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FAQ: When you peen a scythe blade, how do you know when you have peened the edge thin enough? Traditionally, a scythe blade's edge for cutting grass, was peened until the edge was thin enough to "run over the thumbnail". That is the edge would deflect when you pressed your thumbnail to it, and rocked it back and forth. This is kind of hard on the thumbnail, however. I prefer to use the cross-peen end of my peening hammer for that. I press the the hammer up against the edge, and slide it back and forth. In the video below you can see a moving shadow created by the running pressure from the cross-peen end of the hammer. For more information on how to peen a European scythe blade see my instruction page at https://www.onescytherevolution.com/peening.html
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Here's a new video on how to hone a scythe blade. It was taken at the 1SR Basic Scythe workshop that I taught last Spring. Here's an excellent quick summary of the fossil fuel age, and the quandary it now leaves us in. Another great harvest video. YouTube sure is a goldmine of info. This one was posted by tempo2002 . It was shot in Super-8 film by Folker B. Jung, in 1983. I think it takes place in southern Germany. Excellent close-up views of the F.A.O.-style grain cradle's construction, and in action! There is a drawing of the F.A.O. cradle on page 77 of The Scythe Book, though the cradles in this video look more artfully constructed. I am often asked this question. Watch the video below, and decide for yourself. It was posted on YouTube by Handmaelcher. It shows alpine hay making in Engelberg, Switzerland.  120cm Fux Hartstahl scythe blade on a "wildwood" snath. There are not a lot of scythe competitions in the USA, so I was surprised to have had several requests recently for competition scythe blades. Mostly from customers that make their own "wildwood snaths", (pictured on the left), and want to experiment with combining these specialized off-set snaths, with longer blades. I can special order these longer Austrian scythe blades from Schroeckenfux, who is the only scythe blade manufacturer that still makes a competition length blade. They are available in lengths 115cm to 145cm. I currently have 120cm, 130cm, and 135cm blades, in stock. They are made of "Hartstahl", which is supposed to be a specialty hardened steel, so that the cutting edge stays sharp longer between honings, so that you don't have to stop and hone your blade while in the middle of the race. They are labeled "Maehfertig", which means "ready-to-mow", but they are not quite ready, and do need some peening before they can be sharp enough to mow with.
If you want to work your way up to competition length blades, I also have 80cm, 85cm, and 90cm "Hartstahl" scythe blades. They can also be used for racing, but I mainly carry them for people harvesting grains. The 80-90cm lengths can be used with the Fux adjustable wooden snath that I sell. You can see the scythe blades that I have available on my scythe blade catalog page. To buy a complete scythe kit for regular homestead and farming use, go to my store page at https://www.onescytherevolution.com/quick-order.html July 14th at UMass Farm, South Deerfield, Mass. - Growing Local Grains July 15th at Colrain Seed Farm, Colrain, Mass. - Community Grain Festival See www.growseed.org for details.  If the tang angle on your scythe blade is too high, it can be compensated for by adding a wooden wedge, in between the snath and the tang of the scythe blade. This has the equivalent effect of reducing the tang angle of the blade.
It can also be very useful for fine-tuning the lay of the blade, when you are using a hook-nosed scythe blade, like the 2010 model that I sell. If you are having trouble with the hook-nosed tip catching and digging into the dirt, adding a small wooden wedge like this, can correct the lay of the blade so that it glides smoothly over the ground. I include one of these wooden wedges with every 2010 blade that people order from me, but you can easily make your own, and even make a variety of sizes, for a very fine-tuned, customized lay of the blade. |
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