am familiar with. I will sometimes carry a shorter choppy heavish tool like a cane knife, corn knife, or kukkri on a hiking /camping weekend as a hatchet /large knife replacement because even if they are heavy for a knife they are lighter and less cumbersome than a hatchet and a big knife. Paired with a small knife for fishing and carving it's about all you need if you don't plan on felling any substantial trees.
Yeah, I’ve used a few other machete designs. For walkig through PA brush, this is about right for me. The bill hook has limited uses for me, but I’m still glad to have it.
Thanks for yet another great video! I can recommend a Scandinavian brush knife / clearing knife (ryddekniv/ krattkniv/ röjkniv) for saplings. It resembles a short scythe with a hooked, sturdy blade. It is rarely seen here, and unsure if it is available outside of Scandinavia, but it works great for saplings up to an inch in diameter. The long handled knife is placed at the base of the sapling, and drawn towards you while the sapling is grasped with the other hand and bent towards you. This introduces tension on the cut side, so little effort is required. Cut saplings are easy to pile up or throw out of the way afterwards.
(Previous comments seem to have been blocked?)
Not blocked by me. I don’t even know how to do that lol. But that sounds like a good tool. Have to keep an eye out for one.
Excellent video! I've never used a billhook but it seems like a very useful tool. Good machete technique. People often try to hold them with a death grip. Happy Saturday!
Yeah, they try and swing them like an axe. For weeds, I like to let it loose in my palm and roll it back and forth.
Ahhh.....my kind of tools. I'm a massive billhook guy. Hardly use a hatchet tbh. To big task for the billhook I pick up the axe. Also since I was in Belize in the Army back in the day I've always had a machete of some kind around my bushcraft camps. Fun little story. My buddy Sam went on one of these "Bushcraft challenge courses" a week. Only a ferro rod, a wool blanket, a cook pot and ONE cutting tool. Most took a "survival knife" he took a billhook. By end of the week the 3 instructors had all ordered one each. It's a great foraging/woodlands tool. Really enjoying your channel mate.
Yeah, I really have no use for a hatchet. Only have one my dad bought me when I was a kid, and the head is loose. I have to intention of fixing it anytime soon. I could see how the Billhook would be useful in that kinda situation. Only thing it wouldn’t do well with is hitting or skinning something, but in a survival situation that ain’t happening anyway.
Excellent video Kevin !!! I love when you do the cinematic intros !!! Great comparison, I have to say I’ve never seen a sandvik, but it sure seems neat and it has a beautiful looking handle on it. The bill hook seems like a beast and very handy, I need to keep my eye out for one, I’ve never seen one in person yet. Ahhh yesss the trusty machete, one of my favorite companion tools when out in the woods in spring and summer, it seem you can always find a reason for one !!! Awesome job again man !! I am looking forward to hearing more about the sandvik, at first glance it seems cumbersome and seems like a tool I would over look, but after seeing it in use it seems quite capable !! 🤙
I wouldn’t be without a machete in the late spring and summer. The sandvik or brush axe definitely has its place in trail clearing, I think. I’ll keep you updated.
Super cool idea for a video sir! I have seen brush hook/axe's with longer handles before. Stay blessed and stay safe!
Thanks kind sir
Addendum: the machete, while a great movie, was developed for the less dense vegitation found in the tropical setting. Great reach, low weight...swing that king all day. The Billhook can be argued as an ancient tool of the European climbs. Generally a gathering tool.
Grasp wheat with one hand - pull toward you with the hook. Some varients come with a blade on the 'back side' making it a multi-tasker. A medieval farm without this guy was truly boned. 🌦
Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard and seen as well, but they definitely have their place around the modern American farm.
Envious of that billhook and I love the handle. I will get my hands on one someday. "Sandvik" is what I've heard used, along with Swedish brush axe, or clearing axe, for those. I guess that's like Kleenex for tissues. I have one but the head is got bent enough at some point that it's hard to swap the blades (I have to do it on a bench vise) and so I've found myself not using it much. Too bad because a lot of what I need is something to do really brushy work. Anyway, a great thing about them is that you can carry multiple blades and replace a dull or nicked one easily in the field (although the trick to popping the blades takes some practice). The blades are easier to hone on a stone if you pop them out. I've heard them called 'safety axes' too but that might be a bit optimistic. However, when I was young and enthusiastic I definitely whacked myself painfully but recoverably with one more than once in a way that would have been devastating if I'd of had a regular axe. Basically, with moderate amount of luck, if you catch a glance, you are likely to smash yourself with the tip of the frame instead of digging the blade in. For that reason they are popular here for trail clearing crews staffed by summer students. One word of caution is that it was over enthusiastic use of a sandvik that triggered my initial bout of tennis elbow, which I know you've also had issues with.
