In 1973 I spent a few months on a small farm in the mountains of West Virginia, where I learned to swing a scythe, cutting our hay field and those of our neighbors. I found it a wonderfully relaxing and contemplative experience - except for the times I found rocks hidden in the hay, and when I mowed over a yellow jacket nest! You brought me back to those days. Thanks so much!
Excellent tutorial! It is the best one I have found on RUclips to explain the proper use of a scythe. I had tried my dad’s scythe about 40 years ago and no amount of youthful vim and vigour could make up for the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and I’d not touched a scythe again until this past week. There is a lot more to it than just a blade attached to the end of a stick. Earlier this week I picked up an old scythe. It has the identical connection type as your Derby and Ball snath. It has a 27-inch Swedish blade that seems like it is going to be ideal for cleaning up around my old apple orchard. I tore it apart, sanded, oiled, scraped and painted it. I tried it out in my back yard lawn at home this evening… I think my present skills will be good enough for the apple orchard… but I will need a few hours more practice in the backyard before I tackle the front lawn. I understand from your video that the Derby and Ball connection can be used to swing the blade in or out. If you ever do a follow up scythe tutorial a good topic to cover might be a demo of when you would want to do this. In the meantime, thanks again for the video. I’ve watched it probably a half dozen times so far and will likely come back to it a few more times as I start to gain some experience with it. Cheers from the east coast of Canada. JV
Excellent video, and thanks for the shout-out! A few minor additional notes: •The blade you identified as a Western weight blade is actually a Dutch heel blade. Western weight blades are the same idea, but they're about as wide and heavy as weed blades are, but they're grass blade length. This was because as settlers moved west they had more wild and ungroomed growth to deal with, and they needed a heavier and wider blade to pass through the thick and resistant stalks with ease. The long blade you have is a New England pattern, being narrow along its full length, and better suited to well-groomed fields where the broad heel is unnecessary. •When shaving down snaths, the shaft of the snath should taper continuously from one end to the other and be a good true round shape. Often one will find them in oval cross section due to cost-cutting measures in manufacturing, but you can't properly adjust the nibs' rotation if the shaft isn't properly round! After shaving the snath down you'll need to re-shape the bands to be a snug fit again. There should be space in the top of the nib iron's loop for it to cinch down when tightening the grip, and it should be a fairly snug fit on the shaft of the snath *before* tightening the grip down. •Grinding points you can buy at the hardware store are often formulated with an emphasis on holding their shape rather than cutting cool. They're usually used for grinding welds or auto body panels, where there's no heat treatment to ruin. There are cool-cutting grinding points out there, but you'll have a somewhat hard time finding them sold by the piece since they're usually sold to industry rather than as consumer tools. If unable to track a suitable model down, the type A3 resin-bonded grinding points I was able to source for my shop are specifically made to cut cool on thin sections of heat treated steel. The apex of a scythe edge is foil-thin and the higher friction of common hardware store grinding points is more likely to cause flash-heating at the edge. •Many antique blades are laminated, so it's best practice to make sure that blades are ground evenly on both sides. Otherwise you can end up with the edge comprised of the soft cladding iron instead of the hard steel in the center. If you treat every blade as if it's laminated, you'll always be treating it right! •When adjusting tangs, make sure you don't quench it when you're done! Allow it to air-cool with a wet rag over the edge at the heel to fend off the spread of the heat. Using either an induction heater (many mechanics have them) or an oxy-acetylene torch is preferred, as they put the heat more where you want it and in less time, which minimizes the spread of the heat. Some older laminated blades with relatively thin tangs can actually be bent cold without too much effort, which eliminates the possibility of drawing the temper out of the edge at the heel entirely! The old guideline of the edge elevation you want is about a finger's thickness off the ground when in your active mowing stance.
Something funny: of all the first videos you put out(a lot of them) you never said a word. Always just action - no words. Now, watching you give tutorials is a little strange. But in a good way! Enjoyed this video, I’m 74 years old and never saw or heard anything about the use & purpose of the scythe. Good job and I hope it doesn’t die out like a lot of old tools have. The people who created those old tools knew a whole lot about “purpose” of tools and not just how to get out of work.
Great tutorial. I bought an Austrian scythe a couple years ago and was clueless about how to use it and found it difficult. It did come with a canoe hone. So I'll work on sharpening and stance, attack, etcetera and see if I do better. Thank you!
I'll admit, one of the main reasons why I liked your videos was the lack of talking. That being said. You are very well spoken, an excellent presenter, and I feel I learned everything you tried to teach. Thank you.
I'm brazilian, and already starting tô use a scythe to cut my grassa in The yard, and i find your video so nice to understand so many things about that process. Thanks for that, and made more of this kind of videos!
WOW! A week or so ago, I watched your video of you clearing the hay in your new orchard and I commented my difficulties in setting up my scythe. You were so good to give me a detailed reply full of excellent suggestions! Every idea you gave me is in this video and so much more! It is jam PACKED with useful information. I will get that sweet baby dialed in yet! Thank you!
Yesterday, I mowed about a third of a hectare with an old weed-eater. Eventually I ripped the pull cord spring (I think) and decided to finish the job with the scythe that my father gave me when I got my piece of land. As far as I know, he inherited the tool with his farm. I had replaced the blade and the nib over the years, but the snath was the same old straight piece of wood, bleached and very light, like driftwood. The single nib broke off the snath before I finished mowing. Guess which tool I repaired. Thanks for videos, the new format of you sharing knowledge is enjoyable and valuable.
Great video for posterity. I still have an American scythe and a collection of blades I used for quietly cutting overgrown weeds at the church I attended many years ago.
I have an American scythe, but couldn’t cut well with it. I thought about peening the blade, which would have been a mistake. I think I need to bend the tang to get the angle right for cutting grass. Great to have the proper body mechanics explained. thank you.
This feels like one of those invaluable historical reenactments that should be preserved in an archive. Incredibly informative and well presented. I just came across an American scythe much like yours and will be adopting your instructions as I bring it into use. Thank you.
