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- Mar 8, 2008
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The following is from Peter Vido:
Are you, Benjamin, aware that the American style of blades and snaths have also been imported (by Mibro Group) into Canada from Slovenia for a long time? Secondly, do you believe that something actually made in USA -- like for instance a true Seymour-made product (though most of the stuff they sell under that pretence has instead been commissioned by them to be made by someone else 'to their specifications') -- would not advertise that fact and, especially nowadays, possibly prefixing it with that patriotic "Proudly Made in USA"?
The Mibro Group seems more active in the Western Canada's market, while Garant's (the other major, and older tool importer) dominant territory is the East (with Ontario as the transition zone). Garant, I think, obtains all their scythe blades from Austria, and Mibro from Slovenia. The latter also sells some European style blades. (I had corresponded with Mibro Group about 15 years ago, and also visited the factory in Slovenia numerous times).
Given the above, my guess is that Skiv's "American" snath was made in Slovenia, (and my opinion stands that -- if ergonomy really mattered -- it still is a 'piece of shit') . In time the ever-knowledge-seeking Skiv will likely conclude the same, and consequently hang his "American" scythe upon a wall as a testimony to the "bad old times of snath design".
How much do you want to bet? (However, on the continuation of your own passion in favour of the USA-made blades and snaths, I'm NOT making any bets...
-Peter
Hahaha--I'm a bit more open-minded about it all than I think Peter envisions. I'd be genuinely interested in seeing one of the Slovenian-produced American patterned snaths, as I've never seen them here in the 'states. If you ever find vintage Canadian-made ones I'd be interested in seeing those too.
I'm well aware that most of Seymour's tools are outsourced. Some are decent, others are crap. The HANDLES are all USA-made, however, and they can't legally call it a USA-made product unless it's really made here. Most of their tools are marked "Assembled in USA of US and Foreign Components". Their forks are absolute crap but I've been quite pleased with the Chinese-made eye hoe I have from them. Surprisingly it's a nice forging in good steel.
I'm not a betting man simply because I recognize that there are usually too many variables for a neat call to be made. The American pattern is not the ideal choice for all circumstances, nor is any other regionally dominant type. They are all different ways of answering different shades of the same question, but in this case it's like trying to color-match old paint with new, with your mowing conditions being the old paint and the new paint being your scythe choice. Your overall task, mowing, is "Blue"--that's as specific as it gets. It's not hammering something (let's call that "Red") or digging something (let's call that "Yellow") but if you just go to the store and grab the first blue paint you find, how likely is it to match? It'll still be blue, so it'll match the job a lot better than yellow or red paint, but the closer you get to matching the blue you have, the better and more pleasing the end result. If your blue is a particular tint and shade of "Copenhagen Blue" then you'd be ill-matched with "Azure" paint.
For all I know, Skiv's mowing conditions may be best suited to a particular setup of continental European scythe, in which case that would be the solution I would endorse. I've asked for input on what an appropriate model of scythe, in your judgment, would be for my mix of conditions but haven't yet received input for one reason or another (I know you're very busy and don't have much time for correspondence, so that's understandable) but would fully like to try making a more equitable comparison between what you, as a recognized expert, consider a good match for my available mowing conditions vs. the conclusion that I've come to with regards of a quality American pattern example to use for them.
With regards to the assessment of the ergonomics of the American type being "crap" I would argue that if you're experiencing discomfort you either have a bad quality unit, or you're doing something wrong with your tuning or are using improper technique for the conditions at hand. If you simply find the unit less enjoyable to use but it's a good unit, properly tuned, and used with good technique, it's perhaps more likely that the "voice" of the tool is incongruent with your own preferred rhythms, motions, or internal dialogue. The American type is very "aggressive" in its voice under most circumstances (in my own experience) than those of European pattern, which may be more pleasing to some (myself) or displeasing to others.
As I've mentioned before, patriotism plays ZERO role in esteem for the American pattern. It simply works well for me both from a personality standpoint and from the standpoint of my mowing conditions. Many of the Banko/Craftsman Swedish-made American pattern blades, for instance, are very nicely executed in my opinion and experience. And I have nothing against other snath patterns whatsoever but forward vs. rearward facing grips require different style of movement and may be better- or less-suited to different techniques and blade shapes. It's sort of like the debate of push vs. pull saws as far as I can tell.
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