Who else uses a scythe?

Thanks! I have another cracked blade that I'll be making a drawknife out of. :D
 
A restoration of a Seymour No.2 Bush Snath. The customer this was for is going to be using it for heavy bush work, with a large percentage of the mowing being saplings, so I only reduced it from its original dimensions by a little bit to make it a bit more reasonable.

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good posts lately :D

i got one of those oscillation/vibration tools, and one of the blades is a fine diamond that should get "right in there" and do a nice pass for a good grind on my project scythe :D
 
Thanks! What kind of tool are you talking about exactly? I think I know, but I'm not quite seeing the application? :)
 
would adore having a proper belt system, and 10 inch wet wheel, but, eh...

have also embraced the power of a rotary blade on the weed whacker. i'm dangerous :D but i'm pushing the woods back. noisey, and annoying but it's good.

i gave up on the dream of scything my "lawn", but the Fiskars push mower is sweet.

scythes for major cleaning on periphery and the meadows though

need to work on my edge profiles and edge keeping. that's why i'm glad i go the Fein - it's mostly a precision cutter and sander, but it has a few other uses.
 
Hate to be the bearer of bad news again but only the very edges of that will contact a scythe blade because of it being forward-curved. The pad will wear very quickly as a result. It'll work for a bit, I'm sure, but don't be surprised if it stops being effective pretty quickly, yet still has tons of untouched diamond surface on it. :)
 
Lawn mowing is easily one of the most challenging of scything tasks and almost requires you to have a unit kind of rigged up for it. Groomed appearance when mowing already pretty short grass requires a very keen edge, run low (frequent dulling) and you have to know just the right stroke and pace to use for your blade/snath combo.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Hate to be the bearer of bad news again but only the very edges of that will contact a scythe blade because of it being forward-curved. The pad will wear very quickly as a result. It'll work for a bit, I'm sure, but don't be surprised if it stops being effective pretty quickly, yet still has tons of untouched diamond surface on it. :)
Click to expand...

i can bend it, or use a single edge.

it's a one time finishing from file to stone
 
most of my "lawn" will be clover and oregano soon, and 4-6 inches is ideal height for me, scythe is not good good for that
 
Clover is generally very easily cut, though I have a lot of very stemmy red clover that can be a little trickier if the stalks are low-laying.
 
My front "lawn" has about a 1/2 acre section that we mow for hay. It was a waste of time and fuel to cut it weekly :)! Lawn mowing for appearance with a scythe is definitely a specialized task. Clover is a pleasure to cut with scythe, and it seems to grow back with renewed vigor.

I had a patch of oregano by my front walk--always loved the scent as I trimmed next to it. Finally died in sub zero weather winter before last :(.
 
I recently came into some VERY early examples of the modern style of nibs, one of them a J. & E. S. Clapp and the other a Lamson Co.--Clapp's patent is the earliest I've found that describes the modern style of nib, and historical documents seem to support this, with the term "Clapp's Patent" having been used by the public as something of a common name much like "Bandaid" or "Kleenex". The Lamson Co. example is likely from within the same decade, as far as I can establish, and is mechanically identical to the Clapp example, though there are subtle differences in the shape, fit, etc.

More pictures HERE.

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Thought this might be of some interest
[video=youtube;yP7J4VkBWck]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP7J4VkBWck[/video]

Not a current scythe user, but did many years ago. And not as a hobby. :D Sorry if this has been posted before'

Bob
 
Manufacturing scythe blades in Poland. The company (Starobielska Fabryka Kos) sadly closed its doors back a few years ago.

[video=youtube;9bO74xBEqvc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bO74xBEqvc[/video]
 
I actually have one of those babies! Sadly the blade has a hairline crack in it. The North Wayne Tool Co. was still producing those until at least the early 50's.
 
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