Today's nice find.

[MJP]

Coming back from a very pleasant visit to Alan Rees (can't recall his forum alias), I called in to the local recycling centre and found a Whitehouse Bros billhook for £1.

12" long overall, 7" long blade, handle and brass bezel homemade.

Touched up with the wire wheel and a scythe stone, a beautiful piece of steel.

Just have to find something to chop now....

Martin.

 

[bugbear]

Nice hook, nicer price!

I would replace the handle with something with a bit of swell to it - stops it flying out of your hand.

Plenty of nice "patterns" to copy on line.

BugBear

 

[MJP]

Thanks Bugbear.

Yes, I've recently bought myself a lathe and when I saw the handle I thought...mmm...make a new brass bezel and a new handle...the first project for my lathe.

I assume that the handle would originally been of ash but I don't have any of that.

It's lovely steel - just two minutes with a scythe stone and it's already nasty!

Martin.

 

[Tasky]

Just have to find something to chop now....

May I suggest the legs off a few French men-at-arms, and maybe the occasional crossbowman? :lol: (hammer)
I love billhooks - Brilliant work tool and fearsome weapon, all in one package!!

Dunno how interested in the tool history you are, but yours looks to be something like a Warwick or Leicester pattern bill:
"Favoured by midlands-style hedgers, this is a one handed tool with a 6-inch (15 cm) handle and a 10-inch (25 cm) blade. It has a curved front edge and a shorter straight edge at the back, the front edge being used for general purpose and the back edge kept extremely sharp for delicate trimming, topping off stakes and other work which will not damage the blade".

 

[whiskywill]

Coming back from a very pleasant visit to Alan Rees (can't recall his forum alias)

Mock?

 

[MJP]

Yes, that's him, Mock.

Lovely bloke.

Martin.

 

[John15]

Super bill-hook Martin

John

 

[MJP]

Thanks John.

I only wish that I'd had it last Sunday when I spent a couple of hours cutting down an overgrown garden with plenty of bill-hook fodder!

Martin.

 

[bugbear]

Thanks Bugbear.

Yes, I've recently bought myself a lathe and when I saw the handle I thought...mmm...make a new brass bezel and a new handle...the first project for my lathe.

I assume that the handle would originally been of ash but I don't have any of that.

Inspiration:
http://www.timelesstools.co.uk/billhooks1.htm
http://www.timelesstools.co.uk/billhooks2.htm
http://www.timelesstools.co.uk/billhooks3.htm
http://www.timelesstools.co.uk/billhooks4.htm

Since yours is double sided, you'd want up-down symmetry in the handle.

BugBear

 

[MJP]

Thanks -

Yes, this is another site that I looked through earlier.

Amazes me quite what people specialise in...

I suppose for an approach to authenticity I should try to copy as best I can the Whitehouse bill-hook on Billhook 3, number 1560, the Staffordshire.

It's fortunate that symmetrical handles are easier to make than one-sided ones.

Martin.

 

[AndyT]

Amazes me quite what people specialise in...

I'd also recommend http://billhooks.co.uk - from a single tool to the history of world agriculture is just a short step.

 

[MJP]

Oh flip Andy - now look what you've gone and done.

...and I was going to do so much this evening...

Oh well.

Martin.

 

[MJP]

- and I see in the picture on the homepage, top of the left-hand column, what looks very much like my billhook.

So I've got what might be an exact pattern to copy.

Martin.

 

[AndyT]

By the way, the reference to a "collection of over 6000 billhooks" is now several years out of date. He no longer counts them by thousands, but by a well-established standard unit for committed collectors, the shedfull. :shock:

 

[dickm]

If you actually use that billhook (hacker in my native dialect) be a bit careful with the back edge. Not impossible to swing it up just a bit too far and restyle your eyebrows. The wildlife trust my daughter worked with years ago wouldn't have them on site for that reason.

 

[bugbear]

Thanks -

Yes, this is another site that I looked through earlier.

Amazes me quite what people specialise in...

I suppose for an approach to authenticity I should try to copy as best I can the Whitehouse bill-hook on Billhook 3, number 1560, the Staffordshire.

It's fortunate that symmetrical handles are easier to make than one-sided ones.

Martin.

I would make at least a small flat on each side, so your hand can "feel" the perpendicular alignment.

BugBear

 

[MJP]

Thanks Dickm - didn't think of that, but it's clearly a risk for the enthusiastic hacker, especially since I understand that the rear cutting edge is traditionally kept very sharp for the occasional finer cut.

I'll be careful!

Martin.

 

[ED65]

I would make at least a small flat on each side, so your hand can "feel" the perpendicular alignment.

Agreed. Either an oval handle or round with flats would be my preference also, to give unconscious register of the blade's axis and also to resist it turning in the hand when blows are struck.

 

[dickm]

Couple of things about that find:. 1. It looks very small for the usual uses of a billhook. 2. Would think that handle was positively dangerous: nothing to stop the tool flying out of user's hand as a result of centrifugal force. So what would it be used for as it stands?

 

[Tasky]

Couple of things about that find:. 1. It looks very small for the usual uses of a billhook. 2. Would think that handle was positively dangerous: nothing to stop the tool flying out of user's hand as a result of centrifugal force. So what would it be used for as it stands?

Looks like a hedging bill, or general handbill. I've used a couple for clearing 7' high brambles and trimming turf, before.
Handle easily replaced with a better shape one, and 5 mins with a drill and a pair of pins fixes it securely.