A Load of Old Billhooks
May 15, 2017 7:21 AM Subscribe
A Load of Old Billhooks is a site dedicated to the history, diversity, and usage of everyone's favorite multi-purpose agricultural and woodcrafting tool, the billhook.
This is the type of rambling, personal, nonlinear amateurism I miss from the early internet. I wish all my acquaintances had charming little sites like this instead of Facebook pages.
Perhaps I'll collect and catalogue a bunch of these on a site called 'A Load of Old Sidebar Menu Site.' Of course, I would include a page titled 'Not a sidebar!'
posted by es_de_bah at 7:56 AM on May 15, 2017 [11 favorites]
Perhaps I'll collect and catalogue a bunch of these on a site called 'A Load of Old Sidebar Menu Site.' Of course, I would include a page titled 'Not a sidebar!'
posted by es_de_bah at 7:56 AM on May 15, 2017 [11 favorites]
Still mad at Denis Leary for stealing his act.
But seriously, this is magnificent. Genuine high test, primo internet collector wonk content of the finest kind. Bob doesn't just list national varieties of billhooks, but dives into the sub-varieties of each nation. In a kind of Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge moment, there's even a Things That Are Not Billhooks subsection.
posted by zamboni at 7:58 AM on May 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
But seriously, this is magnificent. Genuine high test, primo internet collector wonk content of the finest kind. Bob doesn't just list national varieties of billhooks, but dives into the sub-varieties of each nation. In a kind of Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge moment, there's even a Things That Are Not Billhooks subsection.
posted by zamboni at 7:58 AM on May 15, 2017 [6 favorites]
Perhaps I'll collect and catalogue a bunch of these on a site called 'A Load of Old Sidebar Menu Site.' Of course, I would include a page titled 'Not a sidebar!'
Well, it's not a site, but I do collect them. My most favorited comment on MeFi is a listing of that kind of website, and I've run across a few more since then.
New additions to the collection, a fair number of which would have appeared on MeFi:
collection-appareils.fr, a reference for collectors of old cameras (fr)
Minesweeper: Advanced Tactics
The Appendix To The Handbook Of The Marvel Universe
Airline Timetable Images
Papierfliegerei.de (de)
The Futuro House
Vault of VHS
Anthony's Root Beer Barrel
Pocket Watch Database
The Art of Murder - Clue / Cluedo
U.S. HIGHWAYS - Endpoints, photos, maps, and history
FRANK'S COMPULSIVE GUIDE TO POSTAL ADDRESSES
Ex Astris Scientia
American Radio History
The Richard Balzer Zoetrope Collection
The World's Largest Webseum of Pocket Protectors!
Avery Needle Case Resource Center
HistoricBridges.org
Erasers World
Bob's Black Powder Notebook
the Museum of Pocket Calculating Devices, Solingen, Germany
Bubble Blowing!
The Arcade Flyer Archive
THE MOBILE TELEPHONE IN BELL SYSTEM SERVICE, 1946-1993
PaperPenAlia
chewing-gum.net (ru)
Crypto Machines
The Practical Beekeeper
Fred's Pencils
Ovalturning
Railway Airhorn Guide
DieselAirHorns.com
Haldeman-julius.org
CrayonCollecting.com
Cap Matches Color
Tom's North American Trolley Bus Pictures
FolkInfo archive
WorldWaterfallDatabase.com
Candy Wrapper Archive
The Annotated Crisis On Infinite Earths
Critiki, the guide to tiki bars.
Yesteryear's Tools
The Museum of HP Calculators
TextEditors.org
Domerama
Ships of the East India Company
Transit Toronto
Riddled TV
The Theophilus/Reel2reeltexas.Com Vintage Recording Collection
The Camel Hub of the Web
Articles about "Electricity"
The Viking Movie List
Silicon Sam
The Electric Web Matrix of Digital Technology
Timothy Edwards - Meccano Info
Helmets of the 20th Century (es)
Drinking on Bewitched
The Mind Is A Metaphor
Palindrome Collection
Dr Macro's High Quality Movie Scans
The Ramen Rater
The Saw Set Collector's Resource
machineryscans.com
Early Tallbikes
uspapermoney.info
Pencil Grinder's Weblog
Project C-90
Figs 4 Fun
Firework Heritage Museum
Squaring.net
Slide Rules
Retrosheet
Summary of all offset and letterpress machines ever built
British Rail Corporate Identity
Penciltalk.org
J! Archive
Um, there's more, but this comment is already long enough.
posted by zamboni at 9:16 AM on May 15, 2017 [76 favorites]
Well, it's not a site, but I do collect them. My most favorited comment on MeFi is a listing of that kind of website, and I've run across a few more since then.
