Choosing Tools That Suit the Wood

Coppicing is one of the oldest forms of woodland management in Britain, and the tools that do it best have barely changed in a few hundred years. That is not sentimentality. A well-balanced billhook, a sharp bowsaw and a pair of gloves that actually fit will do more for your safety and your back than any amount of enthusiasm. The aim is simple: cut each stem cleanly at the right height, leave the stool in good health, and go home with all your fingers intact.

Before you touch a blade, walk the coupe. Look up for dead branches caught in the canopy — the old woodsmen's "widow makers" — and check for brittle standing timber, particularly ash affected by dieback. Clear brambles and loose brash from around your first few stools so you have somewhere to stand and a clear line of retreat.

The Billhook: Weight, Edge and Control

The billhook is the traditional tool of the coppice, and for good reason. It reaches into a crowded stool where a saw cannot, and it will take a hazel rod of 50mm in a single clean stroke. Look for a blade of roughly 23–30cm with a hardwood handle about 15cm long. Balance matters more than size: a hook that feels nose-heavy will tire your wrist and encourage sloppy, swinging cuts.

• Kentish or Suffolk pattern — a curved edge with a pronounced hook, excellent for drawing cuts on hazel and sweet chestnut.
• Yorkshire pattern — a longer, straighter blade, useful for heavier stems and for trimming brash.
• Handle grip — hold near the ferrule for controlled work, slide your hand towards the knob only when you genuinely need extra power.

Always cut with a slicing draw rather than a chop, and never towards your body or across your leg. Keep your free hand well behind the blade; a billhook bite is deep and ragged, and it heals slowly.

Bowsaws for the Bigger Stems

For anything much over 60mm, reach for a bowsaw. A 21–24 inch blade with raker teeth clears the kerf and stops the saw binding in green wood. Use long, steady strokes and let the teeth do the work — forcing a bowed blade snaps it, and snapped blades are expensive and sharp. Hardpoint blades cannot be resharpened, so replace them once they start to polish rather than cut; traditional blades can be touched up with a triangular file in a few minutes.

For occasional very large stools, a two-person crosscut saw is quicker and far kinder to your shoulders than any powered alternative. Whichever saw you use, keep the log you are cutting supported and free of tension, and stop if you feel the kerf closing.

Gloves, Eyewear and Boots

Personal protection in the coppice is mostly about grip and footing.

• Gloves — close-fitting leather, with a snug cuff. Baggy gauntlets snag on brambles and get dragged into the cut.
• Eye protection — a mesh visor is better than glasses, as whipping twigs and sawdust come from every direction.
• Boots — steel toe caps, deep tread and ankle support. Coppice floors are littered with cut stubs that will trip you.
• Clothing — stout trousers and no dangling cords, hoods or lanyards near a cutting edge.

Carry a small first aid kit and a means of calling for help. Work in pairs where you can, and agree a signal before you start.

Cutting Technique and Stool Management

Cut low — around 5–15cm above ground — and at a slight angle so rainwater runs off the stump rather than pooling in it. A ragged, split stool invites rot, so take your time on the last few millimetres. On stems over 75mm, cut a shallow notch on the side you want the stem to fall, then saw from the other side, leaving a hinge of wood to control the direction. Keep your body to one side of the cut, never directly behind or in front of it.

Work around the outside of the stool rather than climbing into the middle of it, and roll finished poles clear as you go. Lay a good depth of brash over the cut stool afterwards: it deters deer and rabbits from browsing the new shoots, holds moisture, and returns nutrients to the ground. Surplus brash makes an excellent dead hedge along the ride edge.

Sharpening, Care and Storage

A blunt tool is a dangerous tool, and a sharp one is a pleasure. File little and often rather than once a season.

• Billhook — use a flat sharpening stone at roughly a 20–25 degree angle, working from the bevel to the edge in even strokes. Do not over-file into the softer steel behind the bevel.
• Bowsaw — three or four light passes per tooth with the correct file, keeping the original angles.
• After work — wipe blades with an oily rag, sheath the billhook before it goes in the bag, and store everything somewhere dry.

Never leave a billhook sunk in a log or lying on the ground, and never pass one to another person blade-first. Treat these habits as part of the craft itself, and the woodland work will reward you for decades.