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Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes

Sparky415 · 204 · 30083

scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #60 on: May 01, 2015, 11:02:51 AM
I've got a new-ish toy to add to this thread.  My Condor Pack Golok.  Seen here on my paddling trip from earlier this year.

2015-02-21 16.17.27.jpg
* 2015-02-21 16.17.27.jpg (Filesize: 215.49 KB)
Be excellent to each other and always know where your towel is.


scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #61 on: May 01, 2015, 11:27:01 AM
One thing I did find out on that trip is that the handle shape is pretty poor.  Far too fat, far too round, so it had a bad habit of twisting around when in use.  With that in mind I set to with a wood rasp and sand paper and gave the handle a bit more "shape", much better now.  Also the sheath is very nice, but I don't see the need for the second strap, the top one I've got done up holds the golok perfectly securely all by itself.
2015-05-01 10.18.00.jpg
* 2015-05-01 10.18.00.jpg (Filesize: 77.17 KB)
2015-05-01 10.17.34.jpg
* 2015-05-01 10.17.34.jpg (Filesize: 82.93 KB)
2015-05-01 10.16.03.jpg
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« Last Edit: May 01, 2015, 11:30:38 AM by Gareth »
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gb Offline Mike, Lord of the Spammers!

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #63 on: May 01, 2015, 02:08:51 PM
Lovely looking Golok mate. I wish is kept my old British Army one ::)

That dude with scythe was awesome :o
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gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #64 on: May 01, 2015, 05:27:17 PM

Nice pictures David  :tu:
Have found any jobs for it to do yet?


Sorry I'm just a little late here Tony. Yes, I've used it to trim branches off of osage orange trees that were in the way. That is a never ending job. Those osage orange trees are always popping out fresh branches every time you turn around.    :D




Glad its getting some use Mate  :tu:
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gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #65 on: May 01, 2015, 05:29:07 PM
My Condor Pack Golok.

 :gimme:

That very nice Gareth
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us Offline SAK Guy

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #66 on: May 01, 2015, 05:55:06 PM
My Condor Pack Golok.

 :gimme:

That very nice Gareth

+100   :cheers:


Here's my Condor...

- Robert




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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #67 on: May 01, 2015, 06:29:19 PM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:
Be excellent to each other and always know where your towel is.


us Offline SAK Guy

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #68 on: May 01, 2015, 06:34:17 PM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:

I like it but hate that it's convexed...... :(
- Robert




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"It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues." - Ten Bears


us Offline SteveC

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #69 on: May 07, 2015, 12:18:20 AM


scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #70 on: May 07, 2015, 12:39:21 AM
That's a proper looking machete Steve. :tu:
Be excellent to each other and always know where your towel is.


us Offline SAK Guy

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #71 on: May 07, 2015, 01:02:29 AM
That's a proper looking machete Steve. :tu:

+1  Very nice!!!  :tu:
- Robert




Quo Fata Ferunt
"It's sad that governments are chiefed by the double tongues." - Ten Bears


nz Offline zoidberg

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #72 on: May 07, 2015, 01:03:36 AM
That's a proper looking machete Steve. :tu:

+1  Very nice!!!  :tu:

+2  :tu:  :tu:


us Offline SteveC

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #73 on: May 07, 2015, 01:20:48 AM
Thanks ! It's a U.S. army machete made by the Ontario Knife company.

It's seen a lot of use for clearing a nuisance invasive tree we have around here (Buckthorn). It got a little rusty when my garage roof leaked a few years ago. I cleaned it up recently and sharpened it. It takes a wicked sharp edge.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2015, 01:23:03 AM by SteveC »


gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #74 on: May 07, 2015, 06:51:05 AM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:

I like it but hate that it's convexed...... :(

You don't like it because its convexed?
I thought a convexed edge was best  :think:


Nice one Steve  :drool:
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us Offline SAK Guy

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #75 on: May 07, 2015, 07:15:06 AM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:

I like it but hate that it's convexed...... :(

You don't like it because its convexed?
I thought a convexed edge was best  :think:


Nice one Steve  :drool:

It probably is but I don't want the best on these kind of tools. I want something I can hit a few licks with a mill smurf file and keep going instead of relearning how to sharpen it. Always have a file around the farm or in my gear.
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us Offline David

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #76 on: May 07, 2015, 08:52:46 AM
Just watched those videos of the guy with the scythe. Wow he is good! I've used my grandpas many years ago but that guy would run or cut circles around me.    :D
What? Enablers! Are you serrrrious? Where? I dont see any.
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nz Offline zoidberg

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #77 on: May 07, 2015, 08:53:57 AM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:

I like it but hate that it's convexed...... :(

You don't like it because its convexed?
I thought a convexed edge was best  :think:


Nice one Steve  :drool:

It probably is but I don't want the best on these kind of tools. I want something I can hit a few licks with a mill smurf file and keep going instead of relearning how to sharpen it. Always have a file around the farm or in my gear.

You and me both mate.  :salute: 


scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #78 on: May 07, 2015, 09:19:28 AM
When I was looking at the Condor range I definitely considered that one. :tu:

I like it but hate that it's convexed...... :(

You don't like it because its convexed?
I thought a convexed edge was best  :think:


Nice one Steve  :drool:

It probably is but I don't want the best on these kind of tools. I want something I can hit a few licks with a mill smurf file and keep going instead of relearning how to sharpen it. Always have a file around the farm or in my gear.

