Some new ideas for HI

[boerboel84]

I would be down for a Bill Hook, these are even something they would be familiar with as they are all over the area.

I have a few nice ones I use around the house now, very useful little blades.

Hey Warty do you happen to have some pictures of your bill hooks? i would love to se them
is it the dubble edged type?

 

[tyr_shadowblade]

There's already the Hasiya, though I haven't seen one pop up in the DOTD recently. It's pretty close to a billhook.

Hasiya is a light sickle.

Billhook is a serious chopper.

 

[warty]

The one I wrapped up with blue paracord has a 40" handle for serious chopping.

 

[Bladite]

The one I wrapped up with blue paracord has a 40" handle for serious chopping.

good collection :>

fiskars/gerber makes a very nice one for $21, that i tend to use more these days than any of my big knives/etc esp while camping. light, fast, easy to sharpen in the field, good reach, really good on whipping stuff but will go right through 1 inch stuff.

anything that can't handle, the 16 inch bonecutter comes out. i kept up with a guy on a chainsaw trimmer a downed tree, did it neater, and quieter too. i think i worried him a little


Bladite

 

[boerboel84]

Nice Warty!!! thanks the one with the stacked leather handle looks real comfortable whats the thing on the botom of the handle? that bigg one was a beast! how mutch does it weight/does it have a thick blade?

 

[boerboel84]

i think this one is cool also, must be practical with the two edges

daim..the picture did not work

shop.btcv.org.

 

[tedwca]

HI has made a few katar. I bet someone has a pic they can dig up.... I've been hoping for awhile that the kamis would get a wild hair and make a pata.

Here's some pics from the 9/17/08 DOTD. I can't believe that was two years ago! I would prefer HI to continue making traditional blades and maybe some older styles from other cultures. I have seen a few attempts at modern Western style knives and while perfectly serviceable, they don't have the fit and finish a production knife that we are used to and it feels unethical to me to copy an existing pattern. Cold Steel gets serious flak all the time for that very issue.

 

[boerboel84]

Thank you Karda

 

[heinlein]

I'm not a katar fan but the khuk and associated tools are cool. Just out of curiosity; how much did they cost back then?

 

[tedwca]

I'm not a katar fan but the khuk and associated tools are cool. Just out of curiosity; how much did they cost back then?

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=584078&highlight=katar

 

[PayetteRucker]

I'd pay 35 dollars for a JKM1 in a heartbeat! Doesn't look like much has changed between then and now.

 

[warty]

Nice Warty!!! thanks the one with the stacked leather handle looks real comfortable whats the thing on the bottom of the handle? that big one was a beast! how much does it weight/does it have a thick blade?

I bought the leather handled one used and it is very comfortable to use, the thing on the bottom if a retention hook the previous owner put on there. It works well so I left it there.

I honestly don't know what the big one weighs, it is a bit of a beast though. I have dug out a couple of stumps in my back yard with it and my ASTK.
The ASTK does the bulk of the root chopping and the bill hook did all the levering and removing of the stumps.

That other one, since no one has asked is actually one of the handiest tools for tree work I have. It is made for the work, the hook is for limbing the branch and removing smaller limbs from the main trunk plus you can use it to hook into big logs to drag them around easier. The top part is for limbing as well, using a scraping motion but where it really shines is bark removal. Say you have that perfect branch for some project around the place. With this hook, you can have the branch you have selected pull out of the tree, limbed and barked in seconds flat. I love that thing. I also think it would absolutely wicked in close combat.

Here is me with the big guy before I wrapped the handle up...

scale is inches

another one of the leather handled one (cm scale this time)

if you want me too, I can take a shot or two of the last one as well. ​

Put me down for Qatar too, and a Khanda while we are at it...

 

[gga357]

Has Hi ever made any throwing/ballistic items or pole arms?

 

[Howard Wallace]

Howard, are you saying you went to Bir Gorkha in Nepal? ...

Red Flower and I recently did have the opportunity to visit and pay our respects to our friend Kami Sherpa in Nepal.

..I'd love an HI ULU...

That would be interesting.

...Is that a Utilikilt you're wearing in the pic?

Yes. Survival model.

Last knife, the "Yukon Hunter" looks actually like a Canadian belt knife

It was quite obviously inspired by that design.

how about a hi billhook?, i think that would be a awesome thing

Me too.