New additions to the collection, a fair number of which would have appeared on MeFi:
collection-appareils.fr, a reference for collectors of old cameras (fr)
Minesweeper: Advanced Tactics
The Appendix To The Handbook Of The Marvel Universe
Airline Timetable Images
Papierfliegerei.de (de)
The Futuro House
Vault of VHS
Anthony's Root Beer Barrel
Pocket Watch Database
The Art of Murder - Clue / Cluedo
U.S. HIGHWAYS - Endpoints, photos, maps, and history
FRANK'S COMPULSIVE GUIDE TO POSTAL ADDRESSES
Ex Astris Scientia
American Radio History
The Richard Balzer Zoetrope Collection
The World's Largest Webseum of Pocket Protectors!
Avery Needle Case Resource Center
HistoricBridges.org
Erasers World
Bob's Black Powder Notebook
the Museum of Pocket Calculating Devices, Solingen, Germany
Bubble Blowing!
The Arcade Flyer Archive
THE MOBILE TELEPHONE IN BELL SYSTEM SERVICE, 1946-1993
PaperPenAlia
chewing-gum.net (ru)
Crypto Machines
The Practical Beekeeper
Fred's Pencils
Ovalturning
Railway Airhorn Guide
DieselAirHorns.com
Haldeman-julius.org
CrayonCollecting.com
Cap Matches Color
Tom's North American Trolley Bus Pictures
FolkInfo archive
WorldWaterfallDatabase.com
Candy Wrapper Archive
The Annotated Crisis On Infinite Earths
Critiki, the guide to tiki bars.
Yesteryear's Tools
The Museum of HP Calculators
TextEditors.org
Domerama
Ships of the East India Company
Transit Toronto
Riddled TV
The Theophilus/Reel2reeltexas.Com Vintage Recording Collection
The Camel Hub of the Web
Articles about "Electricity"
The Viking Movie List
Silicon Sam
The Electric Web Matrix of Digital Technology
Timothy Edwards - Meccano Info
Helmets of the 20th Century (es)
Drinking on Bewitched
The Mind Is A Metaphor
Palindrome Collection
Dr Macro's High Quality Movie Scans
The Ramen Rater
The Saw Set Collector's Resource
machineryscans.com
Early Tallbikes
uspapermoney.info
Pencil Grinder's Weblog
Project C-90
Figs 4 Fun
Firework Heritage Museum
Squaring.net
Slide Rules
Retrosheet
Summary of all offset and letterpress machines ever built
British Rail Corporate Identity
Penciltalk.org
J! Archive
Um, there's more, but this comment is already long enough.
posted by zamboni at 9:16 AM on May 15, 2017 [76 favorites]
Um, there's more, but this comment is already long enough.
SHOW ME THEM.
posted by theodolite at 10:44 AM on May 15, 2017 [5 favorites]
SHOW ME THEM.
posted by theodolite at 10:44 AM on May 15, 2017 [5 favorites]
(You know, if you have time. And thanks for this delightful bumper crop of Good Internet.)
posted by theodolite at 11:02 AM on May 15, 2017
posted by theodolite at 11:02 AM on May 15, 2017
Corkscrews
Bottle Openers (an especially intact 1999ish site design)
posted by beagle at 11:18 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Bottle Openers (an especially intact 1999ish site design)
posted by beagle at 11:18 AM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Funny thing about cutting and chopping tools like billhooks, Woodsman's Pals and khukris; years of practical 'evolutionary' tweaking in design results in them placing the point of the blade relative to the handle in a similar position as a hatchet, even though they started out as a knife.
Our tools are shaped the way they are for a reason. The blade to grip placement produces clear mechanical advantages for the user relative to the alternatives.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
Our tools are shaped the way they are for a reason. The blade to grip placement produces clear mechanical advantages for the user relative to the alternatives.
posted by leotrotsky at 12:08 PM on May 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
→ doesn't just list national varieties of billhooks
And a good thing too! I mean, imagine trying to weave a Yorkshire fence with a Sussex pattern blade … it would be so embarrassing, no-one would know where to look!
posted by scruss at 1:20 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
And a good thing too! I mean, imagine trying to weave a Yorkshire fence with a Sussex pattern blade … it would be so embarrassing, no-one would know where to look!
posted by scruss at 1:20 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
SHOW ME THEM.
posted by theodolite at 1:44 PM on May 15
I assume you've already seen http://www.antiquesurveying.com
posted by TedW at 2:22 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by theodolite at 1:44 PM on May 15
I assume you've already seen http://www.antiquesurveying.com
posted by TedW at 2:22 PM on May 15, 2017 [2 favorites]
Zamboni, what you need is a site that collects sites about things people find interesting... like maybe give it a professional white background too.
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:24 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Nanukthedog at 12:24 PM on May 25, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been to the Bubble Blowing site zamboni lists. It took hours of googling to find it but I finally stopped getting a prop note about some bubble guns working inconsistently onstage after 3 months of getting that note thanks to that one man's dediciation to his hobby.
posted by edbles at 2:27 PM on May 30, 2017
posted by edbles at 2:27 PM on May 30, 2017
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