Oddly enough I've already attacked my Condor with a file (after accidentally attacking a stone with the Condor) and found the steel pretty soft and easy to work on.  I'd even go so far as to say that compared to a knife it's too soft, but as a machete then I think it's OK.
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gb Offline Weasel

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #79 on: February 21, 2016, 10:16:56 AM
Here's my billhook that a friend recently gave me


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hr Offline styx

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #80 on: February 21, 2016, 12:10:19 PM
well you're ready for the zombie apocalypse
Solving problems you didn't know you had in the most obscure way possible

"And now, it's time to hand this over to our tame race axe driver. Some say, he can live in the forest for six months at a time without food, and he knows of a secret tribe of only women where he is their God. All we know is, he's call the Styx!" - TazzieRob


gb Offline Weasel

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #81 on: February 21, 2016, 04:41:45 PM
Yeah that would be my first  choice for close quarters zombie killing


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scotland Offline Gareth

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #82 on: February 21, 2016, 06:37:45 PM
That's a cracker mate. :tu:
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gb Offline Weasel

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #83 on: February 21, 2016, 07:00:47 PM
Cheers buddy


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gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #84 on: February 21, 2016, 09:20:29 PM

Nice one Weasel  :tu:

 :cheers:
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ie Offline eamo

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #85 on: February 27, 2016, 03:07:50 PM
I've no idea what this tool is called - I found it in my shed/workshop, I guess it belonged to my father though i don't remember him ever using it. The balance seems very "off" to me, but perhaps there is a technique to using it that i don't know.






« Last Edit: February 27, 2016, 04:40:35 PM by eamo »
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gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #86 on: February 27, 2016, 11:28:34 PM
Yours looks like a good heavy one to me Mate  :tu:

I have just found this artical that you might find interesting Eamo
Looks like yours is a Devon Billhook,  :salute:

Billhooks are a tool for cutting or splitting green wood; they are something between a knife and an axe. They were traditionally used to coppice thin wood for animal feed and bedding, split hazel for making hurdles, cut fencing stakes, thatch roofs, make rough furniture and cut thin firewood, such as smurfs which were used in bread ovens. In continental Europe they are a traditional tool for pruning the grape vines that were needed for wine-making. The hooked end makes it easier to catch cut pieces of brush and flip them in the right direction.
 

Medieval Italian using a billhook (Photo from billhooks.co.uk)
 
As the most widely available edge tool the billhook would also have been the principle weapon of self-defence for the medieval English peasant, and is often said to have been the main weapon used in the English civil war. Big orders were placed by the government as late as World War I, where they were used to clear scrub and cut stakes for trench construction.
 
 
 
These days, volunteers on OCV tasks use billhooks mainly for trimming the side branches of hedge-laying stakes (snedding) and for hedge-laying itself. The billhook is a very versatile tool though perhaps one of the more tricky to use for us volunteers with weak 21st century arm muscles and not having had too much practice. Quite a lot of strength is required to use one effectively for significant lengths of time, and there is a risk of doing yourself or someone else serious injury with the sharp blade. The main risks are cutting your other hand, hitting your legs or cutting your fingers fishing one out of a bag of tools.
 
 
 
In days gone by there were thousands of different patterns of billhooks used in different parts of the British Isles and in Northern Europe and other parts of the world, including those that were colonised by Northern Europeans. In many cases this would match the local style of hedge-laying, though it would be hard to say which came first since people would pass down both the tools and the technique.
 
 
 
Although there are patterns named after many of the English counties, in fact, there was probably a different style being made by each village blacksmith. They eventually gave way to small manufacturers who made tools in larger numbers, perhaps with forges powered by waterwheels. There might only be a few of these tool makers in each county, so the tradition continued. In the 19th century, mass production took over from small manufacturers, and production of bladed tools took place in cities like Sheffield. Farming was still not mechanised, and a large number of people still lived and worked in the countryside so there was still great demand for hand tools in the countryside and with different areas requiring different styles, the big toolmakers produced catalogues boasting of hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of patterns of billhook they had available.
 
 
 
As demand for hand tools dropped off in the latter part of the 20th century fewer different patterns remained available. Nowadays, choice is quite limited if you’re looking for a new tool rather than a museum piece which you might pick up at a market or on eBay. But you will still certainly be able to find these general patterns:
 

7 different patterns of billhook
 
It’s sometimes still useful to know which is which. On OCV tasks that’s normally because we’ve managed to lose one and we want to know who saw it last. Or sometimes we end up with a bit of particularly tough bit of hedgelaying that means we have to find out who’s got a Yorkshire billhook – the only one that can be used two-handed.
7-different-patterns-of-billhook.jpg
* 7-different-patterns-of-billhook.jpg (Filesize: 96.75 KB)
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us Offline SteveC

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #87 on: February 27, 2016, 11:37:17 PM
Very interesting Sparky !  I had to google hedgelaying.


gb Offline Sparky415

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #88 on: February 27, 2016, 11:52:36 PM
Bill hooks were a real multitool of the countryside in the old days,
they came in a huge amount of different shapes and sizes for many jobs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Andv7a0NPEc

A couple of interesting sites  :salute:

http://billhooks.co.uk/photos-and-other-images/english-billhooks/

http://www.timelesstools.co.uk/index.htm

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us Offline SteveC

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Re: Show us your Billhooks, Slashers, Machetes
Reply #89 on: February 28, 2016, 12:24:25 AM


 

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