Topic Suggestions? Expanding my guide!

I've been working on updating my guide on American scythes and have been having some of the diagrams redrawn and new ones in progress to better illustrate what I currently consider as best practices. I've especially been working away at adding an appendix of notable makers with explorations of their history, models or innovations they're best known for, and so on. If anyone has requests for particular topics to be covered, feel free to comment them here and I'll see what I can do to work them into the overall document.

Benjamin -

I'll have to give your current offering a read-through before I can offer helpful suggestions.

I bought a stone and holder from you a few years ago - well used, now, though I am still learning.

I started with a wooden American style snath and a brush blade (bought from a second hand store), then picked up an aluminum Seymour snath (for $5!) and moved the brush blade to that.  Later, I acquired a decent grass blade on a rather pitiful wooden snath (but with one good nib, and good nib hardware for the other).  Now, the grass blade is on the Seymour snath, though if I need to cut heavier stuff (tansy, small maple or box elder shoots, etc.) I won't hesitate to swap the brush blade back on.  I also have a snath which appears to have been bent up from steel pipe (!) - crazy heavy, but had some good hardware on it, and was available at the right price.  So, slowly piecing together a start for medieval grade mowing (I have a couple of sickles and reaping hooks, also).

I've also been doing some finish mowing with an old Craftsman "Ball Bearing" reel mower, but I may need to track down someone (maybe the local golf course?) who has a proper grinding setup for the reel and bed knife, since I have succeeded in back lapping (Pin High brand grit) a slight "hook"  or recess into both ends of the bed knife, now, after several summers of use.  Last summer I was rather unwell, and used the electric rechargeable mower - I just didn't have the stamina to do the job the old fashioned way.  But, doing better, now, so am looking forward to getting "back into the swing of things", so to speak!.

Anyway, thanks for posting this resource for all of us scything tyros.  My maternal grandfather could have given me some pointers I'm certain, but I never thought to ask when he was alive.  Sorry I couldn't provide any helpful feedback, at the moment, but I will give this some time in the next few weeks.

Kevin

Kevin Olson wrote:Benjamin -

I'll have to give your current offering a read-through before I can offer helpful suggestions.

I bought a stone and holder from you a few years ago - well used, now, though I am still learning.

I started with a wooden American style snath and a brush blade (bought from a second hand store), then picked up an aluminum Seymour snath (for $5!) and moved the brush blade to that.  Later, I acquired a decent grass blade on a rather pitiful wooden snath (but with one good nib, and good nib hardware for the other).  Now, the grass blade is on the Seymour snath, though if I need to cut heavier stuff (tansy, small maple or box elder shoots, etc.) I won't hesitate to swap the brush blade back on.  I also have a snath which appears to have been bent up from steel pipe (!) - crazy heavy, but had some good hardware on it, and was available at the right price.  So, slowly piecing together a start for medieval grade mowing (I have a couple of sickles and reaping hooks, also).

I've also been doing some finish mowing with an old Craftsman "Ball Bearing" reel mower, but I may need to track down someone (maybe the local golf course?) who has a proper grinding setup for the reel and bed knife, since I have succeeded in back lapping (Pin High brand grit) a slight "hook"  or recess into both ends of the bed knife, now, after several summers of use.  Last summer I was rather unwell, and used the electric rechargeable mower - I just didn't have the stamina to do the job the old fashioned way.  But, doing better, now, so am looking forward to getting "back into the swing of things", so to speak!.

Anyway, thanks for posting this resource for all of us scything tyros.  My maternal grandfather could have given me some pointers I'm certain, but I never thought to ask when he was alive.  Sorry I couldn't provide any helpful feedback, at the moment, but I will give this some time in the next few weeks.

Kevin

The iron snath is likely by Troyer Manufacturing. They later made aluminum snaths in the same fashion. Rather unique clamping mechanism and nib hardware on them.

Benjamin Bouchard wrote:The iron snath is likely by Troyer Manufacturing. They later made aluminum snaths in the same fashion. Rather unique clamping mechanism and nib hardware on them.

I hadn't considered that it might be a "commercial" product, I'd simply assumed that it was made by a farmer or in someone's tractor shop to meet the needs of the moment with the materials at hand.

I'll have to give it a closer look.

Thank you for the additional info.

For anyone who is interested, there is something of a history, including some oral history, of Troyer's companies:
https://www.kpcnews.com/news/latest/article_d8fb1785-b2a3-56e6-903e-e562041feb49.html

He must have been quite the entrepreneur.

Does anyone know if he was Mennonite?  Troyer seems to be a fairly common Amish and Mennonite name of "Pennsylvania Dutch" derivation.  Given his many and varied enterprises - not least, teaching high school - I'd suspect Mennonite.  Not that it matters, but I'm just curious.

Kevin Olson wrote:

Benjamin Bouchard wrote:The iron snath is likely by Troyer Manufacturing. They later made aluminum snaths in the same fashion. Rather unique clamping mechanism and nib hardware on them.

I hadn't considered that it might be a "commercial" product, I'd simply assumed that it was made by a farmer or in someone's tractor shop to meet the needs of the moment with the materials at hand.

I'll have to give it a closer look.

Thank you for the additional info.

If the hardware on the end is a sort of tapered saddle that clamps to the tang by a bolt on either side, it's a Troyer. The nibs should be iron tube with a hex bolt going down through the top, which is covered by a washer. Don't take them apart unless you plan on keeping track of small parts. The interior is a little complicated and probably rusty.