The first few passes removed the rust and showed an almost serrated edge it
was so heavily damaged. Similar in sanding the handle fine sandpaper did
nothing. In fact after some use with the handle more work had to be done to
resand and then checker to make the grip comfortable and secure. Now it really
can't be blamed on the handle design as again this is an old tool and
literally is slick with years and years of sweat.
Restoring the first billhook from the top :
also ground very easily
damage was heavy but nothing like the third one
handle however as just as bad, and had some cracks
The cracks in the handle were filled with some epoxy and based off of
experience with the previous one it was sanded more aggressively and then
checkered before oiling. Under all the sweat once sanded off the wood was
extremely dry and soaked up oil extremely fast. Again that is not surprising
as these are all very old tools.
Stock Work
As a quick check the third Billhook was used alongside a Mora #1260 to carve
some pine with relatively light force, 10-15 lbs. The Billhook was able to
achieve about 50 (4) % of the performance of the Mora (in terms of amount of
material removed).
This would be expected given the higher angle and leverage disadvantage of the
Billhook (start of cut about 1" in front of the grip). Both are basically
linear effects so the expected performance would be about
(10/13.5)*(2/3) or 49 %.
Of course there is a huge difference in fatigue rates as this is a large
and forward heavy knife. This comparison isn't intended to actually show if
the billhook is suitable for such work just to make a point about the relative
cutting ability. The edge on these tools as noted is not that much heavier
than on a standard Mora.
Field Work
Using the third billhook on some scrap wood, while the penetration was decent,
and there were no real issues with feedback,
it was not able to match the performance of the Fiskar's billhook which is a
bit surprising considering the relative weight and heft and edge profile. A
little investigation and attention during some more work showed that the issue
was with the grip.
While the grip had been sanded and lightly oiled with linseed oil, it was
still too slick as not all the sweat and grime had been removed. The handle
was simply moving too much in the chopping and thus the energy of the chop was
being lost. Before much more work was done the handle was sanded, then an
aggressive checkering pattern was applied and then it was coated in linseed
oil.
Using the third billhook in the above picture cutting some alders it was a
near perfect tool for such work :
it is tip heavy for a lot of power forward
the hook/curve traps the vegetation and locks it in to complete
the cut
the rounded tip protects the edge from the ground impacts
the very tough steel prevents chipping even in extreme impacts off
of rock
Now while a heavy bowie pattern can do similar work, without the hook more
force has to be used and more damage will be taken. This type of work really
showcases the design of the billhook.
For rougher work still, the hook showcases even more ability :
it easily digs and cut through sods
tills soil to get at roots
prys up rocks to expose the bulbs
Now in really rocky soil then an actual pick/spike would be useful as shown in
the cKc hatchet in the picture on the right. While the billhook could easily
do that it will take fairly excessive blunting off the rocks and there is no
real utility in having a sharpened edge for such work. Note that some people
would keep the leading edge of the billhook basically unsharpened for that
purpose and only sharpen the inside of the curve.
As a quick check the third Billhook was used alongside a Mora #1260 to carve
some pine with relatively light force, 10-15 lbs. The Billhook was able to
achieve about 50 (4) % of the performance of the Mora (in terms of amount of
material removed).
Using the third billhook on some scrap wood, while the penetration was decent,
and there were no real issues with feedback,
it was not able to match the performance of the Fiskar's billhook which is a
bit surprising considering the relative weight and heft and edge profile. A
little investigation and attention during some more work showed that the issue
was with the grip.
Using the third billhook in the above picture cutting some alders it was a
near perfect tool for such work :
