Billhooks: The Forgotten Choppers of the Western World

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

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For nearly a thousand years a simple yet varied design of chopping tool was used in Europe for a countless variety of tasks. This tool later came to the New World where it was used with a similar degree of success. Somehow, along the way from the past to the present these wonderful tools, known under a variety of names but most commonly billhooks, became forgotten by much of the world, and their commonality and variety began to diminish. Today it is next to impossible to find a modern-made billhook outside of the U.K. or, to a limited extent, Central and South America. The only billhooks commonly seen stateside are the Gerber brush hook or (less commonly, though it is of higher quality) the Condor Bush Knife (which I own and use often).

I stumbled across this lovely page featuring scans of old catalog pages featuring billhooks. Combining many of the characteristics of hatchets, machetes, and cleavers, I can't help but feel that many of these patterns would be useful to the modern woodsman, bushcrafter, or homesteader today. A shame that all but the most basic patterns are still being produced, and most of them by British companies that won't ship out-of-country.

A sample page:
brades%20cat%201.jpg
 
whoa! that is alot of billhooks. nice find.

i always wanted to get the one kellam sells but didn't want to pay that much for it.
 
Fiskars also sells one. I don't own it but I played with one a bit at a local hardware store. Definitely on my buy list.
 
crossada said:
whoa! that is alot of billhooks. nice find.

i always wanted to get the one kellam sells but didn't want to pay that much for it.
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The price on that one IS way more than most folks (myself included) are willing to spend. A billhook should be a relatively inexpensive tool--it's not like they're rocket science to make.

Carolina River Rat said:
Fiskars also sells one. I don't own it but I played with one a bit at a local hardware store. Definitely on my buy list.
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That one's the same as the Gerber one. :)

Given that their place of origin is so geographically and botanically similar to ours, you'd think they'd be a more prevalent tool. I think folks mostly just forgot it existed! They do exceptionally well in thick forest, whether it be against small trees, saplings, or thorny plants and grasses.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The price on that one IS way more than most folks (myself included) are willing to spend. A billhook should be a relatively inexpensive tool--it's not like they're rocket science to make.



That one's the same as the Gerber one. :)
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Very true. That might explain why they look so similar.
 
One might consider the Woodsman's Pal to be something of a vestigial billhook. It maintains some of the characteristics of the billhook of old, but is--in reality--its own creature. Personally I find that its performance is distinctly different from that of an actual billhook, as it is really more of a short, heavy machete with a hook thrown on as an afterthought. The leather-handled versions illustrate how little emphasis they place on the hooked side, as the knuckle bow prevents you from reversing your grip on it. A true billhook may be used equally well from either side, dependent on which side is most appropriate for the circumstances.

The billhook is also referred to as a "fascine knife" in the New World, and was an issued item to British troops during the Napoleonic Wars for use as a general purpose tool and fighting implement as well as for, well, making fascines. :D
 
I've always wanted one, even though I'm not sure exactly what I would use it for nowadays.
 
I'm awful fond of my "ditch bank tool" - which is pretty much a bill hook stamped out of 12 or 14 gage steel, sharpened all the way around, and set on a 3' handle. (also called a sling blade)
it does truly blessed things to honey locusts - without me having to get close enough to get bit.
 
1066vik said:
I'm awful fond of my "ditch bank tool" - which is pretty much a bill hook stamped out of 12 or 14 gage steel, sharpened all the way around, and set on a 3' handle. (also called a sling blade)
it does truly blessed things to honey locusts - without me having to get close enough to get bit.
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with a 3' handle that must have some real power to it. in that size range i think they are referred also as forest bills:confused: i think. George Silver was said to really like them.
 
crossada said:
with a 3' handle that must have some real power to it. in that size range i think they are referred also as forest bills:confused: i think. George Silver was said to really like them.
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IIRC, Silver said a military bill should be five or six feet long.
 
A piece of that size is a billhook-like implement known as a brush axe. I have a nice 50's era one that does wonders on wild raspberries that crop up where they don't belong. (Those things grow everywhere around here!)

This is what my example most resembles:
14400030.jpg


This is what 1066vik's probably looks like:
ES2282-Surveyors-Brush-Axe-Ditch-Bank-Blade-813008-md.jpg


dawsonbob said:
I've always wanted one, even though I'm not sure exactly what I would use it for nowadays.
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From the Wikipedia entry on billhooks:
"The use of a billhook is between that of a knife and an axe. It is often used for cutting woody plants such as saplings and small branches, for hedging and for snedding (stripping the side shoots from a branch). In France and Italy it is widely used for pruning grape vines. The billhook is the European equivalent of tools such as machetes, parangs, kukris, etc."

I disagree slightly with the above quotation in that it implies that billhooks are not suitable for heavier chopping duties. In fact, the Yorkshire and Block variants are designed just for that, and I find that my Condor Bush Knife (which is based on the double-sided Kent pattern) chops as well as a hatchet but without the extra weight.

It's also better when tackling lighter targets such as branches. I used mine the other day to remove an ice-laden branch from a sapling that was hanging in front of an area I had to shovel. Took out a 1" branch in one easy swipe. I also used it to limb and trim a tree that fell in the ice storm we had last year. I only had to bust out the axe once it was time to chop the 10" diameter trunk into lengths that could be dragged away. :):thumbup:
 
Double tap. :o

By the way, this is the style of weapon that George Silver was most likely referencing.
EnglishBill.jpg


It (naturally) evolved from the common agricultural billhook thanks to their improvised pole-mounted use as a peasant weapon. It is also the origin both the glaive and halberd. :)
 
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I work in the flooring industry and our installers still use "hawkbills" everyday. They are great for installing all types of flooring, and finish carpentry.
 
My uncle just got the Gerber a couple weeks ago and we used it to clear a bunch of saplings up to about two inch's and it worked great. Taking out a two inch in one lick.
 
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