Who else uses a scythe?

kraash said:
Awesome I'll pick one up in short order, also, I'm looking for the vid 'sharpening with scythe stone- scythe.'
Did you make that one? I'm not seeing it. Subcribed btw ;)
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At the 8:00 mark here. :)

[video=youtube;yK8KVgM7WAM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK8KVgM7WAM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Looks like it's in nice shape, and that wood has a heck of a nice glow to it. Fortunately it looks like you don't have a lot of damage to that blade, though it'll still need a thorough beveling to get it fighting fit. Keep us posted! :thumbup:
 
One heck of a turnaround! Like I say, it's amazing what a liberal application of elbow grease can do to 'em! The long hours of effort pay off tenfold.
 
Couldn't agree more. Lots more fun than buying one already done. And if I count some sand paper and few ounces of linseed oil with the cost... I'm still at like $22.00
 
I can't be sure if it's in any way my doing, but a number of my pickers have told me that they've seen a huge jump in the price of antiques lately. I can't help but wonder if people are coming across what I've sold restorations for either currently or in the past and are basing their valuation off that without realizing that almost the entire cost is in labor. Just slapping together a single No.1 snath from modern parts to my satisfaction takes at least 3 hours of continuous labor, and it takes many times that when restoring at antique due to the work involved in freshening up the hardware etc. and repairing damaged spots.
 
So...I inquired with my sharpening stone manufacturer about mounted grinding points and if there was a grade they would consider appropriate for grinding the thin, hardened steel edges of scythe blades without burning them, and my guy sent me a couple of sample A3 points in a suggested resin bonded blend. I did some experiments with it chucked up in a common hand drill and it produced excellent results. I was able to grind at a suitably low angle, at a skew to the edge to set the direction of scratch, and it removed steel at a very controllable rate with absolutely zero perceptible heat buildup even when I deliberately worked one narrow region continuously at max rpm. I think the cheapo solution for grinding American blades has been found! They're more expensive than some other mounted points, but at $12 retail, they're still extremely economical.

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FortyTwoBlades said:
So...I inquired with my sharpening stone manufacturer about mounted grinding points and if there was a grade they would consider appropriate for grinding the thin, hardened steel edges of scythe blades without burning them, and my guy sent me a couple of sample A3 points in a suggested resin bonded blend. I did some experiments with it chucked up in a common hand drill and it produced excellent results. I was able to grind at a suitably low angle, at a skew to the edge to set the direction of scratch, and it removed steel at a very controllable rate with absolutely zero perceptible heat buildup even when I deliberately worked one narrow region continuously at max rpm. I think the cheapo solution for grinding American blades has been found! They're more expensive than some other mounted points, but at $12 retail, they're still extremely economical.
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Kudos for finding a workable solution that uses a commonplace tool.
 
Thanks--I'm pretty excited about these, as it should make good bevel maintenance equipment much easier for folks to get their hands on when just starting off, and there are other potential applications for them, like grinding the interior bevel on gutter adzes. The edge I tested this out on was an as-found vintage Little Giant blade with a few nicks in the blade, though the bevel wasn't so thick as one often finds. I'll be trying it on some more heavily abused blades to see how rapidly it works when doing larger amounts of stock removal, but I've already been able to confirm that it'll do a great job of resetting bevels that have worn down to a normal degree after starting off appropriately thin. How cool the metal stays is actually pretty shocking--I would have expected to still need to practice a greater degree of caution due to how thin the metal is at the edge, but it stayed completely cool to the touch...it didn't even feel lukewarm! :eek: In theory one could even carry one of these out to remote locations on a sufficiently powerful cordless drill for field repairs.
 
Nice !
I could see using that abrasive when starting out on a heavily rusted blade. I am quite careful my good files dont touch rust or scale.
 
It'll also easily bite into steel too hard for a file, which is sometimes an issue with American blades--particularly older Kelly-marked blades.
 
Just had this little beauty land. I already have a couple, but this one is absolutely mint, complete with (battered) box.

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I don't have a picture of it now but I have a Keen Kutter hand sickle/scythe. Picked it up at the local used tool store for a dollar or two, didn't even realize it was a KK at first, just bought it cause it was cheap and could use one. Took it home gave it a vinegar bath and out pops the logo, I was very pleased. Still have it now, probably will sell it and buy another cheap-o. My mom and my grandpa each have a scythe and I've been meaning to turn them out just always forget, my grandpa said I could have his but it has s decent sized crack in it. I'll still take it and likely trade it for my moms as she just uses it as a decoration so a crack doesn't matter. I'll get around to getting picture of each different one at some point.
 
hey, i got a brush blade, can i make my own, "snaf" or what its actually called, i want to build a scythe around a blade, can i do that
 
Sure you can make your own snath. Part of its design will depend what style of blade you have.
If reasonably handy, its quite easy. You can make its hardware too.
There is plenty of on-line examples to see & copy elements of design.
 
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