Old Scythe Found in old Shed and NOW ANOTHER ONE!

Col Defender

Col Defender

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
1,398
Hi everyone

I don't know anything about scythes except I remember my grandfather used one regularly many years ago. We bought our place 24 years ago and its been in the shed the whole time untouched until today. Here it is!

The main shaft seems OK except for the last few inches where the blade attaches. The wood is so worn away that someone tried to tighten it up with bent nails as you can see. Blade itself looks restoreable. The little handles are loose and I'm sure something could be done to fix or replace them. Does anyone know if the hardware for the little handles is still available? No doubt this thing could be restored and even used.

If I were to cut about 3" off the lower end of the shaft so I had the correct diameter I suppose I could then mount the blade securely but how badly would this affect the balance of the tool if someone actually tried to mow with it?

Lots of questions, no answers, but I know some of you have expertise here.

Just now, Saturday morning, I found another scythe in another shed, this one with an aluminum snath!
 
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Looks like a Seymour SN-1 snath and one of their Austrian-sourced blades. Your best bet for restoring the parts would be electrolysis, but a vinegar bath will work too. Once either method has been used, take a wire wheel to the parts. Try to spray or drip a penetrating oil into the threads so you can loosen the loop bolt and the nibs (side handles.) The nibs run on a left-handed thread so you turn them RIGHT to loosen them. Once you're able to get all the threaded parts to turn, you'll want to yank those nails out and completely strip down the scythe into its individual parts and give them all some attention. Do the electrolysis or vinegar treatment of all metal parts followed by wire brushing and either a spray with clear lacquer or a thorough oiling for preventing further rusting. Sand down the wooden parts and buy a short length of thick clear vinyl hose. cut a patch from it and cut/sand it so that it acts as a shim for the collar and affix it gently using tiny little wire nails. Apply the finish of your choice (oil or paint) to the wooden components and then re-assemble. :)

For the blade after de-rusting you'll want to file or grind a new edge on it at an angle thin enough that you're nearly striking the rib or the chine (the part of the spine that sticks up along the back) and bring it to an almost stupidly sharp edge. After that, set the scythe up to your measurements and have fun! :D
 
Wow! Thank you FortyTwoBlades! You are for sure right about the blade. I can just make out "Aust" in the rust. This will be a fun project - restoring this amazing old tool.

I am not familiar with vinegar as a rust remover - any link to detailed instructions? And when I get around to sharpening the blade, does it get a "v" edge like a knife, or (as is my guess) flat on the lower surface with a bevel on the upper surface only?

Making a shim for the collar from clear hose sounds like a great idea - much better than cutting 3" off the shaft! :)

Thanks so much.

Steve
 
For vinegar all you do is bathe the tool in some vinegar for several hours. The weak acid loosens the rust. You may have to run it through the process a couple of times just because of how heavy the rust is. When sharpening you'll sharpen both faces of the edge, like a knife. You can do it as a single bevel if you so choose since it's a non-laminated blade, but an even double bevel is the usual method. The tang will also need to be bent to the proper angle, but all of that information can be found HERE in the present draft of my guide. :)
 
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