A decorated blade with a tubular steel handle, with a hand guard. Although bought in Germany, this is probably from Austria (possibly Italy) - both tubular handles and this type of decoration are commonly found in the Alpine regions of Austria, Switzerland, Italy and France. Acquired in 2010.

Two decorated billhooks from Pohlheim in the Gießen region of central Germany. I had to buy the nasty machete as well because the seller would not separate the items... Acquired in 2010

Stamped T JOINER KNAVES BEECH. Acquired in 2011

A visit to France in April 2012 allowed me to collect a few purchases from eBay.fr that had been sent to my step-son's house in Haute Savoie (74). As well as 'serpes et serpettes' there are a few other tools including two 'arrache betterave' (beetroot fork) and a 'plane de boisettier' (box maker's drawknife).

A 'coutelle' - a type of billhook from the Basses Pyrénées in the south west of France, with the maker's mark SAUTIÉ. Often with a horn handle and single bevel to the blade its actual usage remains a mystery. More conventional billhooks with shorter and wider blades, but of the same genre, are also found in the region. This one acquired in March 2012.

Some newly arrived Italian, Sardinian and Sicilian 'roncole e pennati' - bought on ebay.it during 2011/2012, they were held by a friend in Sicily until there was enough for a decent parcel, finally arriving during May 2012.

As above, but this time from ebay.de - some German 'hippen and haumesser' that also arrived during May 2012. The central tool is a single bladed mortice axe, known as a 'stichaxt' or 'stossaxt'. At the bottom is a home made chopper, probably used as a beet knife: the blade is recycled from an old knife from a mechanical mangold (beet) cutter (note the square bolt holes in the blade).

A few finds from the vide grenier at St Jorioz (74) near Annecy in France, in October...

A few ebay purchases, collected from France in October - the small billhook is probably Italian, the larger one is a pruning chisel ('coupe gui') - it should be fitted to a long handle.

A job lot of 'serpettes à tailler' - vine pruning hooks from the Bourgogne (Burgundy) region of France. The chain with weights was used for cleaning the inside of wine barrels... Bought on Leboncoin in France, also sent to and collected from my step-son's house near Faverges (74) during October...

A few more purchases from ebay.fr collected from France....

and a few more - unusual is the all steel handled version to the right (sadly partially cut off in the picture - I must wear my glasses when using my camera....)

Some Bulgarian billhooks, bought via an initial eBay contact. Arrived May 2013. The tanged axe head is unusual - more research needed....

Another couple of Bulgarian tools from the same seller.... The extension to the handle on one side of the blade appears unique to Bulgarian tools. It is very difficult to date the small blades - they are often sold as Roman or Medieval, as dug up by metal detectors....

Some Indian 'aruval' currently en route from India (June 2013) - thanks to Robert, a German friend living in India. See his video about Indian billhooks on You Tube... and a second video an handling (i.e. carrying and using) an aruval... In India the billhook is a multi-purpose tool, used for food preparation as well as chopping wood etc...

Update (August 2013): the above aruval have not arrived as thery have been returned to Robert by Mumbai airport for security reasons. How a billhook is going to jump out of a sealed package sent via Indian Mail in the hold of a cargo plane and create a security risk is beyond me.... 

2nd Update (2014): they have arrived - Robert had to visit his home in Germany and sent them from there...

For 40 years I have been searching for a combination billhook - since 2011 I have bought three - this, the latest bought as an early Christmas present to myself, is unusual as the claw is in the same plane as the hammer head..

A few Bulgarian 'koser'

First batch of Bulgarian 'koser' from a new seller - 2nd from right, bottom, is unusual...

More Bulgarian 'koser' - the large socket one in the centre may not be from Bulgaria, it looks more like an African billhook or tool/weapon - pending delivery (December) - when it arrives I may be able to determine its origin...

For comparison with the unusual socket billhook, above - this pattern is common to the Kirdi and Mafa tribes from the Cameroons in West Africa.

A couple more Bulgarian 'koser' - pending delivery (December) - not seen this shape before - they are very similar to the 'poudo' of France, a type common to many Mediterranean countries...

An English billhook by J Pike of Thatcham - now to find a Willis of Bramley....