I already knew you could talk. I remember you sharpening saw blades. This was your usual top-notch content. Thanks, Josh. Your vids always lower my blood pressure. lol
I, as a what, decade long watcher of Mr Chickadee am for one, shocked to hear him speak in his video and even more Shocked, that this came out three years ago and I haven’t until now seen it….the first time I heard him speak was on I think chop with chris’s interview, where I learned that all these years I’d been watching not knowing there were subtitles….🤦♂️
Thank you heeps some of us younger generation have no one left alive to learn this stuff from guys like you keep the knowledge alive and being passed on keep up the great work you're making great great great grandpas proud🖒
New subscriber property and American Scythe owner !Went no mow May last month for pollinators valuable prey insects and now time to incrementally cut portions of my lawn that do not contain flowering plants Thnx for the valuable info here !
Thank you Mr. chickadee!!! I am 58yrs old and have an American Scythe. It was passed down to me. My father was somewhat talented with tools (but) had no idea how to get an edge good enough to justify using this tool.It hung on a wall for 50 yrs. 👍 Knowledge is power!! I will get at it and most importantly pass on the knowledge with the tool
Very nice and thorough tutorial! We are looking to bring scythes into our store and try to help our customers see this may be a better alternative to a weed wacker. Better than gas or battery power!
We had them in my grandfather's hardware store, both scythes and snaths. Everyone wanted to try one, but we'd only sell a few blades per year, usually 20" for brush and weeds..... 😎✌️
one of the reasons why European scythe blades are soft-steel, is that European grasses are less thick and stubborn. You will notice this too on the blades on lawn mowers, which are thicker steel in the US than in Europe. Blessings from Belgium. Great fan of your channels, even if you speak aloud ;)
I just found a vintage Derby & Ball scythe to use in my orchard. Yours is the first good video on the American scythe. Really appreciate you! Apparently sometimes the old ways are still the best...
Yes! Your instructional videos are the best around! I have an old scythe blade from my grandparents that I’ve wanted to fix up and get working. I’ve been neglecting to do anything due to lack of knowledge. No excuses now.
Thank you for teaching ❤️ about the American scythe and well it work.I am looking forward to owning and using one of these for cutting our lawn. I have to close the windows when my husband cut the grass because of the noise and smell. Thank you for sharing this 🙏 awesome 👌 👏 👍 tutorial video.
I started using an american scythe as something fun to teach myself 3 or 4 years ago and i basically had to learn everything with trial and error because the knowledge is very rare, alot of people won't realize just how valuable these videos are because they give proper technical explanations of how and why the tool works the way it does. I am glad i found this!
pretty amazing how knowledge gets lost, especially considering the hundreds of thousands of these in use before, literally every farm or house in the country would have used one
Okay now that makes sense! I always woundering why the Tang was straight on some blades and bent on others now I can set them up right. Thanks for that!
I have a riding mower, a weed eater, and an edger; I prefer to use my scythe. I’ve been mowing for two years and have encountered the struggles you mentioned with using the tool. Thanks for the helpful information. God bless.
As always, an excellent video. Thank you. Don't know if anyone already told this but in the northern Europe (Sweden in my case) the traditional scythe is the same as the one you call the American style scythe. Its a hard steel core for the edge, forged with softer steel for the rest of the blade. At flee markets and yard sales and such, you only see this type of scythe in Sweden. I don't think the softer steel type blade have ever been much used in our area of Europe. In my view its a central European thing.
Sweden is actually one of the few places in the world where both styles were manufactured in the same factory! Igelfors Liefabrik was a major scythe manufacturer in Sweden and they produced various laminated Nordic and American pattern blades (both for domestic use and for export to the USA) but also made some continental European-style knacklie (peened blades) in the same factory! I actually finally got my hands on an example of such just recently. American, English, and Nordic traditional patterns all follow the high-hardness approach to prioritized design.
Thanks Mr. C for this video. I found a scythe in my barn when I purchased my home nearly ten years ago and wanted to try to use the scythe but could not figure out how to use it. With your excellent video I will give a try again. Thank you.
Love it. I use an Austrian style scythe. I've several different blades for various tasks. I do have to hone often. And peen once every 6 to 8 hours of use. One tip you didn't mention, and new scythe users often don't learn right away is how much grass to cut with each stroke. Too much and the blade binds. Too little, and the efficiency goes down. Most strokes are only cutting 25mm. The advantage is the swath is over 2 meters. Sometimes 2.5 meters. That winds up being a lot of material in you windrow. Of course taking a little more or less depending on the lay of the grass. Thanks for the video.
My neighbor is moving and set a scythe out at the curb for free. It’s like I hit the lottery. Thanks for teaching me how to get it tuned up. I’m excited to use it in the coming weeks to cut down my winter rye cover crop.
I found one of these over the weekend and noticed that the blade angle wasnt quite what i was expecting for what i had in mind. Glad to see theres actually a reason for that!
Thank you for this video! Great information! The strange thing is your timing couldn't have been more perfect. My wife acquired an American style grass blade a while ago and just this week we were talking getting a snath and setting it up to use. Thanks again! This will be added to my favorites.
Thank you so much. That was about the most information packed few minutes I have encountered in a long time. Like you say there was so little information written down and Grandpa just assumed everybody knew it. This was great.
you say you were just too stubborn to give up, well for someone to engage with hand tools on the level you have you have to posses a given determination. respect sir!
Great tutorial! Several years ago I acquired a grass cutting and weed cutting scythes along with an extra snath. They sharpened beautifully and are so fun and meditative to use. When our mower was on the fritz (carb needed cleaning) I made quick work of a long grassy area and later when I had to quickly clear another area behind our house for some maintenance and the string on my trimmer kept breaking I finally had enough and grabbed the scythe with the weed cutting blade and once again couldn't believe how fast and easy it worked. I haven't gone back to the string trimmer since.
I've worked with many hand tools for years but hardly knew a thing about this tool but tried. So now I know and I Thank You Kindly Mr. Chickadee! When I watched you ,owing the orchard it looked so relaxing I the rhythm and the sound of a good cutting tool. Such a noisy world in some places. All those ancient and lovely sounds replaced by loud motors. So much lost and missed. It's like listening to a wood thrush as opposed to a semi on the interstate. Did hear the thrush in your orchard video. Love, Light and Peace to You and your Family! DaveyJO in Pa.
Wow takes me back. My dad had an aluminum handle (probably 60s/70s) he would go to work and I would play with all the stuff on the acreage basically taught myself how by trial an error. I never had a real stone just old Nicholson files. It had the American style grass blade ~30” if I remember right. Great childhood days spent outdoors. Thanks Mr Chickadee.
