Who else uses a scythe?

A work-in-progress shot of the latest restoration project. This one is a Derby & Ball and will be paired with a good grass or weed blade. Should make for one hella slick combo.

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Just discovered this forum & thread...

I'm an older woman who took up scything about 5 years ago. Had a Stihl string trimmer, but hated the weight, fumes, fussy 2-stroke engine, etc.

I bought a Euro style scythe outfit because of the lighter weight, AND I wanted a left-handed blade. I really love this tool, but I'm not satisfied with the snath design from Scythe Supply. Will be looking into the Swiss adjustable design.

Glad to see folks reviving use of both American and Euro designs.
 
Welcome to BladeForums! Glad you found us. :D

And yes--we need more scythe enthusiasts in the world! So much of it is just giving folks a chance to try the tool, too. Once you know what it's like to use a good one most folks get pretty excited about them.

And yeah, ditch the ScytheSupply snath. Botan at One Scythe Revolution has a new snath model coming out soon and he seems quite pleased with it.
 
Cracked a nice blade last night. :(

It was a bad night for mosquitos so I tried rushing the heating process a little and it ended badly. I'm now looking into induction heaters since they'll be faster, safer, and keep the heat a lot more local to where I need the bend. I imagine that back in the day you'd probably have a local blacksmith heat up a chisel-shaped bar to pale yellow heat and apply it where you wanted the heat, but I don't have that option. Induction it is!
 
Just uploaded a fresh copy of the guide. Lots of images added throughout and a few small changes.

CLICK
 
Got the induction heater and it worked like a charm. Should be smooth work bending tangs from here on out, even when I have to put a strong pitch on them.

In other news, I'm just finishing up work on the other blade I'll be matching with the above snath, and I picked up one of Seymour's present production SN-8 snaths for comparison with a vintage one and while not quite as finely finished-out I can fully endorse their present ones. The curves on both the vintage and present ones are identical and are strong enough that no tang adjustment is necessary--the lay is perfect for grass work with the blades left totally flat. I also picked up one of their hybrid Euro-bladed/American-tanged 30" grass blades and if anyone is looking for a nice American-class unit for lawn care it's a heck of a combo. Light as a feather and very fast, close-cropped results. A standard American pattern blade is still my ideal for field use and heavier/taller growth but for lawn mowing the SN-8 aluminum snath and 30" hybrid blade are a match made in heaven. :D
 
It's a Mini Ductor II. Nothing fancy but it was cheap for an induction heater and it's well suited for my uses. Here's a video (not mine) of it heating up a nut to red heat in about 40 seconds.

[video=youtube;dLU0lucfNJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLU0lucfNJY[/video]

Also, check out what's on page 4 of the most recent newsletter of the Scythe Association of Britain and Ireland! Still a bit biased and not wholly accurate but it's progress! :D
 
Square_peg said:
Nice tool.
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Quite! I bent a coil in an ellipse shape and it slides right onto the shank of the tangs. Heats up just the stripe without very much heat migration at all and I can get a nice easy bend without straining the web at the heel of the blade. Geez--how many more bit o' jargon can I squeeze in one sentence? :D

Square_peg said:
Cool! Good on you.
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Thanks! Glad to see I'm at least sparking curiosity in those circles. ;)
 
Alright, I just got back for a visit to the local (true)hardware store. Not Lowe's but and honest to goodness hardware store. I didn't believe it but they carry the Austrian made Seymour 28" grass blades. The store wanted $70 and they had two. Are either the metal or wood snaths Seymour makes any good?
 
The SN-8 aluminum snath is quite decent as long as the nibs aren't cranked on too tight. Try twisting them to the right to see if you can get them loose (they run on a left-handed thread.) The SN-8 is so heavily curved that the tangs of the blades don't need any bending to bring the lay parallel with the ground. As such they're great for grass, but not as great for weeds since you want a slightly upward run on heavy growth. The SN-1 wooden snaths are a bit problematic right now. Some examples are fine, but most have the nibs over-cranked at the factory and then thick varnish applied that further glues them in place. One I requested as a sample from Seymour recently had both the aforementioned problem as well as having the hafting collar installed rotated about 15-20 degrees out of proper alignment so it threw all the curves directionally off. I'm working with them to fix the issues but it's something to look for on old stock. The curves themselves, surprisingly, tend to be pretty good. They are a bit thick in the midsection but you can shave 'em down no problem.

In terms of the blades by all means support a local shop if you want but I could set you up with a fully restored vintage blade for not much more than that. The difference in quality is night and day, though the modern ones do at least get the job done. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Heats up just the stripe without very much heat migration at all....
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This is one of the greatest advantages of an induction forge. The bigger more powerful ones are super impressive - though quite spendy.

The late Grant Sarver (passed away last year) used to make and sell induction forges. The man was a living encyclopedia of blacksmithing. He made over a million pairs of blacksmith tongs during his career.

[video=youtube;0haNmEp0ZgA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0haNmEp0ZgA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUHM4D8_ih1OdIK9iSZQl9UQ[/video]

http://www.youtube.com/user/nakedanvil?feature=watch
 
That was awesome! With the system down that smooth I can certainly believe he cranked out that many! And yeah I'm hoping to eventually buy a really nice tabletop rig but you're right--they ain't cheap!
 
Nice scythe!!

Unfortunately, the local hardware store does not have any of the snaths, just the grass blade. But the snath I was looking at online was Seymour's SN-9 which is listed as "medium duty". Or would the SN-8 be sufficient for weed and light brush clearing?
 
The SN-8 would be fine for light weeds but brush would be pushing it, in part because it simply doesn't have sufficient mass to really carry through the cut like it should. If you're looking for weed and light brush clearing I'd go with this guy, which is a restored vintage SN-1 outfitted with a TrueTemper Briar Edge bush blade that's had the tang slightly angled. :)

yhst-129988217023674_2267_1032231
 
Another shot of the latest project--a before and after comparison. :)

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