Thanks for the info. I was eyeing that blade yesterday and thought that looks tricky to get out. You think they’d make one of those pins pop out for easy access. I’m guessing you have to tweak the frame a little? I was happy to see I could file this. Definitely be easier out of the frame, but I was worried I wouldn’t get it back in lol.
@@KevinsDisobedience I was going to reply with more info but I can't find anything online. Zilch! If I can borrow a working one maybe I'll make a video because it seems like a void to be filled. They used to come with a pamphlet that had a diagram for doing a field blade swap. Basically you use a stump, log, or stout limb that just passes through the frame. If you nick off one side to make it D-shaped in cross section it's better. Then push on the handle and the blade should pop out. Getting the new blade in is super easy, you just set it in place and then give it a whack against a stump or other solid piece of wood and it will pop right in.
@@KevinsDisobedience Borrowed a friend's brush axe and made a blade replacement how-to short th-cam.com/users/shortsKEuVKG1bqPk
Sweet video! Nice of Ben to send that to you. I bet it’s pretty old. The billhook is my personal favorite of those three. I recommend buying a billhook holster if you can find one online or make your own. Rinaldi makes them, but you can find them on Howland Tools website I think.
Sandvik is both the tool and the name of the company that invented them. I have an old sandvik bowsaw. I remember when I was in Boy Scouts they gave me one of those tools to do brush clearing and trail work. Absolute beast for small saplings. The thin edge is intended to be replaced, but you can easily sharpen it. Even with a dull edge, the thinness makes it good for chopping. Though word of caution, if you try to chop anything 6inches + expect that blade to go flying into the woods🤣.
Thanks for sharing, good stuff!
I’m assuming you learned from experience that 6” is the max lol. You look like a scout, and that’s not a insult. I wish I had went through the program. Do you teach these days? If not, you should.
@@KevinsDisobedienceThanks! Yes, I help out at a few troop functions every year. I’m close with the current leaders of the troop I went to not that long ago.
Scouting gets a bad name, but it’s really what you make of it that matters. I always thought it funny that most skills associated with bushcraft have been common knowledge to scouts. Fire building, knot tying, shelter making, and first aid and safety are all pillars in the skills I learned as a kid. Leadership, public speaking, and being able to teach skills to others all formed in time.
I think highly of the program, but without good role models it never would have meant much to me. That’s why I like to give back when I can.
Good to keep yourself safe. A scabbard is easily made and fun to do. For a stop-gap to protect blade and self, I have split a length of hose pipe along it's length and simply 'clipped it ' along the edge. Hold in place with a couple of diy rubber bands made by cutting 1/2 inch wide sections of a bike inner tube.
here before the HD crew!
You’ll never beat Kurt, that is, if it ain’t the dead of night his time. Guy has literally stopped in the jungle at work to watch.
Hi Kevin, I'm very attached to my bill'ooks ;
Yeah, I’ve seen many different patterns. I’d like one with a flat blade for making puds-that’s what we call kindling here.
@@KevinsDisobedienceif you want a good kindling chopper, that Japanese nata I showed in my bowl carving video is a beast. Has a blunt nub on the end of the blade so that it doesn’t get stuck in the chopping block. A really great tool.
Great topic. The odd guy is a Swedish brush axe - mostly for limbing branches to a certain height for the benifit of both the tree and underbrush in a manufactured forest - aka tree farm. At least over here. Cheers from the other coast and best of the season!
(BTW...I'm partial to the billhook)
Now that I have it razor sharp, I’ll have to try it some more for limbing.
In Germany we call that thing a "Bügelaxt". ("Hangeraxe or Bowaxe?) Sandvik was the manufacturer, a swedish steel specialist, who also produced axes and really fine wrenches wich are sold in germany as Sandvic-Belzer.
It cuts like hell and is very useful in young birch forests.
Greetings and thanks for your videos!
That’s what I’m told. Seems capable. Happy to have it in the kit.
Awesome! For bush regen and trail work here I'm always lookin for weird tools like this. Billhooks, and machetes of course, are awesome. Never tried the "sandvik", here when you can find em they're generally marketed as a "brush axe". Been intrigued by the design but never seen one used. Stihl for a while here was selling a kind of hybrid tool, a small (maybe 6-7 inch) bill hook blade with a socket, mounted to a handle similar to the sandvik. Some of these newer husqvarna forestry hand tools are pretty cool, and good value. Is the stream running though your camp gunna freeze over soon?
Yeah, the brush axe would work good on some of your stalky green vegetation. I’m think of whatever that ‘palm’ was you had a go at with the tassie that one time. The creek usually freezes, yes, but we’ve had a very mild winter so far. No real snow to speak of and 50F weather most days.
