machetes,, regional styles..

[Billman]

No, hedges are much older than the 18th century - but up to that date they were old hedges - often the remains of ancient woodlands left to define boundaries... After the Enclosure Acts, small medieval field systems were consolidated into large fields, marked out by ditches and with new hedges of thorn planted on the top of the mound of earth. Southern and Midlands counties had tens of thousands of miles of new hedges planted. After a few years the new hedges required trimming and making into animal proof barriers. So the old craft of pleaching became the widespread craft of hedgelaying.... from that time just about every farm labourer became proficient at hedge laying and so required a billhook or two... Every five to ten years they need re-laying...

Ref falx, falchion, faucille etc.... Falx is the Latin for a curved cutting tool - in latin its designation was qualified by an adjective, hence falx vinitoria was the name for the vine pruning billhook. On its own falx usually referrred to a scythe for grass cutting, but also a smaller sickle (both tools were used in Roman times). Latin was the language of scholars and scribes, and was used for legal documents, inventories of possessions, historical records (Latin terms are still used in English law and in medicine today).

Many languages incorporate Latin roots, English and French included - in french a scythe is a 'faux' and a sickle a 'faucille' - literaly a small scythe...
Dialect names include 'faucillon' and 'fauchard' (amongst others from other languages - remember 150 years ago only about 10% of the french spoke french as a first language). A scytheman is a 'faucheur'...

The Romans use of the word 'falx' to define the Dacian sword was thus a reference to its shape, not necessarily its function....

Regarding the lack of historical evidence - most battle sites were scavenged for anything of value - weapons and the iron and steel they were made of were valuable assets.. In times of peace, weapons were no longer required - think of recent history - after WWll some weapons remained in private hands, but most went back to the armouries... How much medieval weaponry or armour remained in the 19th century; how many 19th century weapons remained in the Royal Armouries in the 20th century???

Even possession of hand tools has changed - as a boy in the 1950's I used a billhook daily to cut firewood - every house in our small town of 5000 inhabitants had at least one. Today, 50 years later, most people have never seen one - they switch on the central heating when they are cold; they prune their hedges with an electic hedge trimmer; use secateurs on fruit trees and roses.... Apart from a minority who either collect them, or use them for conservation work, they have died out of the collective memory and if a catastrophe destroyed our civilisation they would appear to be a rarity.... 50 years ago the situation would have been different, 150 years previous to that even more different... After 1000, or 2000, years even less would have survived...