Lightning Hay Knife Demo

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

Baryonyx walkeri
Dealer / Materials Provider
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Mar 8, 2008
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These pop up at flea markets and antique shops all the time, where they're commonly mistaken for ice saws. Rather, they were used for cutting portions of hay from stacks. Baling is a recent invention, and stacks were commonplace up through the 50's. Once hay has settled, it is extremely difficult to move, and so the hay knife neatly sliced cubes that were easily distributed. The lightning pattern was developed in 1871 (more historical info in the video description), and was a massive improvement over the English pattern hay knife used prior. They're still useful today for metering portions off of round bales (which are less expensive than square ones.) While I demonstrate cutting here on a fresh bale to better simulate cutting from a stack, the method I use normally is to cut the twine and start a slit with the hay knife, remove the twine, stand the bale up on end, and then unwind it until the irregularly-shaped core is reached. The core is still quite wide but has undulations to it that the layers interlock in and won't unwind neatly. The hay knife is then used to slice down to the center of the core, and the remaining layers separate out into nice, neat sheets that can be doled out as needed.

[video=youtube;0wg62i6RP4A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wg62i6RP4A&feature=em-upload_owner[/video]
 
Now that is cool! One farm tool that I do not remember seeing nor using. We used to build hay ricks and cap them with loose hay, we have also used scrap loose hay to build caps over wood piles- usually stuff cut close to fences after mowing and baling a field. They shed water pretty well.

That is some balancing act- is that technique OSHA approved? ;)

Bill
 
lmalterna said:
Now that is cool! One farm tool that I do not remember seeing nor using. We used to build hay ricks and cap them with loose hay, we have also used scrap loose hay to build caps over wood piles- usually stuff cut close to fences after mowing and baling a field. They shed water pretty well.

That is some balancing act- is that technique OSHA approved? ;)

Bill
Click to expand...

I think OSHA would crap their pants if they saw how many scythes I have hanging from the rafters in the workshop. My balancing act would be the least of their worries! :D :D :D
 
Standing on a rocking bale of hay with a sharp pointy saw kinda make a game of Mumbly Peg seem safe.....thanks for the video.....would have never thought...
 
Hahaha it's actually much safer than it seems. Even a small round bale weighs about 450 lbs. so it's pretty easy to balance on it!
 
That's great!

Can you show us some close ups of your hay knife and explain how you sharpen it?
 
Will try to snap some shots tomorrow. It's the forward-facing portion of each tooth that's sharpened, and a double edge at the tip, though most didn't have the back sharpened. I do, since it helps with the initial plunge. I was just filing/whetting the teeth originally but have since used my new Grizzly G1036 10" water cooled grinder to regrind the teeth hollow. It's both increased performance and diminished the time it takes to touch it up with a Lansky canoe stone.
 
Also, as a note, that thingy with the scythe nib on it you see in the right foreground is a new-production TrueTemper potato hook with a Seymour nib slapped on it. One of my most used tools on the homestead. It's like a cultivator but with longer tines, and the nib on it makes it VERY ergonomic to use.

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Yep, what Square peg said. One of those tools I see all the time and know nothing about.
 
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[video=youtube;-7jQO483uUg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7jQO483uUg&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Thanks FortyTwoBlades, I need to pay more attention to them I guess. Are the blades tapperd? Like on an old crosscut saw? Thicker on the back?
 
Yup! STRONG distal taper forged into them. They start off 1/4" thick (maybe even a little thicker) and end up around 1/8" or less at the tip. Also tapered from spine to edge.
 
Very interesting, as all of your articles and videos are. You really should make a collection for use by development agencies such as UNESCO, Oxfam, the Peace Corps and so on.

My limited experience as a Peace Corps volunteer and science teacher in the Pacific region taught me that many of the locals do not know or do not believe that Westerners ever used tools that were not electric or gas-powered. Any time a topic about "appropriate technology" comes up, I have to try to convince students that Paul Bunyan cleared the forests of Minnesota with hand tools - it is a difficult concept for people to accept. My parents and grandparents grew up on Wisconsin dairy farms before World War II; they had more knowledge of basic technology than I ever will. :cool: Faiaoga
 
L.B.M. -- Living Better Manually. :D

It really is amazing how efficient a well-made manual tool and a little practice can be.
 
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