Great vid brother... I'm not sure where in the country you're located, but when you said "jaggers" I figured you must have some relation to Pennsylvania? Maybe I'm wrong...
Lol yep, dead give away isn’t it. I don’t say yinz, but most people around here do. That’ll tell you about where I live
Here's a thought: make a custom long (two-handed?) handle for the billhook.
Be cool. This one’s already epoxied on, but maybe on the next one.
In the uk billhooks are mainly used for laying hedges, there is the “Yorkshire” style version which has a straight blade along its back edge that would be perfect for kindling. Long handled hedge trimmers used to be common too (bill hook with a 2’6” ish straight handle). Have been watching and enjoying you videos, thanks 😀👋🇬🇧
glad you like it. Billhooks are definitely better in woody material than machetes from my experience. The one I sent you is a very typical general purpose but there is quite a lot of variety to excel in different tasks. there is very light, longer, thin ones that feel similar to a machete to swing right up to heavy 2 handed boys axe size such as the yorkshire pattern.
here is a very good old video showing hedging with billhooks and slashers th-cam.com/video/WoprVhpOKIk/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=BFI
It does seem strange to me that billhooks never really seemed to be popular across the pond, I wonder why that is... they are such an efficient tool and very adaptable.
I’ve watched some of this before. Definitely a great hedging tool, which every garden in suburban England seems to have if I remember correctly from my short stint abroad.
Bill hooks are from Bharat (India), especially in the southern part of our country... We use it in our farms...
Sandvik. Meh. I might be concerned about failure at the welds. Billhook I'd try that for small saplings, sure . I have a Gerber Machete (24" I think, same length as yours , looks like) and I freaking LOVE it, the handle is awesome and I can brace it to my hand with the lanyard to help eliminate hand shock and it just feels more secure. I annihilated about a 1000 white pine saplings with it. I thought it had plenty of power to do thicker limbs too. It has a saw on the back side of the blade, which helps a lot, but some caution on that.
If the welds are good, should be as strong as the frame. I can always tack it back in place if it does fail. But definitely don’t underestimate the billhook for brushing out woody material.
That sandvick is a brush axe it’s not a traditional American brush axe but sandvick the brand does make them and may have been the first to do ao
Makes sense. The Bobcat of skidsteers eh….
This wartime public informattion film is the best example I've found online of using a billhook in its "natural environment" by someone who really knew what they were doing.
th-cam.com/video/WoprVhpOKIk/w-d-xo.html
I see that Sandvik and shudder; it's an ugly inelegant contraption that looks especially suited to getting caught and tangled in a thorny hedge!
Interesting. I've used hooks and Sandvik brush axes. I have a biped of that size and pattern. Made by Parkes in Willenhall (Birmingham). You've fitted the handle (probably the only Biped with an Osage orange handle) as a half-tang handle. Originally it was a full tang, which long term would be more robust. Have a shufti at this vid for hooks: (including a Biped) th-cam.com/video/mLgI6txnEls/w-d-xo.html. And this one for sharpening: th-cam.com/video/DyOHfL7BNt0/w-d-xo.html There is another one on there about handles and one showing handles for hooks being made from green wood (easier and faster and do it the right way and it will not split). This vid shows how I cut kindling: th-cam.com/video/BSSY0luouDk/w-d-xo.html Your Biped is a general purpose hook. Good for cutting in-rotation hazel coppice, so it would eat saplings. Bend them over slightly before cutting and the cut will 'clear' and the work will be easier.
The Sandvik brush axe fits a niche similar to the hook, but 'safer'. If you go too enthusiastic at too-large stuff and the blade will bounce out. There is a trick to getting it back in. Best cut at an oblique angle ans it will tackle surprisingly large stuff. Hope this is all useful.
Thanks, I like it, but ever since I’ve discovered the brush axe or the sling blade that’s been my go-to brushing-out tool for felling.
throw away your axes boys! don’t need em 😂 jk jk
Not quite, but handy to have as a companion.
Any of these is more useful than a hatchet.
Amen! Stupid hatchets
might come to America........ just to burn you gloves. 😂
I rue the passing of the old type cloth based insulation tape - much better grip than gaffer tape when your gloves get a bit 'tired'
Leave my gloves alone lol. I’ve had these since I was in high school. I just need to replace the Velcro so the mittens ain’t flapping in the breeze.
First
Stop scamming people
Scamming lol…what’s that supposed to mean? I ain’t sellin nothing.
Kevin. I apologize, didn't mean it that way. I was actually slow on responding to you. Didn't think you would get back to me so quickly. I drive for a living and don't have WiFi at most places I go. I was joking with you