I have been looking at scythes for about 18 months now and almost purchased a European style with a peen blade. Glad I waited because I don't think that style would work with a native Central Texas homestead. I like your approach to learning and doing - it's always been the natural way to do things for myself. Your videos have taught me a lot - thanks.
This was great information. I’m harvesting hay this year with my Austrian blade and snath and have been struggling a little so now wondering if my angles and handles are off a little. My neighbor gave me an old American scythe a few years ago and It’s been sitting in my greenhouse ever since because I didn’t know how to adjust it or even how to sharpen it. This has inspired me and I’m planning to tune it up and see if I can unlock the rusty components. Thanks much!
I've been scything about 2 years now. No more carburetors. I've got an American blade I'd read was peenable and have tried peening it for countless hours without much success but just the other day I took it to the grindstone (belt) and got the best cut yet! Thank you for sharing this information! I've already got more straw and hay that I know what to do with but now I will spend less energy making it!
Best video on the topic. I have tried using one once, but couldn't cut anything because the tang needed to be bent like you said. Your tutoring has been very helpful. Thank you!
Just got my first scythe and I couldn't figure out why it didn't do anything! After watching this video I managed to set it up correctly - properly sharpened, angled and adjusted the handles for my height. Now it's alive! Trimmed the back yard in a few minutes. Thanks, much appreciated.
You hit the nail on the head when talking about why I have a European scythe. I love using it. Great tool. My American snath is too heavy and the blade is also weighty and bit bent. All I could find was a European one when I wanted one. So I learned to use it and love to do so. It's almost completely replaced my weed whip and has replaced my push mower. I do still have a zero turn for the big lawn though.
Excellent turorial. I never knew there were different types of scythe blades, light duty/heavy duty, it makes perfect sense. Loved the spud trick, when you done just top it off with a little sure cream and chives.
HI there from NZ. Thank you for an incredibly helpful video. I learned so much. I am going to check the setup of my scythe. I will go and buy a boat honing stone now. I learned to use one as a boy but did not learn how to set them up. You are right about a lot of the knowledge not being written down. My Step Father use to scythe grass along roadsides to get fresh grass for his racing horses. We would wrap the grass in a Jute sack and carry it back to the very happy horses. I like old hand tools. I'm working on a Scythe, Sickle, Slasher and Shears....all 'S' tools.
Another nice thing about a scythe. In a suburban setting they are very neighbor friendly. No waking up the neighbors early in the morning to cut the lawn. I will admit I do get some strange looks from the neighbors when I pull a scythe out. But hey, it works and is fairly cheap to operate.
As a great fan of the sounds on Mr. Chickadee, I wouldn't have minded more scythe grass cutting, well mic'd, of course. Nice to hear your voice, I suppose I should add.
I have some old scythe blades I inherited without the snaths. I was looking to make handles for them and use them. This video was particularly useful as the tangs are straight. Got my subscription, thanks!
As a kid there was always a scythe in the shed. Mom or dad had gotten it from their parents or grandparents. I never did see it used, had tried it myself, but didn't even know how to hold the thing. I thought you pulled not pushed, if that makes any sense. I wish I had it now, I might be able to use it. Great tutorial.
The chalkboard graphics helped me understand what you explained. Thank you for that extra bit of visual teaching. I have done auger bits that I'd like to you with my braces. If you could do a tutorial on how to sharpen them, it would help me get started.
I'd love a tutorial on sharpening auger bits. Just found a whole wooden tray of them (approx 35 bits) at the flea-market last weekend for my choice of $1 each or $10 US for the whole tray (tray and all), so if course I took the whole tray. Would love a good tutorial on how to sharpen them.
Thank you for this. I bought an American style scythe, on ebay, and was getting discouraged because I could not get a proper edge on the blade. You fixed that. I plan on cutting much of my property with it. Keep up the great work.
Thank you so much: a very instructive video! Here in north-eastern Italy instead of using a curved handle, we use a straight one, but to obtain a comfortable position we add a stem to the right-hand grip. And yes, we use the "austrian" or continental blade, and we have a sort of portable anvil to beat the blade in the field when it's needed.
A great and timely tutorial. I have an American scythe but sharpening and setup was what I needed. Thanks for explaining the processes. I'll be trying my hand at mowing the longish wet grass of my suburban yard not disturbing my neighbors on a Sunday morning.
This knowledge is priceless, thank you for uploading something like this. A tutorial like this can be watched in a 100 years time by someones great grandchild from today and it’ll still be useful. Think how much knowledge has been lost because no one was able to write it down or show how it was done. Thank you!
My Grandparents had an American scythe. It had a serrated blade. Very easy to sharpen & cut very evenly (no weird lines in the grass). It also got the weeds under the fence without tons of fuss.
Thank you for the video Josh! I've started using my grandfather's old scythe here on our homestead. Your tips are very helpful! As for other tutorial videos, I would appreciate a chisel and slick tutorial video. Thanks again!👍
Hi Mister, thx for your great content. I use an Austrian style scythe since 5 years to cut gras for horses on a daily basis during grasing period (where i live this means from may to begin of october). Indeed there is a steep learning curve at the beginning but all advantages you mentioned are worth doing it. I have one additon: the angle between the handle and the blade is imho of importance. If it is incorrect you will never get a clean cut and there will be either at the begin or at the end of the sweep some gras remaining. Besides that you wont end up with the gras lying in a nice row (here we call this row "Schwad"). Greatings from Franconia and keep up your fantastic work.
Awesome! Very useful content, I learned a lot. I use a scythe for cleaning out ditches that a lawnmower is way too dangerous to take into. It's great to have a quiet, efficient tool for this.
We had difficulty also in the beginning but once every thing was adjusted & sharp you know it. Now i'm up to 5 scythes & mow a little every morning. Fun! "Cigar" stone works very well also. Found on e-bay from UK
Great information! I have used a scythe for two years now to cut hay for my small herd of goats. I started with one I found in my father in law's shop. After "restoring" it and struggling with sharpening the blade I bought a grass blade from baryonyx. This year I bought a European scythe just to see what the difference is. I love them both, but the difference in weight and my increase in acres mowed have made me lazy and so far I have only used the European scythe. My only real problem with the American scythe came from the upper nib, I can't keep it tight so I removed it and use an underhand grip on the top of the snath. Always enjoy your videos, keep up the good work!
