Who else uses a scythe?

[FortyTwoBlades]

Indeed! It'll be interesting to see if I can eventually track those back to the specific manufacturer! The names can help pinpoint regions of distribution.

 

[DarkWolf777]

Wow. I have had a Seymore on my wall about 5 years and just now saw the real use for it. It is American style with a long blade, now I want to use it and no grass to cut 'til spring !!! Thanks for the vid, 42.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Haha--that's probably the single thing I'm looking forward to most about spring!

 

[G-pig]

Picked up 3 scythes and 4 blades off of CL today. Two grain cradle scythes with long blades, I think 42". one regular snath, I think a Derby and Ball, with a kelly blade, and assorted other yankee mowing blades around 36". I paid 50 bucks for everything. pics tomorrow when its light.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

If it has the same two-eyed swivel mechanism that mine do than it's almost certainly a D&B. Can't wait for pics!

 

[G-pig]

These are the scythes and some of the blades I picked up yesterday in a craigslist deal. Usually dont use CL but this guy was a good irishman and courteous so it all worked out.


this is the one I was most excited about;

Thats a later Kelly Dutch pattern blade on a Derby & Ball snath, I think. The snath is super, despite needing a bit of sanding and oiling and some new nibs. Its very light, as opposed to my Seymour which is well made but a lot heavier.

42 asked for a label pic, so I snapped this pic of what remains of the label;

Heres there swivel attachment mechanism, which is sweet. I think these are probably the gold standard and I yelped when my hopes were realized that it would have this very set up (I never saw a picture of the attachment rig when I bought them).

I also got 2 grain cradle scythes, although I only pic'd the one in better shape. My brother is into no till no machinery farming, so these may see use harvesting grain some day. mostly for posterity though. Its really beautiful with most of the original work. weighs about 10 pounds it feels like.

Really pretty to look at

Old style hafting rig, which really hit home with me. I love this.

The biggest thing I got out of this deal though was a better understanding of scythe blades in general. there was an Emerson & Stevens grass blade that was bent, as was the kelly. These are not names to scoff at. I have a North Wayne Tool co blade that was bent when I found it. I thought there was something wrong with the blades, not looking at my own skill and know how and not changing my cutting practices. I think its all about when we cut the grass, if we let it get tall and woody and bent over it goes from a joy to a sweaty drudgery. Most of the blades cut fine. The video I posted a while back was mowing fresher lush greenery with a blade I would have considered "bad". Its a lot more refreshing to realize that I am at fault, rather than not being able to find any good scythe blades. These will suffice.

Emerson & Stevens and NWT CO (found in my shed an didnt recognize until I looked at it again today)

This blade is marked Skowhegan, and a bunch of other stuff I cant read. Maybe someone else can recognize it?

Hope you all like the pics and maybe that insight into my mistakes can help another feller out there whacking away at a bunch of plants with a sharpened thing on a stick.

P.S. still havent got ahold of those scythes my friend said he found in a barn he was restoring. Gonna heckle about that, hopefully we can get enough scythes together to start teaching mowing next spring.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

These are the scythes and some of the blades I picked up yesterday in a craigslist deal. Usually dont use CL but this guy was a good irishman and courteous so it all worked out.


this is the one I was most excited about;

Thats a later Kelly Dutch pattern blade on a Derby & Ball snath, I think. The snath is super, despite needing a bit of sanding and oiling and some new nibs. Its very light, as opposed to my Seymour which is well made but a lot heavier.

42 asked for a label pic, so I snapped this pic of what remains of the label;

Heres there swivel attachment mechanism, which is sweet. I think these are probably the gold standard and I yelped when my hopes were realized that it would have this very set up (I never saw a picture of the attachment rig when I bought them).

I also got 2 grain cradle scythes, although I only pic'd the one in better shape. My brother is into no till no machinery farming, so these may see use harvesting grain some day. mostly for posterity though. Its really beautiful with most of the original work. weighs about 10 pounds it feels like.

Really pretty to look at

Old style hafting rig, which really hit home with me. I love this.

The biggest thing I got out of this deal though was a better understanding of scythe blades in general. there was an Emerson & Stevens grass blade that was bent, as was the kelly. These are not names to scoff at. I have a North Wayne Tool co blade that was bent when I found it. I thought there was something wrong with the blades, not looking at my own skill and know how and not changing my cutting practices. I think its all about when we cut the grass, if we let it get tall and woody and bent over it goes from a joy to a sweaty drudgery. Most of the blades cut fine. The video I posted a while back was mowing fresher lush greenery with a blade I would have considered "bad". Its a lot more refreshing to realize that I am at fault, rather than not being able to find any good scythe blades. These will suffice.

Emerson & Stevens and NWT CO (found in my shed an didnt recognize until I looked at it again today)

This blade is marked Skowhegan, and a bunch of other stuff I cant read. Maybe someone else can recognize it?

Hope you all like the pics and maybe that insight into my mistakes can help another feller out there whacking away at a bunch of plants with a sharpened thing on a stick.

P.S. still havent got ahold of those scythes my friend said he found in a barn he was restoring. Gonna heckle about that, hopefully we can get enough scythes together to start teaching mowing next spring.

