Cold Steel English Bill
Aug 5, 2014 2:45:21 GMT
Post by Razor on Aug 5, 2014 2:45:21 GMT
Cold Steel English Bill
By Ray Harrington
I'm 5'7"
Introduction
I always wanted an English Bill, so when Cold Steel, came out with their Man At Arm Collection, I was excited. I waited for KOA to have them in stock but I couldn't wait any more. So I went on Amazon, and found one for $95.17 with free shipping from Red Gear.
Full Disclosure
I purchased this bill hook for myself and I'm not affiliated with Cold Steel or Red Gear.
Shipping
When UPS delivered my order, they only brought half my order, which was the head and not the shaft. I waited for a couple of days to make sure the shaft would come, because I know Cold Steel ships polearm's head and shaft in separate boxes. After a couple of days and the shaft never showed up, I emailed Red Gear, and after a couple of quick responsive emails from Red Gear, they sent me the shaft.
Historical Overview
The bill-hook or English bill, started out as an agricultural tool and became a fearful weapon on the battle field. The English were known for their longbowmen and billmen and even after in the 16 Century when England switched from their own try and true bow and billmen to pike and shot. The bill did in fact appear to have been in official military use as late as 1681 when it was known to have formed part of the armoury of Britain's Tangier garrison.
Statistics
Overall Head length: 24 1/2"
Back spike: 2 1/4"
Bill blade: 9 1/2"
Top spike: 7 7/8
Thickness: 2.46mm
Steel: 1055 carbon
shaft: Ash wood
Overall: 7' 6"
Weight: 1lb. 13 3/8 oz
Bill Hook Head
The head is light, about a pound lighter than Arms & Armor's English Bill. The head looks to be blued instead of that black paint that they use on their other polearms and axes. There is no hole/holes in the socket for mounting the head to the shaft, which is an epic fail from Cold Steel. I will explain more in the test cutting.
Shaft
The shaft is the same crap brown colored shaft that Cold Steel uses for the Boar spear. I wish they used the same shaft that's in their cutting vid.
Handling
I really like the way this bill hook handles. This is a light and fast polearm and I'm going to have fun training with it.
Test Cutting
The bill hook comes sharp and I did some cutting before I made the video. Because there isn't a way to secure the head to the shaft, it is unsafe for cutting. After a couple of cuts the head would get loose and I hit my post on my cutting stand and the head would twist. I tried to cut a 2 liter soda bottle and when I struck the bottle the head flew off and went flying away. So for the video I just cut a few milk jugs and you can see me tighten the head, right before I thrust in to the jug.
Pros
Sharp
light
blued
Cons
NO HOLE/S IN THE SOCKET TO SAFELY MOUNT IT TO THE SHAFT!
Blued: some people might not like the blued finish.
The round sempr!ni colored shaft.....Well, for me anyways.
Conclusion
Cold Steel needs to drill some holes in the socket so it can be safely mounted to the shaft, and it would be nice too have the shaft that's in their cutting video instead of the round shaft that it now comes with. I'm going to drill some hole in the socket to peen it to the shaft and shape the shaft to my liking and sand the rest for the brown off and treat it with linseed oil. I like the weight. It make it a light polearm and if it was heavier I would cut the overall length to about 5' to 6'.
Bottom Line
I really like it but, I would only recommend this to people that can drill holes in the socket and peen or bolt it to the shaft. This would also be good for people who like DIY products.
By Ray Harrington
I'm 5'7"
Introduction
I always wanted an English Bill, so when Cold Steel, came out with their Man At Arm Collection, I was excited. I waited for KOA to have them in stock but I couldn't wait any more. So I went on Amazon, and found one for $95.17 with free shipping from Red Gear.
Full Disclosure
I purchased this bill hook for myself and I'm not affiliated with Cold Steel or Red Gear.
Shipping
When UPS delivered my order, they only brought half my order, which was the head and not the shaft. I waited for a couple of days to make sure the shaft would come, because I know Cold Steel ships polearm's head and shaft in separate boxes. After a couple of days and the shaft never showed up, I emailed Red Gear, and after a couple of quick responsive emails from Red Gear, they sent me the shaft.
Historical Overview
The bill-hook or English bill, started out as an agricultural tool and became a fearful weapon on the battle field. The English were known for their longbowmen and billmen and even after in the 16 Century when England switched from their own try and true bow and billmen to pike and shot. The bill did in fact appear to have been in official military use as late as 1681 when it was known to have formed part of the armoury of Britain's Tangier garrison.
Statistics
Overall Head length: 24 1/2"
Back spike: 2 1/4"
Bill blade: 9 1/2"
Top spike: 7 7/8
Thickness: 2.46mm
Steel: 1055 carbon
shaft: Ash wood
Overall: 7' 6"
Weight: 1lb. 13 3/8 oz
Bill Hook Head
The head is light, about a pound lighter than Arms & Armor's English Bill. The head looks to be blued instead of that black paint that they use on their other polearms and axes. There is no hole/holes in the socket for mounting the head to the shaft, which is an epic fail from Cold Steel. I will explain more in the test cutting.
Shaft
The shaft is the same crap brown colored shaft that Cold Steel uses for the Boar spear. I wish they used the same shaft that's in their cutting vid.
Handling
I really like the way this bill hook handles. This is a light and fast polearm and I'm going to have fun training with it.
Test Cutting
The bill hook comes sharp and I did some cutting before I made the video. Because there isn't a way to secure the head to the shaft, it is unsafe for cutting. After a couple of cuts the head would get loose and I hit my post on my cutting stand and the head would twist. I tried to cut a 2 liter soda bottle and when I struck the bottle the head flew off and went flying away. So for the video I just cut a few milk jugs and you can see me tighten the head, right before I thrust in to the jug.
Pros
Sharp
light
blued
Cons
NO HOLE/S IN THE SOCKET TO SAFELY MOUNT IT TO THE SHAFT!
Blued: some people might not like the blued finish.
The round sempr!ni colored shaft.....Well, for me anyways.
Conclusion
Cold Steel needs to drill some holes in the socket so it can be safely mounted to the shaft, and it would be nice too have the shaft that's in their cutting video instead of the round shaft that it now comes with. I'm going to drill some hole in the socket to peen it to the shaft and shape the shaft to my liking and sand the rest for the brown off and treat it with linseed oil. I like the weight. It make it a light polearm and if it was heavier I would cut the overall length to about 5' to 6'.
Bottom Line
I really like it but, I would only recommend this to people that can drill holes in the socket and peen or bolt it to the shaft. This would also be good for people who like DIY products.
