The Riphook, used to trim hedgerows.
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Birdman mentioned about hedging being performed at the wrong
time of the year. Well this is true as farmers and estate owners use to do this
over the winter months. I can remember at White Place Farm that this practice
would start after the harvest was finished. It proved to be a winter long job
for old Neddy James. His only tools were a Riphook as seen in the photo above
and a cut hazelnut stick, cut so that at
one end was a hook. The last tool was a dung fork to clear up the cuttings
ready to burn them. Sometimes he was required to lay a
hedge at which he was a master craftsman. Then he would change his
cutting tool to a Bilhook, which was also used for hurdle making. Neddy’s joy
in life was his clay pipe and a ounce block of rubbing tobacco. Plus his walk
to the Royal Exchange for a pint on a Friday evening. His spring, summer
enjoyment when not helping with the hay making and harvest, was his kitchen
garden, growing prize vegetables.
1 comment:
The picture is of a sickle not a riphook. The riphook has a cranked handle and a heavier blade. The riphook is for clearing ground, the sickle for reaping.
The sickle will slice through dry stalks with a slicing pull stroke. The heavier riphook will sweep through wet undergrowth with ease.
The tool for laying a hedgerow is the billhook, heavy blade with a beak or bill at the tip.
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