Grass Hook ID and Question!

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Nov 14, 2017
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Hello all, loooong story short I got this for $15... did I do okay? Also it had only the hardware shown below in the picture. There were four bolts missing. Can I get new bolts? If so what kind? Last question, the H inside a square, is that for Hubbard? I have some Hubbard hammers but they have an H in a shield. Thanks for the info!!

Edit: missing three bolts*




 
Of course price is subjective, but me, 15$ is about right for that rig and its condition.
Provided that has no rot, I say you done well enough.
Thats a Seymour patent number. Dunno what the ”H” indicates, maybe 42B knows.
No bolts missing, those ”3 extra holes” are for installing the blade in different orientation to better suit mowing conditions or users preference.

One thing about old snaths, often I find them looking pretty good on surface but seriously rotted within. Those will feel unusually light compared to a good one.
 
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Lieblad, thank you sir! I was looking at those three square holes and thinking that there were not and signs of a bolt going through the wood. Show my ignorance with these things. I have seen them often for $35-$50 and never bought one. Since this one was cheaper I figured why not. I bought a straight handle grass hook for the same a while back. Made in main I believe. But it all makes sense now for the different positions. I took all the metal off of it and there was not rot under the end. It seemed to be loose but the main bolt was very loose. The handle is fairly heavy for a piece of wood. When bringing this (is snath the correct terminology?) thing back to life should I oil the entire handle down and sharpen the edge then put it all together? Or is oil only nessecary on the two smaller handles?
 
Also right above the hole that the main bolt goes in there is a number “43” stamp. Would this be manufacture date? 1943? 1843? Or possibly just a model number? Thanks for any info you all can give!
 
It's a Seymour Ironclad scythe snath. The H is just a foundry mark from the contractor that did the malleable iron castings for them. The blade is a bush blade, and the "extra" holes (as mentioned) were for altering the hang (pivot) of the blade. The shape of that squat tang leads me to hazard a guess that it may be an Emerson & Stevens, though Rixford is another likely candidate. There's typically a stamp on the tang on the side facing the hardware, so you usually have to take the blade off to see the marking (although some companies, like True Temper, often marked the underside of the tang, instead.)

The nibs (side handles) use a left-handed thread, so turn RIGHT to loosen. When assembled there should be no wiggling of the hardware or else you'll quickly damage or break the snath even if the wood isn't compromised. The blade will need grinding and honing before it can be put to work, and--depending on how you intend to use it--possibly the shank of the tang heated and bent to a more ideal angle for your uses than it lays as-is. Any slack in the fit of the parts will need to be taken up, and all wooden AND iron components should be inspected for cracks, splits, and any other possible damages. The grips of the nibs are often severely weakened from age, but sometimes you get lucky and they aren't cracked.
 
As far as weight of the snath goes, that was a bush snath model and so they do tend to be towards the heavy side, as they were used for cutting up to thumb-thick green saplings en masse, and other difficult, scrubby growth. The better your technique and judgment, the lighter and thinner a snath you can get away with. For general mowing purposes I generally recommend shaving the snath down until it weighs about 2lb 12oz with hardware attached, which can be quite a lot of wood to take off. For bush work, you'll typically have it on the heavier side for strength/rigidity reasons, but may still want to shave it down a bit from where its at depending on how hard it'll be used. The dry wood will soak up a LOT of oil.
 
Okay. 42 thank you for all of that info. I really appreciate it! And yes it would be a LOT of wood to take off to make this thing just under 3 pounds. Idk if the mobs are adjustable enough for that even haha. I’m sure they are. So I will need to oil the entire snath? And I have taken everything apart I will have to wire wheel that blade to see if there are any markings. Is one brand more desirable than the other?
 
Both companies are typically considered excellent, but whether a given blade is good or not needs to be judged on a piece-by-piece basis and even if it's a great blade, it might not be the right weight/length/curve/style for your particular applications. The nib bands that encircle the shaft of the snath will need to be re-sized after shaving the wood down, but that's not too difficult to do with a cross-pein hammer and a bit of care. Just inspect the length of the thread on the nib irons (the loop and rod) to make sure there's enough length for it to twist down on after re-sizing. And yes, you'd want to oil the whole thing to put some spring and hydration back in the wood.
 
Scythes are basically straight razors for vegetation, and much like how damage that would be minor to a knife can be quite serious for a razor, the same applies to scythes. Their proper performance depends on a lot of factors being tuned just so, and many of those things are badly damaged or out of alignment when dealing with a vintage example. The process is rewarding, and worth doing, but requires a solid 8+ hours of labor when you know what you're doing and have all the optimum equipment. As such I usually recommend folks restore vintage scythes after getting some field time with one that's already ready to go, as it helps give a frame of reference.
 
That makes a lot of sense 42. When you know what one feels like that is performing at maximum efficiency and tuned correctly one could know what to look for. I think with everything going on right now this project may be set aside for the summer time. So I can put a lot of effort into it.
 
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