Billhooks are currently in common use by thatchers, coppicers, agricultural hurdle makers, charcoal burners and often by other traditional craftsmen, farmers and woodsmen. They are also the primary tool for hedgelayers.
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Billhooks would have once been made by the local smith to the user's specifications but now sizes and shapes are largely standardised. The handles are mostly rat-tail tang, except the Yorkshire having such a long handle that a tang is just not practical — they have a socket instead. The smaller hooks have variations in the shape of the handle: round, oval and pistol-grip. Billhooks are almost universally made from ordinary steel of a moderate carbon content.
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However, he then seems to take offence at something written on the list. He decides he cannot tolerate the customer any longer and calls his assistant from the back to complete the order. The assistant reads the list and opens a drawer of billhooks, asking "How many would you like, one or two?" (suggesting that the shopkeeper misread it as the profanity "bollocks").
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This practice may have developed from the need for these men to perform duty as smiths, and so sported beards to protect the face. A general order of 1856 allowed for one pioneer per company in each regiment. The tools carried by the pioneers included a sawback sword, pickaxe, billhooks, shovels, and axes. citing and Walton, P.S., Simkin's Soldiers, The British Army in 1890, v.
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Maheswar falls at Suryam's feet and begs for an apology, the kind Suryam forgives him and Maheswar returns to his village. Suryam's villagers get angry after knowing about the incident and they all go to Maheswar village with Aruvals (Billhooks) without warning Suryam. They create a mess in Maheshwar village, and set fire on their houses. The riot causes the death of many villagers including Maheswar's family and Prameela's mother.
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By contrast, infantry, in the age before structured formations, relied on cheap, sturdy weapons such as spears and billhooks in close combat and bows from a distance. As armies became more professional, their equipment was standardized and infantry transitioned to pikes. Pikes are normally seven to eight feet in length, and used in conjunction with smaller side-arms (short sword). In Eastern and Middle Eastern warfare, similar tactics were developed independent of European influences.
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Other agricultural tools found at the site include billhooks, sickles, hoes and rakes, forming one of the most complete tool assemblages known for pre- Roman agriculture in Spain. The most common livestock were sheep and goats, with some bovines and pigs. These animals were used for milk, wool, leather and meat, and were also necessary for ploughing and to pull carts. Some wild species were also hunted, included rabbits, hares, deer, mountain goats and wild boar.
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From Christ's fingers rise vine branches, which end at the ceiling in ten fruit-like circles with images of the saints and Doctors of the Church, with saint Jerome at the far left and Saint Ambrose at the far right. At either end harvesters with ladders and billhooks fail in their attempt to cut down the branches and fall from the skyD'Adda, cit., pag. 124. \- these symbolise historical heretics and some are inscribed with their names.
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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. Hygiene and cosmetic appearance are unimportant so more expensive stainless steel is not used. Billhooks have a relatively thick blade since they are typically used for cutting thick and woody vegetation. The nose is sometimes also thickened to bring the sweet spot further forward and to optimise the chopping action.
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The edge of a billhook is not bevelled to a very narrow angle to avoid binding in green wood. The hooked front of the blade is designed to prevent the 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. In German speaking countries, the billhook is known as a "Rodeaxt", which translates to "clearing axe".
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Meanwhile, as per his father's advice, Manimaran goes on horseback to Gunavasal on the very night to seek an apology. When he discloses the incident to Rasu Padayachi's mother, she beats him but Rasu Padayachi stops her. Manimaran falls at Rasu Padayachi's feet and begs for an apology, the kind Rasu Padayachi forgives him and Manimaran returns to his village. Gunavasal's villagers get angry after knowing about the incident and they all go to Sundarapuram with Aruvals (Billhooks) without warning Rasu Padayachi.
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The idea for the sketch came from the owners of a hardware shop in Hayes, Hillingdon who wrote in to The Two Ronnies to describe some of the amusing events and misunderstandings in their store. Barker was never happy with the sketch's final line (a male assistant asking "What sort of billhooks did you want?") and changed it (to a female assistant asking "What sort of knockers were you looking for?") for the stage version of The Two Ronnies, although he was still not totally satisfied with it.
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The twelve Indian Pioneer regiments in existence in 1914 were trained and equipped for road, rail and engineering work, as well as for conventional infantry service. While this dual function did not qualify them to be regarded as elite units, the frequency with which they saw active service made postings to pioneer regiments popular with British officers. Prior to World War I, each sepoy in a Pioneer regiment carried a pickaxe or a light spade in special leather equipment as well as a rifle and bayonet. NCOs and buglers carried axes, saws and billhooks.
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He rose to become captain of the routiers, veritable mercenaries in the pay of the seneschal or various other powerful lords and even bishops. When his protector Amaury died in 1427, he entered the service of Charles VII of France. In 1428 he was joined by Juan Salazar, who became his lieutenant. In his early career he is known to have pillaged Treignac, Meymac, and Tulle. On 11 June 1430 he participated in the Battle of Anthon with around 400 men armed with such prosaic devices as billhooks, sledge hammers, and spades.
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Others may have worn a padded gambeson or a leather jerkin or coat, though these would not have survived decomposition in the ground after the battle. Unusually, many of the Gutes appear to have had minimal head protection, with many skulls wearing only a mail coif; however any helmets may have been stripped from the bodies after the battle. Very few weapons have been discovered, but it is likely that both sides used round and heater-type shields, spears, axes, billhooks, pikes, and poleaxes. For close combat, both sides would have had swords, light axes, war hammers, and maces.
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17th- and 18th-century German, Prussian and Swedish fascine knives were more like cavalry swords, often with a brass handle and a hand guard, but later models were more like billhooks in shape and appearance. By the 20th century, it became the Pioneer's billhook in the British Army, used in World War I for making machine gun emplacements. In the Indian Army, it is known as a Knife Gabion (gabions, like fascines, are used for supporting earthworks). Some types of fascine knife are probably descended from 16th century sidearms weapons like the baselard or the Swiss sword.
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Page from the 1939 Nash–Fussells catalogue, showing a variety of types of bill hook with caulked handles The blade is usually made from a medium-carbon steel in varying weights and lengths, but typically long. Blades are straight near the handle but have an increasingly strong curve towards the end. 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.
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These factors, coupled with their intimate knowledge of the coast and tides, put the Romans at a disadvantage. However, Caesar's legate Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was given command of the Roman fleet, and in a decisive battle, succeeded in destroying the Gaulish fleet in Quiberon Bay, with Caesar watching from the shore. Using long billhooks, the Romans struck at the enemy's halyards as they swept past (these must have been fastened out-board), having the effect of dropping the huge leathern mainsails to the deck, which crippled the vessel whether for sailing or rowing. The Romans were at last able to board, and the whole Veneti fleet fell into their hands.
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