Billhooks or handbills: an introduction. Traditional, versatile and efficient edged tools.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มี.ค. 2022
- An introduction to 'hooks, which in the British Isles tradition come in all sorts of shapes and sizes with regional styles and names and evolved for a huge variety of jobs. In skilled hands they can be an efficient tool capable of precision.
We look at a random small selection of old hooks (and a 'new' one made in the early 1980s) and some of their features.
Post on sharpening is here: • Billhook sharpening an... .
Post on handles is here: • Billhook handles need ... .
Post of me using the Yorks hook in the woods is here: • Using a Yorkshire bill... . Not the very best tool for this job but it was the one that was in the van.
Yorkshire billhook, spar hooks (Southern Counties pattern), a coppicing hook and a side-sharpened hook for hewing.
What a load of old Billhooks!!
Thank you.....
Ohio usa here and I envy your ability to find these. I have a modern billhook or two here and my favorite tools. I imagine those older billhooks are divine to wield.
Hooks are pretty common in England. The trick is to find nice ones in-expensively, but it is do-able. Handle-ability is variable. I like light-weight ones that are sharp. The handle is important as it should fit your hand - there is a vid on handles on the 'channel'. I f the handle is too big around, the tool is tiring to use...
Thanks for commenting.
When I visited France recently I picked up a few bill hooks. Cheap in job lots modern and older ones Great to have.
just a tip, when making a handle for a through tang, I always drill the pilot hole first then mount the blank either between centres on a lathe or between a couple of blocks with large nails poking through. This way makes it a lot easier to shave/file/rasp or scrape down the handle uniformly and end up with the hole in the true centre. If you leave drilling till last, you are more likely to end up with a wonky off centre handle - hope this helps someone. :
In America we have a curved blade "corn knife" that some of the older examples were blacksmith made. Not too many collectors at rural sale, usually. Thanks for the video and information.
Lovely! Thank-you!
From a Covid beached Canadian in Littlehampton, West Sussex, by the sea, England.
Thankyou! And thanks for subscribing. 'Tis diving season, so I'm concentrating on my marine channel. Woodland stuff will rev up again around October.
Do really like a Billhook I've got a couple. One of my favourites is a Hertfordshire pattern has a chisel ground blade which is excellent for carving and pointing stakes. Much more useful than hatchets for the small wood work delimbing and such as will just sweep them off and don't have to worry about precision as much. Reminds me when i attended Plumpton a box full of broken half tang ones. With terrible edges on them ofcourse. Hence why I brought my own from home.
Thanks for the comments: I agree about the usefulness of hooks vs hatchets. In a survival situation a hatchet may be more versatile than a hook, but for doing a job of work, the right hook will always be more efficient. You can convert a half tang hook to full tang if you have the facilities...
I too have a lovely Elwell Hertfordshire billhook. Its a pleasure to use.
Hi.
Interesting video.
The Fussels improved hook you have there was made locally to me, as the old mill is about 4 miles away from me. It has long been derelict, but part of it is in the process of being restored. A lot of tools from Fussels mill are highly sought after and you may find that you would get a good price for it if In the future you would like to part with it.
It is near a place called Mells, in Somerset.
All the best.👍🏾🇬🇧
Those bulldogs are pretty fine tools but as you say, are a bit on the thick side. I have a couple that I have reduced a lot in thickness with an angle grinder followed by filing/sanding to a smooth finish. These are a lot less tiring to use all day and are equally effective ... providing you sharpen properly in the first place and keep 'em sharp.
I have come across this idea of thinning a billhook before . But have to say I can’t follow the logic that it is less tiring I think a heavier blade has more impact and biting power . Using a thin one is like bashing in a big nail with a small hammer
fantastic ! Truly brother just what I have been looking for
Thankyou for uploading
I am a collector ( novice)
But your right about the steel of the billhooks are not as good
I have heard tell the best are the tools made at the end of the Napoleonic wars when blacksmiths skills for sword and gun making were surplus !
Thankyou again
Thanks for watching.
I would say that could very well be a weapon, and a good one at that, provided it is sharp.
It's sharp, but it's a tool. Don't give anyone in authority any ideas.... Try searching YT for 'billhooks to you' or ,Modern History TV' and see why our ancestors may have taken this same stance! Thanks for commenting.
Many tools can be used as weapons. The difference to, lets say a sword or an assault rifle is, that killing humans is the only use these items are made for.
Good informative video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for the kind and positive feedback.
So what is the function of the hook portion? To keep the main part of the blade from hitting the ground as I've heard?
The hook part acts to impart a shearing action to the cut when removing side branches during cutting out usable stems. Also comes into play when cutting small stems (in-rotation coppice). There's a video of me using a Yorkshire hook to do just this job. The straight blade on a Yorks hook lets you point stakes with the end of the stake on a block - the hook would foul the top of the block in this situation. You use a block because you don't want dirt blunting your edge.
Hope that helps and sorry for the delay - gremlins ate my PC.....
One of the best medieval tools around. UK law being what they are, are you required a license?
No licence required - would they licence spades or screwdrivers or a draw knife? It's a tool not a weapon and difficult to carry concealed. However, there are recently-publicised proposals to ban machetes and one couldn't buy a draw knife on ebay for a couple of years - had call it a 'spokeshave' which was just wrong.....
এই দা কাটারি গুলো কে ধার দেন কেমন করে?
Sorry for the delay, I have just found Google translate. Short answer: I never lend my tools. These are not knives. In the UK there is a lot of paranoia in authority about 'knives', especially when carried by 'youths' - so best not to give 'em any ideas.
@@anemone104 I suspect google translate didn't do a very good job of translating! The original message says "Hey brother, how do you sharpen these hand bills?"
Thank you for the great, detailed video, I found it very helpful!
And I have also just found your video posted three days after this one about how to sharpen them! Thank you again, these are great content.
@@Moni-tr5lo Apologies for that. I only speak English and read enough French to get by with academic texts. What language is you mother tongue please?
what in the hell is a car boot sale
You load up all your unwanted/surplus items, drive to a field or carpark and unload it, exposing it to the public gaze hoping that someone will buy everything. Still happens despite Ebay. Gets buyers and sellers out of the house......
A boot being what much of the world call a car trunk.
@@ukulelalienation I reckon linguistic diversity is good. The trunk is on the front of an Elephant or you put all your goods in it when travelling by sea. (POSH). The front of the car is (of course) the bonnet and the engine is usually in there. A hood is what Robin wore in the greenwood. The rockers work the valves, linking valves to pushrods or cams. Wheel nuts hold the wheels on and the wheels sit in wheel arches under the wings. And I could go on. Well I think it's funny.......
Swap meet more or less
@@cholulahotsauce6166 Yep. Kind of. On this site of the Big Wet Bit, a Swap Meet is more usually where you go to buy bits of car or motorcycle or stationery engine. They tend to be specialised, where car boots tend to be offerings of wide-ranging commonplace tat. Selling at a car boot, it is a Fail if you go home with more stuff than you took. At a Swap Meet this is not the case, especially if you find the unobtainable part you need to finish the rebuild of your Thingmatron or Wankel powered motorcycle at a demon low price...