Gabrielle Monia

Hoping some permies can chime in on this..

We live in a 1907 farmhouse with no insulation in the walls and drafty as can be. I added some plastic window inserts to half the windows, because there’s a lot of windows and that’s as far as I got. they were a pain to get right since all the windows are so unique in shape and sagging in their own ways. Anyways that Seems to help and I should probably get back to work on that as well.

Temps are dropping daily and we are heating the whole house by a combination of a 1970s fireplace insert in the living room and a brand new wood stove in the dining room. We stay huddled around one of these day and night, and I’m thinking of ways to make the house more comfortable over the next several Central Oregon months.

Would building a stone or brick wall around the wood stove be a good idea and help retain heat? As is, it has a stone pad below it, but it’s in the corner of the room with just plain wall behind it and windows beside it.

Heavier curtains are also in the works..

Any ideas??

Hey thanks for the welcome:)

and the information... I got the blade pretty sharp, although the top of the blade has a band that sticks out (doesn't seem present on the forged ones I've seen in photos) and makes it a bit hard to get that kind of angle.

I'm getting the idea of tang angles but have been practicing with this one as-is to see how it works before I do that type of adjustment. Sometimes I really find a groove but often the field is ending up with a really patchy haircut- I miss many strips that just lay down. It feels really good to use and incredibly efficient, just need some more practice with body mechanics of it I think.

Went to an estate sale today hoping to find a grass blade to try out and they had a scythe there for 3 bucks! Going to clean this one up and try it soon. After a little break. wore myself out in the sweltering heat trying to get the hang of this.

I've been a long-time appreciator of the permies world and learn soooo much from reading these forums!

My foray into scything is providing the impetus to post.. I've been helping with the mowing on a roughly 5+ acre plot with tall meadow grass and since the riding mower periodically gives out, or can't handle the grass length, I started to use the weed eater more. I had honestly never used one up until last week. I had a bit of fun initially, but it's one of my least favorite tools ever, for a number of reasons. This one in particular does NOT like to start and will shut off if you take your hand off the trigger- if you ever do get it running. After a couple days of tangling with this thing- nerves shaken, fuel-dry, ears ringing- I found out about scything from a permies post. Never had I considered that this tool even existed! Beyond its fame as the grim reaper's implement.

I've been reading all about the subject for days now. At first I was set on the European style, but since I can't invest in an outfit at the moment I needed to get more creative with it. I found a vintage American snath without a blade, and blade with a worn-down snath, at an antique store a couple days ago for cheap and am working to turn them into one functional, restored scythe. I'd like to share my progress here and perhaps get some tips!

The blade is a Bartlett, patent stamped 1911 that appears to be a weed blade and the snath is a 8700 Craftsman. I have so far removed (most of) the rust from the blade with steel wool and very fine sandpaper, lightly sanded the snath and oiled it. Then I decided to use a file to try and reset the bevel. (it's what I have access to) At first I thought I'd need to peen it but found you don't do that with the hard steel of American blades. I know it's meant to be a hollow bevel and I don't believe my straight filing can create that. I wonder if I can set it right and get it sharp enough by honing with a coarse whetstone..