Who else uses a scythe?

42, here's mine that I've been promising pics on. I still have not made handles. I have the steel handle loop deals, just need to make the wood to go over them.

P1070516.JPG


"Austria"
P1070519.JPG


P1070518.JPG


P1070520.JPG


Other than the lip, this blade is completely flat and thin. *It also has small, round indentations in rows all along it. *You can sorta see them in this photo:
P1070524.JPG


P1070525.JPG


P1070526.JPG


P1070532.JPG
 
M3mphis said:
42, here's mine that I've been promising pics on. I still have not made handles. I have the steel handle loop deals, just need to make the wood to go over them.

P1070516.JPG


"Austria"
P1070519.JPG


P1070518.JPG


P1070520.JPG


Other than the lip, this blade is completely flat and thin. *It also has small, round indentations in rows all along it. *You can sorta see them in this photo:
P1070524.JPG


P1070525.JPG


P1070526.JPG


P1070532.JPG
Click to expand...

Lovely! The snath looks like it's in pretty clean shape, and based on the collar I'm pretty sure it's a Seymour. The blade looks to be one of those odd Euro/American pattern hybrids. The tang is an American one and the blade is set for mounting to an American snath, but the blade itself is drawn and peened more like a Euro scythe. You'll likely have to peen the edge before sharpening like you would with a Euro scythe.

For a better fit between the tang an the loop bolt, stick either a thick piece of oiled leather in between them, or buy a short section of thick clear hose and slit the tube into a sheet. You can use that material instead.

Log cutter said:
I picked one upjust recently, no idea of how to use it, should be fun though!
Click to expand...

I'll see if I can write up a tutorial later based on my experiences. It's not a very intuitive tool, at least not until you figure it all out! Once you get used to the motion and rhythm it's like an extension of your body--until then it's the "awkward unbalanced torture device" that everyone seems to think it is. The motion is very specific to the tool (I can't think of anything else that uses the same stroke or sway of the body) and if it's used any other way it simply doesn't perform as it should. :)
 
I think I'd rather keep it. :D It's a brutal piece of work and it ought to help spare my grass blade when going through the woody-stemmed weeds that like to crop up in the summer and fall. Plus it's one for the collection. It has a beautiful shape, interesting proportions and build, and it was made in Maine! Pretty much perfect in my book. :p

More photos to come, and I'll try to write up that use tutorial later (either today or tomorrow)
 
I have a tubular-aluminum-handled American style scythe out in the garage. $3 at a garage sale at a small lake house. Nobody has a use for them and they're awkward to store, so eccentrics like us can get them cheap.
Does any-one know when and why Americans adopted that curved handle, and why there isn't more variation in the curves? I have to admit I haven't studied them, but it seems like the design was born standardized.
 
scrteened porch said:
I have a tubular-aluminum-handled American style scythe out in the garage. $3 at a garage sale at a small lake house. Nobody has a use for them and they're awkward to store, so eccentrics like us can get them cheap.
Does any-one know when and why Americans adopted that curved handle, and why there isn't more variation in the curves? I have to admit I haven't studied them, but it seems like the design was born standardized.
Click to expand...

There's actually a surprising amount of variation in shape, but certain manufacturers either dominated the market as a whole, or laid claim to certain regions, so you often see many of a certain type in one place. The reason for the compound curvature being the way it is has to do with the adjustable handles. The y-axis form allows for maximum adjustability of handle height for folks of different build or stature, while the z-axis allows for how far the hands sit out from the body. The one problem with many vintage ones, however, is that the scale is simply a little small for the taller modern man. If the entire scale of the piece were enlarged it would make for a fine fit. Fortunately I'm a modest 5'9" so many snaths are a fine size for me.
 
Another shot showing both the tang, arc of the blade, and the set of the web.

E&SBlade3.jpg
 
That all makes sense. They all look alike to me because I've mostly looked in one region.
 
scrteened porch said:
That all makes sense. They all look alike to me because I've mostly looked in one region.
Click to expand...

One easy way to tell if you're seeing ones from the same manufacturer (as a rule of thumb) is to look at the blade mounting collar. If they're all the same type, they're usually all the same brand.
 
Tell me about it. A brand new Seymour bush blade of comparatively much lower quality is still around $60.
 
P1020870.jpg P1020865.jpg


P1020866.jpg

These are my unused blades. I rescued them a few years back from a pile of stuff that was being dumped.
The smaller green one has on it: W.A.TYZACK&Co LTD STELLA WORKS SHEFFIELD
Also a nice stamp of a man on a horse and the number 66

The larger orange piece has: W.T YZACK SONS&TURNER SHEFFIELD.

They still have the remnants of the paper labels but unreadable.

In 1975 I watched an old Maori man cutting very tall fennel alongside a railway line. It was as good as watching any athlete or dancer. Absolute rhythm. No chopping or jerky motion. Just fluid movement with the tool close to body. A nice wide arch with all material falling clear of the next blow.

A scythe is truly a wonderfully designed tool.

regards...Frank
 
Interesting pieces! Looks to follow British scythe tradition, which is similar to the American style. They often were used in less of an upright position than American scythes.
 
Frank-New Zealand said:
...
The smaller green one has on it: W.A.TYZACK&Co LTD STELLA WORKS SHEFFIELD
Also a nice stamp of a man on a horse and the number 66
The larger orange piece has: W.T YZACK SONS&TURNER SHEFFIELD.
...
Click to expand...

Here are some more vintage Tyzack blades (photo from Timeless Tools in the UK):
scythe%20blades.JPG



This newsletter from the Scythe Association of Britain and Ireland has an article about the history of scythe manufacture, including a section on the Tyzack company (with an old photo of workers with their nose to the grindstones):
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/1258564/1524538619/name/windrow+2.pdf

From the article by Simon Fairlie:

"...In the 19th century another style of blade, the “Patent blade” was developed, which comprised a flat sheet
of rolled steel stamped out and hardened, and then riveted to a rigid back. Patent blades were manufactured
by Tyzack in Sheffield up until the late 1980s, and can still be found in hardware stores."

"Both kinds of blade required prodigious amounts of grinding which was performed by men suspended
above huge water-powered grinding wheels, so as to be able to place all their pressure on the blade. It is easy to
see where the expression “nose to the grindstone” came from..."
 
The holes at the heel of the blades are for attaching a grain cradle or running a string or wire across to the head of the snath to keep grass from catching in the region between the beard and the snath.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top