Pleaching Hedgerow with Billhook, Edwardian Farm

• published: 17 Feb 2015
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Segment from Edwardian Farm. Pleaching or plashing is a technique of interweaving living and dead branches through a hedge for stock control. Trees are planted in lines, the branches are woven together to strengthen and fill any weak spots until the hedge thickens. Branches in close contact may grow together, due to a natural phenomenon called inosculation, a natural graft. Pleach also means weaving of thin, whippy stems of trees to form a basketry effect. In hedge laying, this technique can be used to improve or renew a quickset hedge to form a thick, impenetrable barrier suitable for enclosing animals. It keeps the lower parts of a hedge thick and dense, and was traditionally done every few years. The stems of hedging plants are slashed through to the centre or more, then bent over and interwoven. The plants rapidly regrow, forming a dense barrier along its entire length. The billhook is a traditional cutting tool used widely in agriculture and forestry for cutting smaller woody material such as shrubs and branches. It is very common in the wine-growing countries of Europe. In other parts of the world where it is used, it was either developed locally—e.g. in China, India, and Japan—or introduced by European settlers—e.g. in North and South America, South Africa, and Australasia. It is also known as the bill hook. Billhooks would have once been made by the local smith to the user's specifications but now sizes and shapes are largely standardised. Video of forging of the billhook at the Finch Foundry (water-powered): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inG3RVERfjA 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. A billhook may vary in shape depending from which part of the UK it originates; there are eleven main types. Billhooks are almost universally made from ordinary steel of a moderate carbon content. 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. 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". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billhook http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleaching