55/449

Edward Elwell Ltd. (Manufacturer)

A billhook is an edge tool used in hedging, coppice work and other woodland trades. Billhooks show great regional variety, with each area having its own accepted pattern and shape. This billhook is of the Hampshire type. It has a narrow, tanged blade with a single edge which fits into a pistol type wooden handle. The donor found it in 1930 and used it in Berkshire.

1 billhook: metal; wood

MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'This narrow bladed, single edged billhook is the Hampshire type, and was used by Mr Shaw in the Reading district. The blade is 9.3 inches long and has a maximum width of 2 inches. The blade is tanged and fits into a pistol type wooden handle which is 6.7 inches long. The whole tool is 16 inches long. // See 54/705.', MERL ‘Associated information’ form – The Hampshire billhook is No. 3711 in the Edward Elwell Ltd. Catalogue, p.37.

Wednesbury

Wood, Metal