permaculture

[Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>]

On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Lawrence London <lfljvenaura@gmail.com>
wrote:

> [attn: Donka, Steve, Bob, Scott]
>
> The Styrian or Austrian scythe blade is power hammered to shape with a
> feathered edge that has a thin area ground to "factory" sharpness along the
> edge. The blade owner then peens the edge to further feather it as needed
> then makes some passes with a field stone to put the final edge on the
> blade. If you nick or bend this edge during use you take it to the log with
> a tiny anvil embedded in it, run the blade along the anvil as you use a
> peening hammer to draw it out to the original feathered edge, then make a
> few passes with the field stone for extra sharpness. Moral: don't grind out
> the nicks or bends, return the blade to its original shape with
> field-useful edge by peening.
> This tool is called the lightweight Austrian scythe with straight wooden
> snath. There are many types of blades used in this scythe system, each one
> used for a different purpose, for terrain like ditches or swales, grass hay
> mowing, even household lawns (that's how I mow mine). As for wooden snaths
> (there are many made out of aluminum or steel and they are OK), the fellow
> who supplied all my blades cuts a tree limb and makes his snaths from them.
> He is from Slovakia and goes to Europe each year to participate in events
> and gatherings celebrating the preservation of traditional scythe use in
> Europe and elsewhere. This tool is popular in Turkey. Some types of blades
> manufactured for their use are named Turkensense.
>

Here is a photograph of a store in Turkey selling their traditional scythe
blades:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-hhW1lxhHS_4/Tx-OhxRmVYI/AAAAAAAAAv8/6hPwqTaL00w/w800-h600-no/TurkishScytheBlades2.jpg

There seem to be several different types of blades though mostly ones for
grass, hay and grain, narrow and long.

-- 
Lawrence F. London
lfljvenaura@gmail.com
http://www.avantgeared.com
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