I bought a scythe today

as for the penning tools and anvil, not sure if you can do that but around here all the old barn will have a couple of them gathering dust, and I am sure you could not only get one set for $10 but also some help to learn how to use your scythe and penn it. I do personnally use a hand me down from my grand pa, it just a piece of rail road track cut down, it sure does not look fancy but has been used for decades and still have at least a century of used left in it.

This is a pretty good article on one families experiences scything wheat.

Rural Revolution: Harvesting wheat

Not sure if they should hang on the wall but all those gardening magazine should teach how to use them.

As for hanging from the wall as long as they are not barn ornements for a hobby farmer there is no better place to store them ...

I think it's great, but I don't know if you realize how long it will take you to lay down 7 acres with a scythe.

If I were you, I would start now doing ab crunches, supermans, oblique ab crunches, etc. to get your back and midsection strong before next summer. It will make all the difference in the world.

it will take you a little while to get the hang of it. when you master it.it will feel wonderful. like FM said it is so zen-ish. i have my grandfathers and love working with it. i have a ride-on but when i have lots of time i would much rather use the scythe. ~Georgia.

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Georgians

I havnt used one in 50yrs, and greatly admire anyone who chooses to do so. I would like to hold the euro ones but just for courisitys sake.
I saw on U tubes where a guy over there was cutting grain and laying it down in individual sheives WITHOUT a cradle. 2 older women were bending down, picking them up and tying them. Soon, another old geezer came along and tried it. I think it was a set up deal as he was making a heck of a mess of the laid down grain, a fact the women soon noticed.
Good luck in your endevors, and tell us of how it all worked out for you.

If you strap your sythe to the side of an ATV, you could just buzz around the field cutting a 28 inch swath as you go.
If you start cutting the first cutting next spring, be sure to hustle because the second cutting will be ready to start cutting before you finish the first. Bless your heart, You got spunk.

A couple years ago I bought a new one. They took measurements and made it to my size. I use it a lot. It is not heavy at all.

Scythe Supply - Scythe blades, snaths, equipment

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http://www.mofga.org/

http://www.mofga.org/Programs/FarmAp...2/Default.aspx

I've cut about a half acre maybe 3/4 of an acre of hay with a scythe when I was a kid. I have a 12 foot discbine now. Umm what can i say....best wishes and with practice it gets easier. You need a sharpening stone if someone hasn't mentioned that already. Then you gotta pick the hay up, preferably before it rains.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Amazeing. In CRs excrpt they said they had sown 200lbs of wheat in 1/2 acre. Wonder they got anything to grow.

U got me beat Ross. All I ever cut was for rabbits. BUT that ws EVERY day spring summer fall.

You need to keep it sharp to learn.

Sharp enough that you don't need much effort to cut.

Start w/ the heel on the ground and don't take long strokes.

That tip about dew covered grass is correct and you will need that early start.

We cut weed lots when I was younger and used sickle & scythe mostly to trim. We did have a few jobs we could only do w/ the scythes and charged extra.

Dad always used an Austrian grass blade on an American snath, we had two curved wooden ones and one aluminum straight shaft...I think I have one wood w/ a heavy brush blade and that aluminum one up the cabin w/ a split grass blade.

We used to cut hay exclusively with one of these. Out of 5 kids and 14 grandkids, I was the only one that could use it without sticking the tip in the ground. Grandpa had a stone that he carried on his belt in an old hollowed out cows horn with water in it. The trick is to keep it sharp. Then we would use 36" rakes made entirely out of wood (including the teeth) as it did not grab the grass under the hay as bad as a metal rake would to turn the hay as it dried. After that we would pile the stacks of hay about 8' high with pitch forks. To move it to the barn we would push 2 bean poles (2-3" diameter branches" under the stack and then pick it up and carry the whole stack to the barn.

Now grandpa could cut a field that look like you used a mower and checked it with a level and a ruler. He told me that back in the old country (Austria/Hungary) they could not have one stem higher than the rest of the field.

We would cut 5 acres twice a year if the grass was growing good.

Interesting thread, and 3 different syche supply web sites, wow!

I'm only familiar with the curved handle ones, the straight handled ones always look cheap and awkward to me - likely just familiarity is all.

Like everyone says, keep it sharp sharp sharp, with stone or - I guess the anvil deal, hadn't heard of that one.

Takes some spunk to attempt 7 acres.

Who is getting $900 to make hay on 7 acres, I'd like to both shake their hand for getting their gold, and also knock them in the head for fleecing someone so bad.

Have one with a cradle hanging in the shed, my grandpa got it as a wedding gift, boy that woulda been 90 years ago? Hasn't been off the wall in 50 years. We have 2 without cradles, dad used to cut thistles out of oats fields. was not the most fun way to spend an afternoon in the hot sun, but you can get a rythum and learn not to work hard at it but just swing through, as others say.

Mom had a story of one kid back in her day, drove to the neighbors with the scythe dangling on his bike, barefoot. When he stopped and leaned off the bike, stepped right onto the blade. I guess that was a big deal, not so good. She never really said the outcome of it after several months time.....

Interesting thread, thanks!

--->Paul

Agree European scythes completely different from the heavy old ones.

you will need to hone with your fine stone every few minutes. After a few hours the sharpness will not last as long, and then you will know that you need to peen. every sweep of your blade should seem MAGICAL and when that magic starts to wear off it is because something needs adjusting. Peening thins out the cutting edge again so the stone can do its work.

the angle of the blade to the snath is also critical and may need adjusting if it slowly slips a little.

if you are old and arthritic like me you can try moving the lower handle to the same point in front of the snath so the left arm can pull round with less effort.

keep us posted!

Agree European scythes completely different from the heavy old ones.

you will need to hone with your fine stone every few minutes. After a few hours the sharpness will not last as long, and then you will know that you need to peen. every sweep of your blade should seem MAGICAL and when that magic starts to wear off it is because something needs adjusting. Peening thins out the cutting edge again so the stone can do its work.

the angle of the blade to the snath is also critical and may need adjusting if it slowly slips a little.

if you are old and arthritic like me you can try moving the lower handle to the same point in front of the snath so the left arm can pull round with less effort.

keep us posted!

Great thread, and congrats on your new tool!

Please do us one favor: Please don't let it lay in the barn and get so pitted with rust that it is unusable.

I attend lots of auctions, and you'd be surprise how many antique scythes are nearly worthless because someone left the blade laying on wet ground in the barn.

I dunno Paul, on shares 50/50 that should be 700 total or350 bales worth at least $3/bale, thats over a grand.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

It would take a lot of rust to make one of these things unusable. It does not have to be pretty, it just has to be sharp. I would take an old rusty one over a new one any day of the week because the steel was so much better and holds it's edge longer. I would say that we sharpened ours every 30 minutes or so and it only took a couple of seconds. Never did any peening, never hit any rocks and there was no brush.

Silly mistake above. I meant I have switched the upper handle to the front of the snatch, not the lower handle. Left hand then has a mechanical advantage and can pull across faster.