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I needed a new billhook last winter for hedge laying. Mass produced tools are so poor nowadays I gave up and went looking for a blacksmith and hit the jackpot with John Beavis of Chippenham. www.olivemeadforge.co.uk/billhooks He had the large staffordshire hook in stock as a concelled order, so I snapped it up. I layed 12 chain of very rough old hedge with it last winter and it was superb. The tempering and edge retention is amazing. Its razor sharp and stays that way all day. (If you avoid the ground and fence wire). A few gentle strokes with a diamond hone at the end of the day and its pinging the hairs off your arm. The edges on these hooks are fantastic. I've bought expensive knives that weren't finished as well as this. He made the little double edged gents hook last spring and that has been used for stick cutting. I'm looking forward to using that on hedging as well this winter. Its an incredibly handy little tool. The slasher is my latest addition. Picked it up yesterday. I'm delighted with it. Lovely balance and weight and a polished, razor sharp edge. John makes the handles and shafts by hand as well from seasoned ash and all the blades are dated and stamped with my initials. I wish my grandad could have seen these. He was a Victorian. He died in 1978. He'd have recognised tools like these. Not cheap but worth every penny. Only trouble is, I can never look at mass-produced hand-tools again.