Nibs should be resized over a bick anvil or round pipe or bar stock, take them apart, and gently hammer them to open or close the circle of the nib until it will tighten down with gentle hand pressure, shimming is not recommended.
You're becoming the new Roy Underhill. Also I noticed this video has an amazingly high ratio of thumbs up to thumbs down. And that is well deserved praise. Nice job and keep up the great work.
This video is awesome. I had a scythe given to me when I was young, but never once saw someone use it or was taught. I could not understand how one might use it effectively. Growing up in the '90's, the scythe was obviously a distant relic already for most of us. I personally need more technology and convenience than it seems you guys have on your homestead, but there are quite a few things I dont want humanity to forget and some things I want to embrace. Please keep up the good work!
WOW... Exactly what I needed to know. I just picked up a classic American scythe from the farmer down the road. I knew it had potential but you just unlocked its full potential! THANKS!
Fantastic break down. We have 2 acres with animals and want to cut my own hay for them. Just found an American scythe probably from the 50’s or 60’s at an antique store for $35. Thank you for this great tutorial. Now I need to master it.
If memory serves me (that'll be the day), when out in the fields, a farmhand would carry a couple small containers full of grease and sand, as well as a wooden paddle called a strickle. It was vital for keeping the scythe sharp when many acres needed to be mown. The grease would be smeared on the strickle, then the sand applied to the grease, the excess being lightly tapped off.
A mostly English and Nordic practice that was done less and less as good quality scythe stones of varying grits became more readily available. A similar kind of abrasive tool called a "scythe rifle" or sometimes "riffle" used emery grit glued thick on a wooden stick, and was a more durable, manufactured variation on the theme set by strickles. Natural or synthetic stones (once invented!) were the norm for most applications in the latter half of the 19th Century onwards.
Thank you so much. This was a great follow up to the orchard cutting video. I first found your channel when searching for anything videos. You did one a year or so ago. I found a blade (brush blade is my guess) on Ebay and an aluminum snath. Just haven't gotten the sharpening down yet. This helped alot. I get your enjoyment comments. Wearing ear plugs starts to hurt after awhile. Gas engines are noisy and smelly. Expensive too.
Thank you for a fascinating tutorial on how the sythes differ, how they're maintained and used. You're really good at explaining and keeping human history alive.
Thanks, this was very helpful! After keeping an eye out for a weed/bush scythe, I finally came across one today with a flawless snath/nibs for $10. I'm very pleased!
Even though I may never touch a scythe again in my life I know now that when I played around with my Dad’s old Newfie scythe I was definitely not using it any way near correctly. I do know that based on the curved/bent handle that it was an American style scythe. Thanks for the tutorial. It was very enjoyable.
Your demonstration made me laugh out loud. Seeing your manner of dress, choice of tool, and work setting followed by the comment that the tool is so well set that it cuts like a laser beam and that there are no fumes or noise was jarring. We live in a crazy world full of a lot noise. Thanks for sharing what you do.
Thank you for doing another great tutorial, quick but very informative. I inherited a vintage scythe a few years ago, now I am inspired to dig it out, sharpen it and try it out.
I was just given a scythe. Now I know it’s an American scythe with a 30” blade. I’m excited to sharpen and customize the fit for my and my land now. I’m glad you mentioned the reverse threading on the handles (nibs?), now I won’t destroy them.
That is a very eye opening tutorial. I had the chance to try to use one as a teenager, (as my dad insisted) and never got the nack of using it well or proper techniques. But I can see how therapeutic this could be to use in a quiet setting such as you have. Very "Zen" type of chore. Good job.
Fantastic! Just finishing up restoring an old scythe and was excited to see your video so I can make use of it. I love this video format, you are full of info!
Very good information WTG the biggest mistakes people makes using the Scythe is fight em, hack em, or attack mold, Your very correct you want it to fit you, at a standing mold, and do the twist. WORK SMART. Let the forces work for you drag the edge of the blade back to swing again help save the back, knees, arms, shoulder, and neck, Like bowling ~ have fun using it
It's good to see a really comprehensive tutorial on the American scythe. I started with one before buying a european blade (lysbro make) and snath but I really struggled with it because of lack of information on it. It's not like you can't find it but you have to dig pretty deep into forums to find it. The blade I have was in pretty desperate need of repair and it took me quite a while to decide exactly how to restore it. I personally prefer my european scythe, even if it does require a lot of honing, mostly because it has more reach than my American. Since my lawn is pretty big and the scythe is the only thing I cut it with, more reach means let time mowing and less rows so I don't have to rake as much. But definitely the American blade is tougher and I don't have to worry so much about finding a rock or root when I'm clearing something new.
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In 1973 I spent a few months on a small farm in the mountains of West Virginia, where I learned to swing a scythe, cutting our hay field and those of our neighbors. I found it a wonderfully relaxing and contemplative experience - except for the times I found rocks hidden in the hay, and when I mowed over a yellow jacket nest! You brought me back to those days. Thanks so much!
Very informative tutorial! I'm just now beginning to scythe, 06/07/2024 as it seems more practical at this point for me.
Excellent tutorial! It is the best one I have found on RUclips to explain the proper use of a scythe. I had tried my dad’s scythe about 40 years ago and no amount of youthful vim and vigour could make up for the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and I’d not touched a scythe again until this past week. There is a lot more to it than just a blade attached to the end of a stick.
Earlier this week I picked up an old scythe. It has the identical connection type as your Derby and Ball snath. It has a 27-inch Swedish blade that seems like it is going to be ideal for cleaning up around my old apple orchard. I tore it apart, sanded, oiled, scraped and painted it. I tried it out in my back yard lawn at home this evening… I think my present skills will be good enough for the apple orchard… but I will need a few hours more practice in the backyard before I tackle the front lawn.
I understand from your video that the Derby and Ball connection can be used to swing the blade in or out. If you ever do a follow up scythe tutorial a good topic to cover might be a demo of when you would want to do this.
