Who else uses a scythe?

C.S. Graves said:
G-Pig's posts have me convinced I need to add that second handle on the butt-end of my DIY snath. I had read that one could get by without, but I've have troubles keeping the blade level as is. Might actually USE the darned scythe more then. :D
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Just omitting the upper grip on a snath like those won't bode too well for the function. A one grip snath is differently proportioned and whatnot.
 
G-pig said:
Just omitting the upper grip on a snath like those won't bode too well for the function. A one grip snath is differently proportioned and whatnot.
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Well said. I was thinking of saying exactly this, when I scrolled further down and found that anything I was going to say would now be superfluous. =)

Your last three snaths are awesome, by the way. Expect for a couple of the grips, which are easy to change, I can't find anything to complain about... and neither could Peter for that matter. You passed his test, so far anyway . ;)
 
Sparrow92 said:
Well said. I was thinking of saying exactly this, when I scrolled further down and found that anything I was going to say would now be superfluous. =)

Your last three snaths are awesome, by the way. Expect for a couple of the grips, which are easy to change, I can't find anything to complain about... and neither could Peter for that matter. You passed his test, so far anyway . ;)
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I wasn't really fond of any of them, to be honest. Peter wouldn't like the snath for the bearded blade (if he would even like any of them), I'm not sure if I can tweak the lay to get it appropriate for anything other than very close cutting, since the curve of the piece is not quite extreme enough. We will see, I'll get more pics of that if I can make it "work".
 
C.S. Graves said:
G-Pig's posts have me convinced I need to add that second handle on the butt-end of my DIY snath. I had read that one could get by without, but I've have troubles keeping the blade level as is. Might actually USE the darned scythe more then. :D
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The problem might be your "handgrip alignment". As detailed on Scytherspace (link below), a vertical plane passing through your two hand positions on the snath should intersect the blade somewhere between the heel and middle of the blade's length.

A homemade snath that curves the wrong way could cause the problem you're having.

http://scytherspace.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/snathmaking-handgrip-alignment/
 
[video=youtube;U64Z2UxwM60]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64Z2UxwM60&feature=youtu.be[/video]

Having a little fun. Need mulch for potato beds, and need to practice mowing. Stacked functions!

 
Nice! Looks like the fine point did a good job getting under the bent-over stalks! :)
 
[video=youtube;bcMHYhYCKQ8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcMHYhYCKQ8[/video]

Got a little bit of mulch cut :)

 
Not sure the answer, really. If I use each one I get used to it, but I change the hafting angle a lot, add wedges, remove wedges, etc to alter the lay. For mowing this, there really isn't much flow to it, so the short blade on the trimming snath offers the most maneuverability and its not frustrating to not be able to utilize the extra length. They are all pretty nice, I need to tweak the luxor and snath though, The grips are a little too downward pointing, so I need to a double tapered wedge to lift the point. I think another blade with a more lifted point wouldn't have the same problem as that blade, so the non permanent wedge should be a quick fix.
 
I thought you'd answer something like that! Just shows you know what you're doing, I suppose. Nothing like the ol' "it depends" response. :D
 
I'm new to this discussion but it falls right in with my love for all edged hand tools. I have wanted a scythe ever since the '70s when I watched an old guy use one to mow the tall grass along the edge of the road by my house in upstate NY. He made it look so effortless. Well, today I spotted this at an estate sale across the street from my house, and picked it up for $5. The surface rust cleaned up reasonably well, and it took a great edge.


 
I respect you fellows that like to use the scythe and all, but I got my fill of that kinda stuff growing up and being 'forced' to use a sling blade to clear brush at the edge of fields and such, and occasionally smaller fields.
Plus I mowed yards for extra $ growing up too.
That's one of the many great things about living up in the forest is that there is NO yard to mow and NO brush to worry about :D

But...
I do think I could find the 'zen' in cutting a nice hay field with one of those :)
 
lambertiana said:
I'm new to this discussion but it falls right in with my love for all edged hand tools. I have wanted a scythe ever since the '70s when I watched an old guy use one to mow the tall grass along the edge of the road by my house in upstate NY. He made it look so effortless. Well, today I spotted this at an estate sale across the street from my house, and picked it up for $5. The surface rust cleaned up reasonably well, and it took a great edge.


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I've got a bush blade by the same maker. A very low quality blade, but a functional one. The blades seem to have been rolled out and cut from a continuous piece before having the separate massive clunky tang piece riveted on. I've not seen that snath hardware type before--do you have any photos of the underside?

bearhunter said:
I respect you fellows that like to use the scythe and all, but I got my fill of that kinda stuff growing up and being 'forced' to use a sling blade to clear brush at the edge of fields and such, and occasionally smaller fields.
Plus I mowed yards for extra $ growing up too.
That's one of the many great things about living up in the forest is that there is NO yard to mow and NO brush to worry about :D

But...
I do think I could find the 'zen' in cutting a nice hay field with one of those :)
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Once the scythe is properly tuned and sharpened the work's not bad at all! :) A poorly tuned scythe IS miserable though. :D
 
Very interesting--thanks for that photo! And yes, it's hard to go wrong for only $5! I imagine you can probably rework that snath no problem as well. As far as the blade goes it'll certainly work no problem--they're just heavy for their size because the tang piece is huge and massively thick. The forging on the blades is still better than on modern American blades though. :)

If you have any questions whatsoever as you work on getting it back in working shape by all means let me know! It looks like a promising user. The hardware very strongly resembles that on my high-curvature cherry snath, though there are some key differences.
 
Did a little lawncraft today with the Tramontina Euro-style scythe today. I think it's a very good value for someone looking to get a model for occasional use or experimentation. I've found that because of the very steep tang angle on the blades it works best in a single grip forward-facing configuration rather than the two-grip rear-facing setup the stock images show. Yes, steel snaths are generally not the best and this is no exception, but it works just fine when set up in that method. A solidly performing budget-friendly tool that does its job well enough, for sure. I was getting nice close-cropped stubble and smooth cuts out of it. Works very precisely along fence lines but didn't fair as well on bumpier ground that my Americans would be better suited for. Gets that light fine grass nice and easy, though!

Also showed my other half how to use it, as I really got it for her to use. Only did a 5-10 minute session but she was starting to get the hang of it by the end of it. :)
 
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