Restoration : French Billhook

[@mccullenj]

@CliffStamp Spring is in full bloom here. 71F today, low was 45F. It was in the 80's last week. It did not snow here all winter.

[@Prometheus1111]

man those things are beautiful tools. i can't get enough. i may have to hunt one down.

[@mccullenj]

Looking forward to see the fine edge holds up to any chopping that is heavier than light brush.

[@CliffStamp]

The are extremely durable both in the materials used and the manner of construction. There really isn't an abuse limit for this type of tool. It is common to use them to split wood and hit the spine with a hammer so hard it is flattened under the impact. All four of the ones I have show such levels of impact. The blade is just so wide that they are generational, though the handles do get replaced as they are usually not well cared for so they split.

[@CliffStamp]

The best way to grind is wet, as Kyley has described where he uses an actual coolant on the belt itself and on the knife and frequently applies both. This prevents over heating assuming you do not press so hard to actually boil off the coolant on the edge. I normally don't do that as I hand sharpen to minimize metal removal anyway as I use my knives fairly frequently so I don't want to belt sharpen simply due to the amount of metal removal with a high speed belt.

[@CliffStamp]

They are traditionally used for cutting vegetation which is harder than normally a machete is used for but not so thick that an axe is typically used. There are however a huge variety of billhooks, the four I have are most of a very similar style. They come with much less of a hook, some even argue the hook is not essential and some also have a very sharpened back edge for very rough work.

[@CliffStamp]

I will have it out shortly, the edge is acute yes, but in general these are much higher than necessary on most knives. Ideally this should have a high relief bevel, but before I start grinding them I want to really get an understanding of how they work in the stock condition. Freezing rain all day tomorrow, but it should clear by the weekend for some film.

[@CliffStamp]

Fiskar's makes something similar which has a lot of the same characteristics, more length than width. They are very interesting tools as they are similar in purpose to a machete in that they are brush clearing, but they have a whole line of utility opened up because of the hook and the durability is in another class compared to what people talk about for survival/emergency type use. I would recommend anyone who does brush work to at least try out out, and work especially a little with the hook.

[@knivesandstuff]

what you need to do is put the top protective cover on the top wheel, but cut a hole in it and attach a dripfeeder tube like a hospital bag and fill it with simple green water solution. that will keep the belt clean, cool and wet, without being overly messy.. :D

[@CliffStamp]

We are still floating around freezing, which I don't mind, but the freezing rain is annoying as it gets warm enough to rain and then the temp drops to sub-zero so everything gets covered in a sheet of ice. No way to film in those conditions, but it is interesting to work in. Try lighting a fire in that sometime if you want a challenge.

[@CliffStamp]

I guarantee if you are grinding without coolant the edge is being drawn unless it is a very temper resistant steel. The very edge itself is less than a micron thick and will over heat long before it will generate enough bulk heat to sense at the finger tips or discolor the steel. Note the sparks coming off the steel do contain molten material.

[@CliffStamp]

I was going to use a coolant starting with high volume forced air, the only reason I have not is that if I actually succeed there is a high probability I will switch completely to belt sharpening as hand sharpening isn't something I enjoy and if I start belt sharpening with the volume of work I do I will burn through knives fairly rapidly due to the amount of metal removal. I would have to adjust the motor speed to vastly turn down the belt rate as well.

[@jdavis882]

Very cool tools man. Could you tell me what their intended use is?

[@CliffStamp]

Yes. I do very little work, maybe 10-20 minutes, with at most 5 mins of continuous grinding as I am stopping often to check the profile/thickness and ensure it is where I want it to be. The volume of work is very low, even though I regrind almost all of my knives it is again a trivial volume compared to actually doing work on commission.

[@CliffStamp]

Of course this draw is only at the very edge and only shows up if you do micro-hardness testing and is only on the order of 1-2 HRC. The ironic thing is that the constant water dipping most people do/recommend makes it worst as the edge is being water quenched which is not good for most steels as it is too rapid a cooling. If you are going to water quench, make sure the edge cools in air before dipping.

[@CliffStamp]

If this one goes, I may look for a higher power 1" sander and either get a variable motor or just configure one. I have been planning that for some time, this sander just keeps working. That being said because I have wrote this it is likely it will give out instantly now. If it does someone will get a gift of a load of 1x30" belts.

[@knivesandstuff]

are you grinding on a 1x30?

[@donjuanmckenzie4897]

RIP Cliff