Awesome snags! The North Wayne Tool Co. was the maker of the famous "Little Giant" line of scythe blades, and that Derby & Ball snath is one of the older ones like my nicer one is (not the recent one I restored recently, which is a more recent example.) The Kelly blade has a beautiful shape and the toe of the blade is still nice and crisp! Looks like the Skowhegan blade was by G&M Nolan. Doing a quick search on Skowhegan history I've stumbled across several excerpts like this one:

The manufactories
here consist of a paper-mill, saw-mill, two sash and blind factories, two
flour-mills, a wood pulp-mill, three planning-mills, a woolen-mill, an oil-
cloth-factory, two axe-factories, one scythe-factory, two harness and
saddlery factories, and a foundry.

and the Davistown Museum has this entry in their Maine Toolmakers index:

Nolin, G. & N. Skowhegan -1879-1899-
Tools Made: Farm Tools, Scythes and Sickles
Remarks: It is not known if G. Nolin and N. Nolin worked together, however they were both listed as scythe makers in 1879 and 1885. A 23 Feb. 1886 patent for a grass hook was held by G. Nolin, who may have also made that tool which was listed in 1899 for sale. In 1901, a Nolin Mfg. Co. made scythes, grass hooks, hay knives, etc. in Skowhegan, but what involvement (if any) either Nolin had in this company is not known, as a George Underwood was listed as its president. (DATM, 1999). G & N Nolin is listed in the 1879 Maine Business Directory. G. & M. Nolin is listed in the 1881 and 1882 Maine Business Directory; possibly the M is a typo?

It would seem by the stamp on the blade that the M was not a typo. They weren't around a very long time--take good care of that one.

Also, if you do end up doing a class on mowing I'd love to join in!

 

[Steve Tall]

...
This blade is marked Skowhegan, and a bunch of other stuff I cant read. Maybe someone else can recognize it?
...

FortyTwoBlades beat me to it as I was typing.
At the bottom are links to the source (a great document).

"Nolin, G. & N. Skowhegan -1879-1899-
Tools Made: Farm Tools, Scythes, and Sickles
Remarks: It is not known if G. Nolin and N. Nolin worked together. However, they
were both listed as scythe-makers in 1879 and 1885. G. Nolin held a 23 Feb. 1886 patent
for a grass hook. He may have also made that tool, which was listed for sale in 1899. In
1901, a Nolin Mfg. Co. made scythes, grass hooks, hay knives, etc. in Skowhegan, but
what involvement (if any) either Nolin had in this company is not known, as a “George
Underwood” was listed as its president (Nelson, 1999). G & N Nolin is listed in the 1879
Maine Business Directory. G. & M. Nolin is listed in the 1881 and 1882 Maine Business
Directories and possibly the M is a typo."

quoted from the Registry of Maine Toolmakers, by H.G. Brack, Davistown Museum, page 176
http://www.davistownmuseum.org/publications/volume10.html
http://www.davistownmuseum.org/PDFs/Vol_10_Registry.pdf

 

[G-pig]

Awesome snags! The North Wayne Tool Co. was the maker of the famous "Little Giant" line of scythe blades, and that Derby & Ball snath is one of the older ones like my nicer one is (not the recent one I restored recently, which is a more recent example.) The Kelly blade has a beautiful shape and the toe of the blade is still nice and crisp! Looks like the Skowhegan blade was by G&M Nolan. Doing a quick search on Skowhegan history I've stumbled across several excerpts like this one:




and the Davistown Museum has this entry in their Maine Toolmakers index:



It would seem by the stamp on the blade that the M was not a typo. They weren't around a very long time--take good care of that one.

Also, if you do end up doing a class on mowing I'd love to join in!

Wow, thanks for the info 42. I love that kind of stuff. That blade is in decent shape, but has a particularly gnarly chip out of the blade. I think over time it will sharpen out, especially if I get around to thinning all my blades like I want to.

And yes, of course. We likely wont have a "class" in the traditional sense, but maybe a mowing club. I'd openly weep tears of joy if that could happen. we only have a little over an acre of field, but there are literally dozens and dozens of acres of fields other people own and I have some connections in the community. and a few scythers too! (although using the euro scythes......) It'd be great if we could mow and talk scythes though, regardless. there is plenty of mowing to do just out back.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

MOAR PHOTOS!

But yeah, that sounds great! Hopefully I'll be finalizing a time to go see a fellow down near Augusta in the next few days to go scope out a couple of scythes and some assorted other agricultural tools. Sounds like he has a fair amount of stuff kicking around so hopefully I'll find a gem or two.

In terms of your comment regarding the nibs on the D&B snath--why do they need replacing? Are there any splits or cracks or are they just a loose fit. If they're a loose fit then they can be tightened by reshaping the band like I did on my recent restoration.

I'd be totally down for a mowing club.

 

[G-pig]

MOAR PHOTOS!

But yeah, that sounds great! Hopefully I'll be finalizing a time to go see a fellow down near Augusta in the next few days to go scope out a couple of scythes and some assorted other agricultural tools. Sounds like he has a fair amount of stuff kicking around so hopefully I'll find a gem or two.