In the meantime, thanks again for the video. I’ve watched it probably a half dozen times so far and will likely come back to it a few more times as I start to gain some experience with it. Cheers from the east coast of Canada. JV
Excellent video, and thanks for the shout-out! A few minor additional notes:
•The blade you identified as a Western weight blade is actually a Dutch heel blade. Western weight blades are the same idea, but they're about as wide and heavy as weed blades are, but they're grass blade length. This was because as settlers moved west they had more wild and ungroomed growth to deal with, and they needed a heavier and wider blade to pass through the thick and resistant stalks with ease. The long blade you have is a New England pattern, being narrow along its full length, and better suited to well-groomed fields where the broad heel is unnecessary.
•When shaving down snaths, the shaft of the snath should taper continuously from one end to the other and be a good true round shape. Often one will find them in oval cross section due to cost-cutting measures in manufacturing, but you can't properly adjust the nibs' rotation if the shaft isn't properly round! After shaving the snath down you'll need to re-shape the bands to be a snug fit again. There should be space in the top of the nib iron's loop for it to cinch down when tightening the grip, and it should be a fairly snug fit on the shaft of the snath *before* tightening the grip down.
•Grinding points you can buy at the hardware store are often formulated with an emphasis on holding their shape rather than cutting cool. They're usually used for grinding welds or auto body panels, where there's no heat treatment to ruin. There are cool-cutting grinding points out there, but you'll have a somewhat hard time finding them sold by the piece since they're usually sold to industry rather than as consumer tools. If unable to track a suitable model down, the type A3 resin-bonded grinding points I was able to source for my shop are specifically made to cut cool on thin sections of heat treated steel. The apex of a scythe edge is foil-thin and the higher friction of common hardware store grinding points is more likely to cause flash-heating at the edge.
•Many antique blades are laminated, so it's best practice to make sure that blades are ground evenly on both sides. Otherwise you can end up with the edge comprised of the soft cladding iron instead of the hard steel in the center. If you treat every blade as if it's laminated, you'll always be treating it right!
•When adjusting tangs, make sure you don't quench it when you're done! Allow it to air-cool with a wet rag over the edge at the heel to fend off the spread of the heat. Using either an induction heater (many mechanics have them) or an oxy-acetylene torch is preferred, as they put the heat more where you want it and in less time, which minimizes the spread of the heat. Some older laminated blades with relatively thin tangs can actually be bent cold without too much effort, which eliminates the possibility of drawing the temper out of the edge at the heel entirely! The old guideline of the edge elevation you want is about a finger's thickness off the ground when in your active mowing stance.
Something funny: of all the first videos you put out(a lot of them) you never said a word. Always just action - no words. Now, watching you give tutorials is a little strange. But in a good way! Enjoyed this video, I’m 74 years old and never saw or heard anything about the use & purpose of the scythe. Good job and I hope it doesn’t die out like a lot of old tools have. The people who created those old tools knew a whole lot about “purpose” of tools and not just how to get out of work.
Great tutorial. I bought an Austrian scythe a couple years ago and was clueless about how to use it and found it difficult. It did come with a canoe hone. So I'll work on sharpening and stance, attack, etcetera and see if I do better. Thank you!
I'll admit, one of the main reasons why I liked your videos was the lack of talking.
That being said. You are very well spoken, an excellent presenter, and I feel I learned everything you tried to teach.
Thank you.
Same here, and when talking is required, he does do that well also, doesn't he? I'm in total agreement.
I'm brazilian, and already starting tô use a scythe to cut my grassa in The yard, and i find your video so nice to understand so many things about that process.
Thanks for that, and made more of this kind of videos!
WOW! A week or so ago, I watched your video of you clearing the hay in your new orchard and I commented my difficulties in setting up my scythe. You were so good to give me a detailed reply full of excellent suggestions! Every idea you gave me is in this video and so much more! It is jam PACKED with useful information. I will get that sweet baby dialed in yet! Thank you!
Yesterday, I mowed about a third of a hectare with an old weed-eater. Eventually I ripped the pull cord spring (I think) and decided to finish the job with the scythe that my father gave me when I got my piece of land. As far as I know, he inherited the tool with his farm. I had replaced the blade and the nib over the years, but the snath was the same old straight piece of wood, bleached and very light, like driftwood. The single nib broke off the snath before I finished mowing. Guess which tool I repaired.
Thanks for videos, the new format of you sharing knowledge is enjoyable and valuable.
Great video for posterity. I still have an American scythe and a collection of blades I used for quietly cutting overgrown weeds at the church I attended many years ago.
I love the idea of keeping old technology alive this way!
Mr Chickadee speaks for the second time , first I remember is while giving an interview about sharpening the giant saw... that was wonderful.
I have an American scythe, but couldn’t cut well with it. I thought about peening the blade, which would have been a mistake. I think I need to bend the tang to get the angle right for cutting grass. Great to have the proper body mechanics explained. thank you.
Don't know if I'm ever gonna use a scythe, but it still was a pleasure to watch your tutorial!
If not best tutorial on RUclips of maybe anywhere else.Concentrated info on virtually everything there is to know
this guy knows what he is talking about ... respect for understanding this art
This feels like one of those invaluable historical reenactments that should be preserved in an archive. Incredibly informative and well presented. I just came across an American scythe much like yours and will be adopting your instructions as I bring it into use. Thank you.
I already knew you could talk. I remember you sharpening saw blades. This was your usual top-notch content. Thanks, Josh. Your vids always lower my blood pressure. lol
tool tutorials in general would be very cool hewing axes, hand planes, saws, any of the classic traditional tools would be fun to learn about.
I second this. Your tool upkeep is second to none that I have seen. Always deadly sharp and ready to cut into something nicely.
i have been working with my grandpaws scythe for several years trying to learn how to use it. this is the best tutorial i have seen so far. thank you.
Great to hear!
I, as a what, decade long watcher of Mr Chickadee am for one, shocked to hear him speak in his video and even more
Shocked, that this came out three years ago and I haven’t until now seen it….the first time I heard him speak was on I think chop with chris’s interview, where I learned that all these years I’d been watching not knowing there were subtitles….🤦♂️
Thank you heeps some of us younger generation have no one left alive to learn this stuff from guys like you keep the knowledge alive and being passed on keep up the great work you're making great great great grandpas proud🖒
New subscriber property and American Scythe owner !Went no mow May last month for pollinators valuable prey insects and now time to incrementally cut portions of my lawn that do not contain flowering plants Thnx for the valuable info here !
