The Meadow King Scythe

[FortyTwoBlades]

After years of development I was finally able to have custom American pattern blades produced, ultimately partnering with Schröckenfux, the very same company that produces the blades for Seymour that I've been so critical of. The design was mathematically modeled to optimize the curvature, and the form that resulted just so happened to be nearly identical to my favorite antique blade, shown below. Intended as an all-purpose grass blade to handle roughly 95% of modern mowing contexts, the blade responds especially well to a right-hand pivot with a drawing action of the left hand, a fine tip that's well positioned for comfortable trimming cuts from the toe, and a broad heel able to slice through thick-stalked weeds and saplings without bottoming out. A 10° angle is preset in the tang rather than the traditional flat configuration, meaning most users won't need to have the tang heated and bent to their proper angle, as 10° is the average angle most users other than the very tall or very short will end up needing. The blade is 30" end to end and weighs a lovely 1lb 9oz. I consider between 1lb 8oz and 1lb 12oz to be ideal for most blades in most settings to give enough mass to carry nicely through the stroke. Other than one very brief period seemingly in the 1950s where Redtenbacher was producing near-perfect clones of American blades, I can safely say that these are the finest American blades ever produced in Austria. And even in those cases, the curvature wasn't as good as on these. In testing, the blade I kept for personal use behaves just like my favorite antique.

 

[SharpBits]

I’m genuinely curious, is there a market these days for scythes?

 

[Blues]

I’m genuinely curious, is there a market these days for scythes?

They're kind of addictive. (Though I only have one, to be honest.) Fantastic tools.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I’m genuinely curious, is there a market these days for scythes?

Yup! And getting bigger every year. Even though the number of scythe manufacturers is dwindling, it's mostly because of the difficulty in getting, training, and retaining workers, not from a lack of demand. All the makers in the world right now are actually operating at maximum capacity. They're a great tool that can go anywhere a weed whacker can but cut stuff you'd normally need a bush hog for, and can complement mechanical mowers quite nicely.

 

[NapalmCheese]

I'm the market!

I'll be buying one. Maybe not right now, but before the end of the year.

 

[SharpBits]

Yup! And getting bigger every year. Even though the number of scythe manufacturers is dwindling, it's mostly because of the difficulty in getting, training, and retaining workers, not from a lack of demand. All the makers in the world right now are actually operating at maximum capacity. They're a great tool that can go anywhere a weed whacker can but cut stuff you'd normally need a bush hog for, and can complement mechanical mowers quite nicely.

Thanks! I had no idea, but it makes sense.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Got around to editing some of the footage I took a week or so ago with it! May have more videos from the same mowing session once I get the chance. It mows like an absolute champ. It may not translate on video, but a lot of this dead standing growth is very challenging to cut due to its maturity and light weight, but the Meadow King proved itself up for the task.