Scythe/Sickle head

[Justin Ludwig]

We lease our land to farmers for cutting hay. I was on a walk-about with the girls this morning and found a surprise leaning up against one of my white oak trees. They must have knocked it loose on the last cut.

Scythe-sickle (1).JPG Scythe-sickle (2).JPG

The blade looks to be stamped metal and welded to a forged neck. I'll be able to tell more after I give it an electrolysis bath. I have no idea of the age but do know that our barn is over 100 and we used to have a school house on our property that only has the remains of a cement well.

[Tom M King]

Nice find! I just Googled scythe handle, and was surprised how readily available they are.

I have one, with a wooden handle that I bought at an auction. A few years ago, all my tractors were broken down at the same time, and I had some Johnson grass I wanted to knock down before it started developing seed heads. It was the first time I had ever used a scythe, and I was surprised how much work you can do with one. I wouldn't want to operate one all day though.

[Justin Ludwig]

I’m going to make a handle for this one. I think it will be a fun project. The bois d’arc I have will outlast the head.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

I used one a lot as a kid. Never had the skill with it I am sure the old guys had, but they are not hard to use. We would have called that a scythe, a sickle being shorter, more sharply curved, and intended for use with one hand. Like many things it helps if they are sharp. The handle is called the “snath” and the old timers would refer to it as a “snath and scythe.”

[Warren Mickley]

What you have is a scythe blade and the collar (ring) that fits on the end of the snath. They are rusted together. The ring secures the blade to the snath. Your ring was riveted to the snath and you can see the rivet, still in place. Apparently someone left the scythe out in the field and the wooden part completely rotted away.

Long after machinery was used for cutting grain and such, sythes were used to "open up" a field of grain, that is cut along the edge to get the equipment started. They were also used for trimming weeds. Your blade is probably mid 20th century.

[Tom M King]

Looking at the curves on the handle, and the size of the piece, it must be exponentially more to it than steam bending chair parts. 50 bucks for a handle looks like a deal. If you're set on making one, I can take pictures, with measurements of mine, if you like. I paid 15 bucks for it at an antique auction, and it it has ever been used by anyone but me, it would surprise me.

[Jim Koepke]

One of mine has a Shapleigh mark on it. Shapleigh changed their mark to Diamond Edge in about 1863.

If that was leaned against the tree and left to the elements you might look around the area for the bolts that hold the handles to the snath.

jtk

[Peter Christensen]

That is a short and heavy scythe meant for light brush cutting rather than grain or hay. The ones used for grain/hay are longer and come to a point, the width of the blade at the base being 3 or 4 inches wide.

[Tom M King]

Mine is one of the longer, more pointed ones, so the handle might not be exactly right for that one. Mine works great for a full, max range of motion swing.

[Tom M King]

Just like everything else, there are a bunch of youtube videos on anything to do with making snaths, and using scythes.

[Lee Schierer]

That is a short scythe blade. I have one that belonged to my Grandfather that has a much longer blade. When I was 20 years old, my parents purchased a retirement home. I visited them and was helping my Dad cut down the weed growth so we could use a mower. By 80+ year old grand father was also there. He showed me how to use a scythe. My Dad and I would take turns. It we let the scythe sit idle for more than a few seconds, my Grand Father would pick it up and start working. He cut a lot faster and more even than we did. We tried to keep him from doing it, but he hardly broke a sweat because he had mastered the technique and used minimum effort to get the weeds cut. I still use mine occasionally when I want to cut tall weeds.

[Justin Ludwig]

Thanks for the replies. I'll ask the gents where they found it and give a closer look.

Tom, if you'd like to go through the trouble I would be much appreciative. I had intended to use the Googles for info on the snath. I have an old swamping head axe that needs a new handle too.

Any recommendations for the handles? I have osage orange, white oak and a newly acquired persimmon that died readily available. Of course, there's endless yellow pine on my land too. I know the OO and WO would work. I'm curious about the persimmon. I know it's hard enough but read that it moves quite a bit seasonally.

[Warren Mickley]

I made a snath from hickory about six years ago to replace the hickory snath on my Marugg scythe. My old snath had poor grain around the handle mortise and actually had a crack there when I got it so it only lasted about 27 years. This snath is more of the Austrian or Swiss design, which doesn't have very much curve in it. The snath on Tom's scythe was probably wildly bent in a way that would require an industrial setting. If you want that kind of snath I would recommend buying an old scythe and fitting it to your blade.

As I said my snath has much less curve to it. There is a very gentle bow along the length with a more pronounced curve right near where the blade is attached. I used a piece of hickory that already had a mild bow to it and I put the very end in a large pot of boiling water to make the strong bend at that point.

I think hickory, ash, and white oak, in that order, would be the best woods, but all you mention would work.

[Tom M King]

I'll try to get some pictures, and measurements today. Warren is right. "Wild" is a good way to describe the bends, and I don't think you could do them with only a steambox for bending chair parts. His method of finding a good bend to start with would be, by far, the simplest way to do it. The bend helps it stay closer to your body, which would be much easier on your back than one with a straight handle you have to hold out in front of you while swinging.

When you first start using one, it's amazing how efficient it is. Cutting Johnson grass with one turns into real work pretty fast though. It's much tougher than hay, or wheat.

[Doug Hepler]

Justin,

I am one who prefers to make rather than buy, but a snath might be an exception. I assume that this will be decorative for you, but if you intend to actually use the scythe very much you need those curves to allow better body mechanics; they will be very difficult to duplicate. Also the snath should suit your height. That brings me to my second point. If you are going to cut very long with it, limit your first few sessions to 10-15 minutes and see how your back responds. This is especially true for an ill-fitting rig that makes you work bent over.

Just my two cents from recollections of days gone by. I used a scythe with a snath made of aluminum tubing to cut fresh alfalfa for my geese. It was not showy but it was light and it fit me fairly well. You get into a nice rhythm. It is a wonderful means of meditating. Swish, swish, swish. Then comes the next day

Doug