I absolutely love that this video is now on the wide web
Thank you Mr. chickadee!!! I am 58yrs old and have an American Scythe. It was passed down to me. My father was somewhat talented with tools (but) had no idea how to get an edge good enough to justify using this tool.It hung on a wall for 50 yrs. 👍 Knowledge is power!! I will get at it and most importantly pass on the knowledge with the tool
Very nice and thorough tutorial! We are looking to bring scythes into our store and try to help our customers see this may be a better alternative to a weed wacker. Better than gas or battery power!
We had them in my grandfather's hardware store, both scythes and snaths. Everyone wanted to try one, but we'd only sell a few blades per year, usually 20" for brush and weeds..... 😎✌️
one of the reasons why European scythe blades are soft-steel, is that European grasses are less thick and stubborn. You will notice this too on the blades on lawn mowers, which are thicker steel in the US than in Europe. Blessings from Belgium. Great fan of your channels, even if you speak aloud ;)
Glad to hear good coverage about American scythe. All I been hearing about is Austrian/European scythe. Thank you.
I just found a vintage Derby & Ball scythe to use in my orchard. Yours is the first good video on the American scythe. Really appreciate you! Apparently sometimes the old ways are still the best...
my grandfather loved to scythe . i will sharpen his and give it a try
Thank you for remembering the old ways and teaching us what we surely need to know
Yes! Your instructional videos are the best around! I have an old scythe blade from my grandparents that I’ve wanted to fix up and get working. I’ve been neglecting to do anything due to lack of knowledge. No excuses now.
Thank you for teaching ❤️ about the American scythe and well it work.I am looking forward to owning and using one of these for cutting our lawn. I have to close the windows when my husband cut the grass because of the noise and smell.
Thank you for sharing this 🙏 awesome 👌 👏 👍 tutorial video.
Glad it was helpful!
I started using an american scythe as something fun to teach myself 3 or 4 years ago and i basically had to learn everything with trial and error because the knowledge is very rare, alot of people won't realize just how valuable these videos are because they give proper technical explanations of how and why the tool works the way it does. I am glad i found this!
pretty amazing how knowledge gets lost, especially considering the hundreds of thousands of these in use before, literally every farm or house in the country would have used one
Okay now that makes sense! I always woundering why the Tang was straight on some blades and bent on others now I can set them up right. Thanks for that!
Hey thanks buddy, very helpful…I was worried the scythe I bought today was a dud…didn’t know what all I needed to do to it
I have a riding mower, a weed eater, and an edger; I prefer to use my scythe. I’ve been mowing for two years and have encountered the struggles you mentioned with using the tool. Thanks for the helpful information. God bless.
nice to to hear my Country mentioned on your channel.
Cheers from Vienna/Austria
As always, an excellent video. Thank you.
Don't know if anyone already told this but in the northern Europe (Sweden in my case) the traditional scythe is the same as the one you call the American style scythe. Its a hard steel core for the edge, forged with softer steel for the rest of the blade. At flee markets and yard sales and such, you only see this type of scythe in Sweden. I don't think the softer steel type blade have ever been much used in our area of Europe. In my view its a central European thing.
Sweden is actually one of the few places in the world where both styles were manufactured in the same factory! Igelfors Liefabrik was a major scythe manufacturer in Sweden and they produced various laminated Nordic and American pattern blades (both for domestic use and for export to the USA) but also made some continental European-style knacklie (peened blades) in the same factory! I actually finally got my hands on an example of such just recently. American, English, and Nordic traditional patterns all follow the high-hardness approach to prioritized design.
Thanks Mr. C for this video. I found a scythe in my barn when I purchased my home nearly ten years ago and wanted to try to use the scythe but could not figure out how to use it. With your excellent video I will give a try again. Thank you.
Love it. I use an Austrian style scythe. I've several different blades for various tasks. I do have to hone often. And peen once every 6 to 8 hours of use.
One tip you didn't mention, and new scythe users often don't learn right away is how much grass to cut with each stroke. Too much and the blade binds. Too little, and the efficiency goes down. Most strokes are only cutting 25mm. The advantage is the swath is over 2 meters. Sometimes 2.5 meters. That winds up being a lot of material in you windrow. Of course taking a little more or less depending on the lay of the grass.
Thanks for the video.
Very true, I guess I felt this was something everyone will see as they go! ;)
My neighbor is moving and set a scythe out at the curb for free. It’s like I hit the lottery. Thanks for teaching me how to get it tuned up. I’m excited to use it in the coming weeks to cut down my winter rye cover crop.
I found one of these over the weekend and noticed that the blade angle wasnt quite what i was expecting for what i had in mind. Glad to see theres actually a reason for that!
This is one of the most comprehensive videos I've seen on it!
Thank you for this video! Great information! The strange thing is your timing couldn't have been more perfect. My wife acquired an American style grass blade a while ago and just this week we were talking getting a snath and setting it up to use. Thanks again! This will be added to my favorites.
That is awesome!
Thank you so much. That was about the most information packed few minutes I have encountered in a long time. Like you say there was so little information written down and Grandpa just assumed everybody knew it. This was great.
you say you were just too stubborn to give up, well for someone to engage with hand tools on the level you have you have to posses a given determination. respect sir!
I am glad that you mentioned fumes as that is what I do not like about lawn mowers and chain saws.
Great tutorial! Several years ago I acquired a grass cutting and weed cutting scythes along with an extra snath. They sharpened beautifully and are so fun and meditative to use. When our mower was on the fritz (carb needed cleaning) I made quick work of a long grassy area and later when I had to quickly clear another area behind our house for some maintenance and the string on my trimmer kept breaking I finally had enough and grabbed the scythe with the weed cutting blade and once again couldn't believe how fast and easy it worked. I haven't gone back to the string trimmer since.
I've worked with many hand tools for years but hardly knew a thing about this tool but tried. So now I know and I Thank You Kindly Mr. Chickadee! When I watched you ,owing the orchard it looked so relaxing I the rhythm and the sound of a good cutting tool. Such a noisy world in some places. All those ancient and lovely sounds replaced by loud motors. So much lost and missed. It's like listening to a wood thrush as opposed to a semi on the interstate. Did hear the thrush in your orchard video. Love, Light and Peace to You and your Family! DaveyJO in Pa.
