Charles Tarnard

Part 2 went to junk in my Outlook account.

Juan Sebastian Estrada wrote:

Charles Tarnard wrote:My snath is probably a bit small for me at 6'2", but even with that I can tell you a curved snag is going to be the way to go. It allows you to swing without doing much body twisting or bending and over the course of the job that is cumulative strain you are avoiding.

I think a straight snath would force you to use it like a rake or do a lot of bending and that's not near as efficient.

Thanks, now I need to find some instructions on how to make a curved snath, its dimensions and so on. Any ideas?

Sorry, if I were to take the time to work a new one for me it would be little better than guesswork. I can tell you you want the handles to be reasonably level, to have your arms be able to hang loosely at cutting height and the blade to be turned up just a bit in the direction of the cut, but how to get that into a shape is a bit of a mystery without the trial and error.

My snath is probably a bit small for me at 6'2", but even with that I can tell you a curved snag is going to be the way to go. It allows you to swing without doing much body twisting or bending and over the course of the job that is cumulative strain you are avoiding.

I think a straight snath would force you to use it like a rake or do a lot of bending and that's not near as efficient.

Juan Sebastian Estrada wrote:

Charles Tarnard wrote:

I think you'll have a hard time getting the blade sharp enough with a file, unless it is super fine. I use a hand file to retouch while I use the scythe and a stone to sharpen mine between a handful of uses, and while it's not the best it works well enough for as little as I use it. I don't have much experience with grinding wheels.

Thank you Charles. What kind of stone do you use to sharpen and how do you do it? The American Scythe Primer from Baryonix Knive mentions that a puck axe stone could also be used instead of or together with the file. Is that what you use?

No, it's just a generic two sides stone I got at an Ace hardware. I think it's 500/1000 grit. Rectangular, about 2x4x1 or so.

Boatloads of compost. That's the only long term success I've had without constant vigilant attention (which pretty much means it's the only long term success I've had).

Search electrolysis rust removal. I haven't done it, but I've seen results and it's pretty fantastic.

I think you'll have a hard time getting the blade sharp enough with a file, unless it is super fine. I use a hand file to retouch while I use the scythe and a stone to sharpen mine between a handful of uses, and while it's not the best it works well enough for as little as I use it. I don't have much experience with grinding wheels.

"Do you, sir, admit to knowingly and willingly committing an act of douchebaggery in the presence of a minor?"

I really have nothing to add to this discussion, I just really like saying that quote above.

I should clarify that anything around 5 feet tall or taller can deal with the sun, but anything shorter than three feet seems to be living the high life in some shade. It's like many of them adapted to being short and making the most of it or something.

It's pretty sweet . It's hard to know how much of that success is due to the compost vs. the guild. Although I've noticed that most any area around my yard that gets dappled shade is pretty happy. My plum hasn't always provided a ton of shade to its guild, which I think causes those to struggle more than some other areas.

Again, I'm just making stuff up based on only a few years of experience. It's probably all untrue .

My pears have strawberry, asparagus, fennel, sunflowers, borage, chard, rhubarb, and dandelion all in pretty close proximity to each other doing really well. All the perennials are new (within the last two to three years). The pear was planted into grass and the next season I covered the whole area with finished compost.

My plum is paired with onions, tulips, and blueberries and has not ever done as well. The plum was planted into grass and the area was covered with paper then wood chips. The wood chips have mostly mulched down, and the plum is fruiting now, but nothing else is doing great.

Anecdotal evidence for the win.