WW1 British military billhook - the little-known history

This 1918 Martindale billhook was used as a tool - and weapon - in the trenches of the First World War. Join me as I explain what I've discovered about this fascinating tool and how it was used in WW1.

[@SegmentoArmado]

Very cool video

[@karlhopewell8758]

I have just got one of these for my collection

[@garywheble4534]

I lived in the mountain of Wales where my niebough used billhooks to lay hedgers and also wicker matts used for making temporary pens the hook end was used to strip branches off the main trunk to form a rode like length of wood which by wieving them together also during both wars they were used to make wooden gibbons which are filled with soil from the trench you are making then placed agenst the sides of the trench to give extra support to the walls they were cylindrical in shape about the width of a man and as high the prongs of the vertical stays were driven into the ground then the tube filled with earth the top then bent inwards and downwards and wieved together these were normally made off site and bought to the sap at the end of the day and then placed and filled this way the enemy could not work out how far you have dug your sap by counting the gibbons these have been used from about the 15 16 hundreds and a sap is a trench built towards a castle in a zig zag form and the men who dug these Saps were called Sappers today the term is still used in the assault engineers they are still to this day known as Sappers

[@SB-vi1jd]

That is a fascinating insight into the use of these tools in WW1, thank you!

[@raphlvlogs271]

the biggest downside about the billhook is that unlike a knife or machete you cannot draw and deploy it quickly and straightforwardly from a sheath and it is also less convenient to carry/ wear as well

[@ColtWalker-kw1kq]

There is sheaths for these worn on the belt very easily

[@richarddavidjohn6803]

A cross body draw works well with a bill hook in a sheave. A useless bit of knowledge is bill hooks are traditionally pinned sharpened with a hammer