Who else uses a scythe?

Looks like a more primitive version of a European style, which makes sense based on the origin. Just going from the look of it it should perform somewhere between a Euro and American pattern on dense plants. :p
 
You know what though, you haven't used a weed wacker until you put a steel blade on one. I could easily take on those guys with the brush clearing challenge. Though, the steel blade doesn't care if you're cutting grass or small trees.:eek:
 
Still uses gas and makes a lot of noise. The neighbors don't mind if I use the scythe at 5:00 AM :p

Weed whackers have their place--they just aren't for me. :)
 
Edwood7 said:
Yep everything is pretty funny when I am up there. We have to burn it all on sight most of the time, because it’s a pain to pack it all and take it out. We get to keep most of the tools the narcos leave behind. I have about hundred machetes and shovels at the base.

And a lot of M&M candy wrappers under my desk.
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Love it!!!!!!
 
Pipeman said:
Hey there 42 blades, do you use an anvil and hammer to sharpen?

Regards

Robin
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I would if I had a European scythe, but American pattern blades are done in harder steel that does not benefit from the edge-peening method. A stone is all that's necessary. When damage needed to be removed a slow-moving treadle grindstone was used, but only between long spans of time. It's very easy to maintain, compared to the European pattern, but they both have their equal advantages and disadvantages. Here's the best-put discussion comparing and contrasting the two that I've found on the 'net so far. A lot more folks who have picked up scything have jumped for the European pattern, since that's what the specialist retailers are pushing. A lot of smack gets talked up about the American pattern, but it's all based on misunderstanding of the tool, marketing (to sell more of the fancy Euro-style pieces) or both. A well made scythe of either type is a joy to use.
 
42Blades
I actually used my dremel to touch up the edge on mine. I love using it in the fall, such a natural kind of motion with great results.

Best regards

Robin
 
Yeah I plan on fully disassembling mine, resetting the edge angle on my 1x30 belt sander (I figure it's probably been years if not decades since it was last done, though it's mowing fine right now) and oiling all the metal components. :)
 
Some old-time axe makers, like the American Axe & Tool Company, also made scythe blades.

Did you hear about the barefoot 15-year-old girl, wearing a dress, who used a scythe to win a competition against a professional silviculturalist and his weedwacker?

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http://www.scytheconnection.com/adp/args4/truro/index.html
http://www.scytheconnection.com/adp/args4/truro/newsp.html
 
Very cool thread. . .that's crazy how fast that guy cleared the grass and the barefoot part is just plain CRAZY!!!
 
I don't know whether the 6-8 inch long double sided stone with and attached handle are still available. We always carried one of those in our overall hip pocket to keep our American scythes razor sharp. My great grandfather used a scythe with an attached cradle to mow wheat and oats. You simply stroked the full length of the blade a few times on each side with the stone to keep the edge fine tuned. More or less like using a steel on your butcher knives. Here, however, you move the stone against the blade instead of the knife blade against the steel.

Howard
 
You can still get them--they're just a rare breed now. I've got one of the handle-less ones but it's about as old as the scythe is. Some of the specialty shops carry the Amerian scythe stones though. :)
 
I have an old blade and a snath I made, but I had no idea how to sharpen it.... I was under the impression that I needed to buy a peening jig and all that happy horse crap. You saying I can just sharpen it and use the damn thing?
 
If it's an American pattern blade, then yes you can just sharpen the thing and go! Only European-style blades need to be peened. :)
 
I learned using a scythe by my grandma, which became 92 years old.

She used to work on a farm, when she was girl, during WWII. She tought me how to use this cool, old tool. Well, I´m a lefthanded guy. So I went to guy who built me one for lefty.

I use it in wood work, cutting the grass and the thornbushes, when the young trees are still pretty small, on hot days. I own a motorscythe, for sure. But I don´t wanna burn the whole forest down. So I use that scythe.

Kind regards
 
Yup, my blade is an american pattern as it turns out. Any cheeky ideas to fabricate a snath attachment or do I need to buy one?
 
I'm sure you could work something out with some carving and a U-bolt/plate...but the hardware the American pattern usually uses is pretty sophisticated, so you might write Seymour Manufacturing to see if they could sell you just the mounting hardware and a couple of nibs.
 
I'll try to take some photos over the weekend of the hardware involved. It's some pretty slick stuff and whoever thought it up originally was a genius. :cool:
 
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