Who else uses a scythe?

FortyTwoBlades said:
Good technique goes a LONG way with them. Until you "get it" then performance is sub-par at best. Much like straight-razor shaving, it's not for everyone! :D
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I wouldn't pass judgement based on that video. Let's see how everyone fairs after a few hours and no electrical fence
 
Operator1975 said:
So right church, wrong pew. Darnit. I have an old one, but I don't think it is usable. Now of course tomorrow u will see some idiot out in his field whacking away.........and that will be me.
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I have decided not to make the obvious joke about this...of course, I just did sort of by default...
 
If you go to your local True Value they either carry or can get a 26" 'weed' blade and either an aluminum or wooden snath from Seymour Mfg. They are not cheap.
 
Unfortunately they charge too much for the blades, and the snaths often have rusted collars from being allowed to sit in a damp corner. :p

Another funny thing to note is how people always talk about American pattern blades having no "set" to them--i.e. they're just flat stamped steel. They are actually MORE difficult to forge than European blades, and the tang was provided without a set with the intention of the end purchaser heating and adjusting the tang angle themselves (or having someone local do it) and generally weren't intended to be used without the tang having been pitched first. Bush blades, however, were commonly used without any pitch to the tang due to the different stroke employed. Nice examples either came with a "crown" to the blade (slight upward lift along the blade's length as it approaches the point) or had one introduced through gentle hammering.
 
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You'd be suprised at how creative people who live in a rural setting can be. Something as simple as an angle can be change in any number of ways.
I have rehandled "shovels" that are now used as hoes or pointed spades/hoes.
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Rather, I think that people have just gotten their information from the scythe book. True, they don't have a curve from spine to edge like a European one does, and the angle of the tang is very shallow compared to European blades, but they aren't just completely flat.
 
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Edwood7 said:
Here is a picture I found of one that looks like the ones we use. We call them Guadañas. We even find them in some safe houses as part of altars the narcos make for the Santa Muerte (holy Death), a very popular cult among them down here.


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I'd kill to have one of those. Of course that's a figure of speech. Still want.
 
Makes me wonder who the manufacturers for those are. Also makes me wonder what the blade attachment is like.

I've been working on clearing the back pasture where it's been overgrown by woody plants and goldenrod. The scythe, in spite of having a long grass blade on it, absolutely destroyed the invading horde of plants. I'm loving this thing!
 
I hazard a guess it was "farm produced" looks like a simple collar welded to the blade and fit over the shaft. We had quite a few farm made tools.

It is funny now to go into Cracker Barrel and see tools I used to use hanging from the ceiling as antiques... I am only 45.
Bill
 
It always makes me wonder about what their insurance policy covers them for--axes and sickles and whatnot hanging overhead suspended from thin wires... :eek::D

Honestly, I would love to see a revolution in hand tool usage. A lot of those methods, while a bit more time consuming, were based around minimizing waste and maximizing quality.
 
My kids were shocked when I showed them the metal shoes forms and stand my grandfather used to resole and repair shoes for the family! LOL!

My Mom wore dresses made from cotton flour sacks, you paid a little extra to get the sacks with flowers printed on them.

I dearly miss life on the farm but it is still in the family so I take my wife and kids there and show them a little of what it was like. We used and old ringer washing machine to shell October beens- Grandpa and I made tin chutes for the beans on one side and hulls on the other :)

Have a few two man saws still hanging there, those I do NOT miss :)
The double bit felling axes were all attacked by people with electric grinders, so not much to save there !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
Bill
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
It always makes me wonder about what their insurance policy covers them for--axes and sickles and whatnot hanging overhead suspended from thin wires... :eek::D

Honestly, I would love to see a revolution in hand tool usage. A lot of those methods, while a bit more time consuming, were based around minimizing waste and maximizing quality.
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Seconded. I took up wood cutting with handtools these past couple years. That has been a lot of fun. The neighbors think I am weird though, and often offer the loan of a chainsaw or tractor :D

lmalterna said:
Have a few two man saws still hanging there, those I do NOT miss :)
The double bit felling axes were all attacked by people with electric grinders, so not much to save there !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(
Bill
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Those 2 man saws are great when they are filed good. They are an absolute nightmare if they aren't well filed though. I was sawing some 26" rounds of white pine in about a minute and a half the other day with another half decent sawyer. It's actually pretty fun once you get someone to run the other end who isn't a moron!
 
:) the fact I was an early teen probably had something to do with it too- no good shoulder development but if both men know there stuff and the saw is right, wood is dry- it really does not take all that much brute strength, just good rythm and a straight motion. Pine requires a kerosene spray? I beleive that is what was in the bottle to keep the sap off the blade.
I was allowed to drop the next years wood using the dbit felling axe. Grandpa ringed them and then I got to drop them...... hit the "angles Boy, not the flats" LOL!!
A good tool is a wonderful thing.
Bill
 
I'll try to see if I can get some video action soon. There are too few video clips on the 'net showing an American scythe in action. :D
 
My friend bought a euro scythe at a hippy fair this past weekend. I asked him if they talked shat about american pattern scythes and praised up the euro, sure enough the answer was "Yup. They were marketing the euro scythes as a better tool". Damn hippies!
 
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