Wow takes me back. My dad had an aluminum handle (probably 60s/70s) he would go to work and I would play with all the stuff on the acreage basically taught myself how by trial an error. I never had a real stone just old Nicholson files. It had the American style grass blade ~30” if I remember right. Great childhood days spent outdoors. Thanks Mr Chickadee.
I have been looking at scythes for about 18 months now and almost purchased a European style with a peen blade. Glad I waited because I don't think that style would work with a native Central Texas homestead. I like your approach to learning and doing - it's always been the natural way to do things for myself. Your videos have taught me a lot - thanks.
This was great information. I’m harvesting hay this year with my Austrian blade and snath and have been struggling a little so now wondering if my angles and handles are off a little. My neighbor gave me an old American scythe a few years ago and It’s been sitting in my greenhouse ever since because I didn’t know how to adjust it or even how to sharpen it. This has inspired me and I’m planning to tune it up and see if I can unlock the rusty components. Thanks much!
Hope you got it going by now! Awesome tools once you get a little practice! 😎✌️
Best tutorial I have found on the American scythe. Thank you
So glad you are trying to keep this alive, along with hand tools for woodworking. (I'm a hand tool woodworker myself) love all your videos
Right on
I've been scything about 2 years now. No more carburetors. I've got an American blade I'd read was peenable and have tried peening it for countless hours without much success but just the other day I took it to the grindstone (belt) and got the best cut yet! Thank you for sharing this information! I've already got more straw and hay that I know what to do with but now I will spend less energy making it!
Best video on the topic. I have tried using one once, but couldn't cut anything because the tang needed to be bent like you said. Your tutoring has been very helpful. Thank you!
Just got my first scythe and I couldn't figure out why it didn't do anything! After watching this video I managed to set it up correctly - properly sharpened, angled and adjusted the handles for my height. Now it's alive! Trimmed the back yard in a few minutes. Thanks, much appreciated.
I’ve dug up a lot of these metal detecting near the railroad tracks
You hit the nail on the head when talking about why I have a European scythe. I love using it. Great tool. My American snath is too heavy and the blade is also weighty and bit bent. All I could find was a European one when I wanted one. So I learned to use it and love to do so. It's almost completely replaced my weed whip and has replaced my push mower. I do still have a zero turn for the big lawn though.
Excellent turorial. I never knew there were different types of scythe blades, light duty/heavy duty, it makes perfect sense. Loved the spud trick, when you done just top it off with a little sure cream and chives.
Right on
HI there from NZ. Thank you for an incredibly helpful video. I learned so much. I am going to check the setup of my scythe. I will go and buy a boat honing stone now. I learned to use one as a boy but did not learn how to set them up. You are right about a lot of the knowledge not being written down. My Step Father use to scythe grass along roadsides to get fresh grass for his racing horses. We would wrap the grass in a Jute sack and carry it back to the very happy horses. I like old hand tools. I'm working on a Scythe, Sickle, Slasher and Shears....all 'S' tools.
Another nice thing about a scythe. In a suburban setting they are very neighbor friendly. No waking up the neighbors early in the morning to cut the lawn. I will admit I do get some strange looks from the neighbors when I pull a scythe out. But hey, it works and is fairly cheap to operate.
As a great fan of the sounds on Mr. Chickadee, I wouldn't have minded more scythe grass cutting, well mic'd, of course. Nice to hear your voice, I suppose I should add.
I have some old scythe blades I inherited without the snaths. I was looking to make handles for them and use them. This video was particularly useful as the tangs are straight. Got my subscription, thanks!
As a kid there was always a scythe in the shed. Mom or dad had gotten it from their parents or grandparents. I never did see it used, had tried it myself, but didn't even know how to hold the thing. I thought you pulled not pushed, if that makes any sense. I wish I had it now, I might be able to use it.
Great tutorial.
The chalkboard graphics helped me understand what you explained. Thank you for that extra bit of visual teaching. I have done auger bits that I'd like to you with my braces. If you could do a tutorial on how to sharpen them, it would help me get started.
I'd love a tutorial on sharpening auger bits. Just found a whole wooden tray of them (approx 35 bits) at the flea-market last weekend for my choice of $1 each or $10 US for the whole tray (tray and all), so if course I took the whole tray. Would love a good tutorial on how to sharpen them.
Thank you for this. I bought an American style scythe, on ebay, and was getting discouraged because I could not get a proper edge on the blade. You fixed that. I plan on cutting much of my property with it. Keep up the great work.
Excellent!
Thank you so much: a very instructive video! Here in north-eastern Italy instead of using a curved handle, we use a straight one, but to obtain a comfortable position we add a stem to the right-hand grip. And yes, we use the "austrian" or continental blade, and we have a sort of portable anvil to beat the blade in the field when it's needed.
A great and timely tutorial. I have an American scythe but sharpening and setup was what I needed. Thanks for explaining the processes. I'll be trying my hand at mowing the longish wet grass of my suburban yard not disturbing my neighbors on a Sunday morning.
This knowledge is priceless, thank you for uploading something like this. A tutorial like this can be watched in a 100 years time by someones great grandchild from today and it’ll still be useful. Think how much knowledge has been lost because no one was able to write it down or show how it was done. Thank you!
Used the American-style for years. Very handy tool.
My Grandparents had an American scythe. It had a serrated blade. Very easy to sharpen & cut very evenly (no weird lines in the grass). It also got the weeds under the fence without tons of fuss.
O! By "easy" to sharpen, it just took a round file in the back pocket so you could have it handy if say a rock got hit.
Thank you for the video Josh! I've started using my grandfather's old scythe here on our homestead. Your tips are very helpful!
As for other tutorial videos, I would appreciate a chisel and slick tutorial video. Thanks again!👍
Hi Mister,
thx for your great content. I use an Austrian style scythe since 5 years to cut gras for horses on a daily basis during grasing period (where i live this means from may to begin of october). Indeed there is a steep learning curve at the beginning but all advantages you mentioned are worth doing it.
I have one additon: the angle between the handle and the blade is imho of importance. If it is incorrect you will never get a clean cut and there will be either at the begin or at the end of the sweep some gras remaining. Besides that you wont end up with the gras lying in a nice row (here we call this row "Schwad").
