Who else uses a scythe?

I purchased an old scythe a couple of years ago. Typical American style - the - I'm sure I'm going to get the nomenclature wrong here - snath, grips and tang are in great shape but the blade was so worn down, I had/have a really hard time getting an edge on it. I have a little piece of property out in the country and purchased it thinking it would be easier to mow the ditches and around the edges than using a string trimmer. I used it several times, but with the lack of an edge, it was pretty painful. Long story short - stopped by an antique store yesterday where I have actually had some good luck finding tools at really decent prices. Looked around and right before I got ready to leave, noticed a sign on the back door "Bargins out back on the patio". Went out and found a scythe - not too out of the ordinary as I typically see quite a few - they are usually pretty worn down as was this one - only about 4' of the snath left, both grips gone except for the hardware, but a very nice almost unused 24" grass blade with a tang that is in really good shape. Going to take a little work to get the rust off - no pitting and the best part was it cost me $5.00
 
Even new old stock blades generally need a little thinning and honing, blades in as-found condition are almost always in need of a heavy regrind to get them as thin as they ought to be. For an American blade of typical thickness the bevel should be about 1/4" wide on either side. A nice economical option for such work is one of these specially-formulated grinding points. Just chuck it up in a drill, lay flat on the blade, then tilt *slightly* up and you'll basically be at the angle you want. 7-9° per side. :)
 
If you end up having any questions don't hesitate to ask! I've restored quite a number of them at this point, including some fairly far-gone ones.
 
I think part of my problem is I did not know the angle of the bevel was so shallow. I think I'll pick up a die grinding stone to re-bevel - I have been at around 15 degrees - that would explain a lot of the frustration I was dealing with. This new blade definitely needs re-beveling. Both my old blade and the new one are stamped "Sweden". Cleaned the new one up yesterday and am surprised at how good of shape its in.
 
stevewest said:
I think part of my problem is I did not know the angle of the bevel was so shallow. I think I'll pick up a die grinding stone to re-bevel - I have been at around 15 degrees - that would explain a lot of the frustration I was dealing with. This new blade definitely needs re-beveling. Both my old blade and the new one are stamped "Sweden". Cleaned the new one up yesterday and am surprised at how good of shape its in.
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Probably made by Igelfors Liefabrik, though there were others. For rebevelling, an off-the-shelf grinding point will probably be a poor choice because the common hardware store variety are made with a VERY hard binder that generates a lot of heat and you'll risk burning the edge. If you're able to find a resin-bonded point formulated for cool cutting of thin, hardened steel like the ones we carry, that'll do the trick, but those are mostly sold to industry rather than regular consumers.

It's possible that your blades are laminated, so keep the edge apex centered in the body of the steel.
 
A new addition to the collection:

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Peter Vido has, after much labor on the project, finally released part 1 of his new scythe book. Reading through it now and so far it looks as meticulously put together as his prior work. When I finish reading it I'll give my thoughts on it. I don't expect I'll have many criticisms, as I've spoken directly with him about most of my (small) issues with his prior work, and the man certainly knows his way around the tool to a degree I can only aspire to achieve one day.
 
Gave it a quick read-through (end to end) and my main complaint--a minor one--is the section on how peening affects blade hardness and what it all means. It's mostly good, but it's not a mystery how it functions. The science of it is fairly simple and I think most folks could understand it pretty easily. I'm especially pleased that edge engagement is covered thoroughly, though I'd like to see discussion of scratch patterns and how they can be adjusted for different mowing conditions, and there are some notes pertaining to how the stroke impacts presentation of the blade that I wish were covered, but some of those details are things that I stumbled upon through digital modeling and I don't think most folks are even aware of them. All in all, it's pretty great. A few other minor nitpicks, but it's not even worth listing them here, I don't think.
 
used the schwanen today, cuts like a dream compared to my other blades. i'll definitely be buying a scythe supply euro snath for it though. couldnt do any mowing because of the snath but i did a good amount of trimming, especially through the gardens and such.

I tried to Peen it on the peen of an 8 pound cross peen sledge but it didnt work, was my "anvil" too wide? way my hammer not heavy enough? (i used the little germantown i posted a few weeks back) all it did was push the edge around, not spread it
 
phantomknives said:
used the schwanen today, cuts like a dream compared to my other blades. i'll definitely be buying a scythe supply euro snath for it though. couldnt do any mowing because of the snath but i did a good amount of trimming, especially through the gardens and such.

I tried to Peen it on the peen of an 8 pound cross peen sledge but it didnt work, was my "anvil" too wide? way my hammer not heavy enough? (i used the little germantown i posted a few weeks back) all it did was push the edge around, not spread it
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I'd suggest an adjustable snath from One Scythe Revolution as opposed to the Scythe Supply one. Better ergonomics and the ability to play around with the settings. Peening only draws out the edge about 1mm or less when done appropriately, and my guess is the face of your sledge hammer may have been too flat (peening anvils typically have a mild radius to the face) and you may not have been striking right at the edge.

Also, if it's "cutting like a dream compared to your other blades" then you probably need to thin those other blades out by a considerable degree. When blades of either European or American styling are properly thin and sharp the actual ease of cutting is so easy as to be virtually identical. You should be "sweeping" the grass from the ground with little to no sensation of the cut even occurring--just the sensation of the blade running over the ground. :)
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I'd suggest an adjustable snath from One Scythe Revolution as opposed to the Scythe Supply one. Better ergonomics and the ability to play around with the settings. Peening only draws out the edge about 1mm or less when done appropriately, and my guess is the face of your sledge hammer may have been too flat (peening anvils typically have a mild radius to the face) and you may not have been striking right at the edge.

Also, if it's "cutting like a dream compared to your other blades" then you probably need to thin those other blades out by a considerable degree. When blades of either European or American styling are properly thin and sharp the actual ease of cutting is so easy as to be virtually identical. You should be "sweeping" the grass from the ground with little to no sensation of the cut even occurring--just the sensation of the blade running over the ground. :)
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i currently dont have the means to hollow grind an edge. i do need to get a scythe stone. I know i'm far from competent when it comes to sharpening scythes but i will get there relatively soon at this rate
 
Just added this beauty to the collection: a nib that's likely pre-1838. Certainly the first half of the 1800's or earlier. This nib is of the early wedge-fit sort, and consists of an iron forged out into a flared strap at the bottom and doubled 'round to form the loop, with the top simply folded over to retain it. The first twist-to-tighten nibs feature a certain amount of this kind of flare to their comparatively-narrow bands, after which it was discovered to be unnecessary with the new fastening method and done away with.

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Here's another fun one. I'd first seen the patent for this years ago, but hadn't seen one actually made until now. Many such patented devices never actually make it into production, so this confirms that yes, they were actually a real commercially produced form of hardware. Holes in the wood are completely eliminated, and weight of the hardware kept to a minimum by the open design. Wouldn't be my first choice, but it's pretty neat.

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That's a great piece! It's great to see such a different design than I see or have.
It does look cool, I like the collar aspect of it no thru bolts.

Thanks for sharing
 
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