In terms of your comment regarding the nibs on the D&B snath--why do they need replacing? Are there any splits or cracks or are they just a loose fit. If they're a loose fit then they can be tightened by reshaping the band like I did on my recent restoration.

I'd be totally down for a mowing club.

I had to bend the loops on the replacements to make them fit, and they still need a little more fine tuning. The old ones were weathered and a bit punky, I had to clamp them to leverage them off the snath. they cracked pretty bad from that. the metal parts are still good, I can make new wooden handles to make a new set of nibs someday before mowing season.

Good luck on your leads too. I'll snap some more pics today actually, nice sun light today will make good pictures. I'll try to see what I can do with the folks who have fields around here. At least 4 separate properties come to mind, with a lot more that might work. ill keep you posted on that.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Awesome--sounds good!

 

[G-pig]

Here's the seymour snath with a shorter NWT blade. I tried using a 36" blade on this snath, but the angled mounting plate kept to blade too close to parallel to the ground for my preference. My 36" blade took a few nose dives. I will probably keep using the shorter blades with this one because they work fine.

This is the new Derby & Ball snath with a long Emerson Stevens mowing blade, I think its 36". The blade was badly bent but straightened fine. Some toe wear, but there is actually quite a bit of life left in the blade I think

This blade wasnt marked with anything, but was dead straight and is light as a feather. I think this combined with the D&B or my other light snath would make a dandy mower for a young lady, or just a whimp (like me). Shown with the D&B snath.

42, do you have any recommendations for getting the nibs to fit better and stop turning all the time? I think I will have to go back through and crimp the loops a little more closed. I think thats probably the gold standard in keeping em put.

Edit: sorry about the dark pics. The big spruce trees in the yard decided to cast their shadows right on the shop door when I needed to take pics.

P.S. I will snap some ridiculous pics of snaths with those 42" blades on them tomorrow. I doubt they are even made for general mowing, but I am damn well going to try them anyway and I cant wait. It would certainly be impressive looking, if nothing else.

 

[Steve Tall]

...do you have any recommendations for getting the nibs to fit better and stop turning all the time? I think I will have to go back through and crimp the loops a little more closed. I think thats probably the gold standard in keeping em put...

From earlier in this thread:

Keeping nibs from moving

From:
Popular mechanics, Volume 14, Issues 1-3 (Google eBook)
H. H. Windsor, July 1910, No. 1, p. 123

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Even better than that, the band of the nib can be cinched so the diameter of its circle is smaller. This takes a little work and it helps having the horn of an anvil available (preferably a long one like the one on my blowhorn stake anvil.) Start by placing the top of the teardrop shape of the band over the top of the horn and use a ball pein hammer to pinch the top more closed. The slide the compressed loop down the horn and use blows around the outside (using the flat face of the hammer now) to knock the body of the loop back into true round. The thread of the nib will now stick out above the top of the handle, and can be trimmed down if you prefer. I leave it on since it doesn't get in the way of anything and allows the adjustment to be undone if need be. The key is to make sure that you take the time to get the shape of the loop to evenly fit the shape of the snath with minimal or no gaps when the nib is cranked tight.

For reference, here's what a blowhorn anvil looks like. (Picture not mine)



Also, regarding the longer blades running too parallel to the ground for your tastes on the Seymour snath there's always the possibility of adjusting the cant of the tang like shown on the Swedish site Steve found earlier in the thread. They suggest tuning it so the toe of the blade sits about 10cm off the ground. I wouldn't go that extreme, and you don't even have to bend the tang on an American snath to achieve this effect. Just rotate your nibs so they're facing a hair lower. When holding them at their comfortable position the snath and blade will now be slightly rotated with regard to the ground and now lying at a lifted angle.

 

[G-pig]

I did noodle with the nibs on the seymour a bit. the snath is so much heavier, being way bigger in diameter, that it just isnt an ideal snath to run with a long, lightweight grass blade anyway. I use it with my little ditch blade sometimes. The blades in the 30" range just seem to click with it though, for whatever reason.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

If it's a much thicker snath it may be a weed/bush snath anyhow! Put a long weed blade on it (especially if it's a Dutch one) and I bet it'll absolutely demolish choked tall growth.

 

[G-pig]

If it's a much thicker snath it may be a weed/bush snath anyhow! Put a long weed blade on it (especially if it's a Dutch one) and I bet it'll absolutely demolish choked tall growth.

I have literally a plethora of grass blades, I need to pick up a nice weed blade to round out my collection. The little ditch blade I have is a nice one, but its very short. I'd like a weed blade around 20 or 22 inches perhaps. What do you think its the ideal weight for a weed blade?

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Honestly I haven't bothered weighing them. I really need to acquire more, too, and am working on it. The TrueTemper weed blade of mine is just about perfect for me though. I'll take the weight of it soon--including the chopped off tip that I saved.

 

[G-pig]

Sorry, I am used to axe terminology. I meant the ideal LENGTH, my brain just typed the wrong word =P