Greatings from Franconia and keep up your fantastic work.
Schwad has an English cognate. The English term for the same thing is "Swath."
The first time after all the videos that I've ever heard your voice wow! It suits your demeanor well saidl sir strong and intelligent 😊
Awesome! Very useful content, I learned a lot. I use a scythe for cleaning out ditches that a lawnmower is way too dangerous to take into. It's great to have a quiet, efficient tool for this.
We had difficulty also in the beginning but once every thing was adjusted & sharp you know it. Now i'm up to 5 scythes & mow a little every morning. Fun! "Cigar" stone works very well also. Found on e-bay from UK
Great information! I have used a scythe for two years now to cut hay for my small herd of goats. I started with one I found in my father in law's shop. After "restoring" it and struggling with sharpening the blade I bought a grass blade from baryonyx.
This year I bought a European scythe just to see what the difference is. I love them both, but the difference in weight and my increase in acres mowed have made me lazy and so far I have only used the European scythe.
My only real problem with the American scythe came from the upper nib, I can't keep it tight so I removed it and use an underhand grip on the top of the snath.
Always enjoy your videos, keep up the good work!
A thin strip of leather under the nib may help to keep it tight -- it's what works for me anyway.
Nibs should be resized over a bick anvil or round pipe or bar stock, take them apart, and gently hammer them to open or close the circle of the nib until it will tighten down with gentle hand pressure, shimming is not recommended.
You're becoming the new Roy Underhill. Also I noticed this video has an amazingly high ratio of thumbs up to thumbs down. And that is well deserved praise. Nice job and keep up the great work.
This video is awesome. I had a scythe given to me when I was young, but never once saw someone use it or was taught. I could not understand how one might use it effectively. Growing up in the '90's, the scythe was obviously a distant relic already for most of us.
I personally need more technology and convenience than it seems you guys have on your homestead, but there are quite a few things I dont want humanity to forget and some things I want to embrace. Please keep up the good work!
WOW... Exactly what I needed to know. I just picked up a classic American scythe from the farmer down the road. I knew it had potential but you just unlocked its full potential! THANKS!
Fantastic break down. We have 2 acres with animals and want to cut my own hay for them. Just found an American scythe probably from the 50’s or 60’s at an antique store for $35. Thank you for this great tutorial. Now I need to master it.
Good luck!
If memory serves me (that'll be the day), when out in the fields, a farmhand would carry a couple small containers full of grease and sand, as well as a wooden paddle called a strickle. It was vital for keeping the scythe sharp when many acres needed to be mown. The grease would be smeared on the strickle, then the sand applied to the grease, the excess being lightly tapped off.
A mostly English and Nordic practice that was done less and less as good quality scythe stones of varying grits became more readily available. A similar kind of abrasive tool called a "scythe rifle" or sometimes "riffle" used emery grit glued thick on a wooden stick, and was a more durable, manufactured variation on the theme set by strickles. Natural or synthetic stones (once invented!) were the norm for most applications in the latter half of the 19th Century onwards.
Thank you so much.
This was a great follow up to the orchard cutting video. I first found your channel when searching for anything videos. You did one a year or so ago. I found a blade (brush blade is my guess) on Ebay and an aluminum snath. Just haven't gotten the sharpening down yet. This helped alot. I get your enjoyment comments.
Wearing ear plugs starts to hurt after awhile. Gas engines are noisy and smelly. Expensive too.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for a fascinating tutorial on how the sythes differ, how they're maintained and used. You're really good at explaining and keeping human history alive.
Thanks, this was very helpful!
After keeping an eye out for a weed/bush scythe, I finally came across one today with a flawless snath/nibs for $10. I'm very pleased!
Even though I may never touch a scythe again in my life I know now that when I played around with my Dad’s old Newfie scythe I was definitely not using it any way near correctly.
I do know that based on the curved/bent handle that it was an American style scythe.
Thanks for the tutorial. It was very enjoyable.
Your demonstration made me laugh out loud. Seeing your manner of dress, choice of tool, and work setting followed by the comment that the tool is so well set that it cuts like a laser beam and that there are no fumes or noise was jarring. We live in a crazy world full of a lot noise. Thanks for sharing what you do.
i hope historical societies are curating these videos
Thank you for doing another great tutorial, quick but very informative. I inherited a vintage scythe a few years ago, now I am inspired to dig it out, sharpen it and try it out.
I was just given a scythe. Now I know it’s an American scythe with a 30” blade. I’m excited to sharpen and customize the fit for my and my land now. I’m glad you mentioned the reverse threading on the handles (nibs?), now I won’t destroy them.
That is a very eye opening tutorial. I had the chance to try to use one as a teenager, (as my dad insisted) and never got the nack of using it well or proper techniques. But I can see how therapeutic this could be to use in a quiet setting such as you have. Very "Zen" type of chore. Good job.
Glad it was helpful!
A tutorial on hand saws would be great. You seem very skilled in this area. types, proper technique, uses. could turn it into a whole series.
I have a American scythe to restore, your video has been very helpful.
Fantastic! Just finishing up restoring an old scythe and was excited to see your video so I can make use of it. I love this video format, you are full of info!
Very good information WTG the biggest mistakes people makes using the Scythe is fight em, hack em, or attack mold, Your very correct you want it to fit you, at a standing mold, and do the twist. WORK SMART. Let the forces work for you drag the edge of the blade back to swing again help save the back, knees, arms, shoulder, and neck, Like bowling ~ have fun using it
It's good to see a really comprehensive tutorial on the American scythe. I started with one before buying a european blade (lysbro make) and snath but I really struggled with it because of lack of information on it. It's not like you can't find it but you have to dig pretty deep into forums to find it. The blade I have was in pretty desperate need of repair and it took me quite a while to decide exactly how to restore it.
I personally prefer my european scythe, even if it does require a lot of honing, mostly because it has more reach than my American. Since my lawn is pretty big and the scythe is the only thing I cut it with, more reach means let time mowing and less rows so I don't have to rake as much. But definitely the American blade is tougher and I don't have to worry so much about finding a rock or root when I'm clearing something new.
Love the tutorials! I’d honestly like to see tutorials on pretty much everything y’all do.
Noted!