Billhook

Elsewhere, it was also developed locally such as in the Indian subcontinent,[1] or introduced regionally as in the Americas, South Africa, and Oceania by European settlers.

The blade is generally sharpened only on the inside of the curve, but double-edged billhooks, or "broom hooks", also have a straight secondary edge on the back.

The blade is fixed to a wooden handle, in Europe usually made from ash due to its strength and ability to deal with repeated impact.

Prior to the advent of chainsaws, billhooks were used to clear brush and undergrowth from around the base of a tree that was to be felled by either axe or crosscut saw.

Made on a small scale in village smithies and in larger industrial sites, e.g. Old Iron Works, Mells, the billhook is still relatively common throughout most of western Europe.

High-carbon steel is not often used since an extremely sharp and hard edge is not necessary, and a slightly lower carbon content makes the hook easier to sharpen in the field.

The hooked front of the blade is designed to prevent the sharpened inner edge from hitting the ground, which would quickly damage or blunt it.

Billhooks were the tool of choice for clearing areas of brush and shrubs, since this activity requires chopping close to the ground.

A billhook may vary in shape depending from which part of the UK it originates; there are eleven main types.

Images of billhooks often appear on coats of arms of towns and villages, particularly in winemaking areas of Alsace, the Black Forest, Hungary and Switzerland, and have been found carved into boundary stones in parts of Germany and onto rock faces in Italy.

Billhooks are currently in common use by thatchers, coppicers, agricultural hurdle makers, charcoal burners and often by other traditional craftsmen, bushcraft, farmers and woodsmen.

The English, in particular, were known for using massed billmen rather than pikes or halberds in the Renaissance period, notably at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, when the Scottish king James IV was felled by an arrow and bill.

[citation needed] The Finnish military engineer NCOs have a billhook as the part of their personal gear instead of an entrenching tool.