I like to see them work on knives that have the aesthetic of their own tradition...

I guess I'm in the minority but I would be happy if they continued to make Kurkris and other traditional weapons instead of making western or hybrid knives...I guess I'm old fashion but I come to HI for kurkris, to me that's kind of the point

a copy of a copy? no thanks. even a copy of the original? i don't think it's fair or ethical to make copies of existing patterns. period. full stop.

Here...I would prefer HI to continue making traditional blades and maybe some older styles from other cultures....

Interesting and thoughtful considerations above. Well worth discussion.

We should note a fundamental assymetry in the relationship between US and Nepalese knifemakers. Is there any US knifemaker who is not familiar with and influenced by the historic design of the Randall #1? On the other hand, how many knifemakers in a country where average wages may hover around $1/day have a chance to examine or be influenced by a $600 Randall. Many US makers are becoming aware of the historical design of the khukuri and are turning out very impressive products based on those inspirations from another culture. Should the cultural interchange be one way only?

Property, and intellectual property in particular is a thorny issue. Even in the US we wrestle with it, as many of you noted above. I recently read an article in the Kathmandu Post concerning property rights. It seems that our western tradition has evolved to include property rights (patents) on living organisims. Recently western corporations have been visiting Nepal jungles and patenting the traditional aruvedic herbs. These herbs have been in use for millenia and the author was urging Nepalese to take out patents on them before control was imposed by outside multinational corporations. It appears to me that the concept of intellectual property is one that must be carefully considered in many arenas. Hopefully thoughtful men and women will not allow the concept to be used for oppressive purposes.

Has Hi ever made any throwing/ballistic items or pole arms?

Interesting suggestion.

 

[Steve Tall]

Maybe this thread has strayed into Cantina territory, but here are some examples of Italian billhooks (click on "English Version", then "Catalog", then "Small Billhooks" or "Large Billhooks" or "Double Edge Billhook" or..."
http://www.leonelliattrezzi.com/

 

[tyr_shadowblade]

another one of the leather handled one (cm scale this time)

I so need a HI billhook. :thumbup:

And a Farmer knife.

 

[warty]

to be clear Tyr, that isn't from HI but is shown merely as an example. That was made in an unknown to me place.
My other two are both from Bellotto in Brazil.

Maybe this thread has strayed into Cantina territory, but here are some examples of Italian billhooks (click on "English Version", then "Catalog", then "Small Billhooks" or "Large Billhooks" or "Double Edge Billhook" or..."
http://www.leonelliattrezzi.com/

Call them whatever you want Steve but a Bill hook is a bill hook. Looked the Italian ones over (and I am Italian so I would have hoped to see something different somehow) and what I saw was the same thing I saw in every So American market sold as bill hooks. I think he design itself is basic enough that the regional differences are negligible.

 

[boerboel84]

great billhook pictures Warty

a tripp to nepal and bir gorkha must just be an amasing experiense. a great privilegium

the big billhook on is just so awsome, the more i look at it, the more i like it i just love stacked leather handels as well. they just look so awsome
how big would you guys think a hi billhook must be?
i would think of a blade thats something like the one warty have with leathe handle : ca. 20 inches total length, 1/4"-1/2" blade thickness and around 2 lbs weight? dubble edge or single edge? what do you think?

 

[warty]

never had much use for the double edged ones, sold the one I did have.
not really much for caring either way myself though.

I would think the leather handled one to be just right for an HI production size but this is just me.
(mine isn't any 2 pound blade though, at least it feels lighter than that)

 

[Steve Tall]

Maybe this thread has strayed into Cantina territory, but here are some examples of Italian billhooks (click on "English Version", then "Catalog", then "Small Billhooks" or "Large Billhooks" or "Double Edge Billhook" or..."
http://www.leonelliattrezzi.com/

I called the above billhooks "Italian" simply because they are made in Italy; no claims made about design provenance .

Here are two examples from their 6 pages of "double edge billhooks":

Imagine these in HI chiruwa style with typical flared end of handle.

Here are links to some "Made in Brazil" billhooks:

http://www.tramontina.com.br/products/category/2780-sickles-and-grass-hooks

http://www.bellotto.com.br/en/ferramentas.php