Scythe Identification?

Hey there everyone! I found an old scythe at a pawn shop yesterday and snatched it up. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to guestimate how old it might be. It seems to be in pretty rough shape so I don't want to take it apart just yet, but if I need to take the blade off let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Thank you in advance! I'm looking forward to learning more about my find.

Hi Elizabeth,

Welcome to Permies.

John F Dean wrote:Hi Elizabeth,

Welcome to Permies.

Thank you!

Elizabeth Litke wrote:Hey there everyone! I found an old scythe at a pawn shop yesterday and snatched it up. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to guestimate how old it might be. It seems to be in pretty rough shape so I don't want to take it apart just yet, but if I need to take the blade off let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Thank you in advance! I'm looking forward to learning more about my find.

The blade is a SWECO American pattern bush blade with a plain web, made in Sweden. I'm unsure of who the actual manufacturer of those blades is, however, as that was just a brand name used by whoever was ordering them from Sweden. The snath appears to be a Sta-Tite Supreme No.105

Sta-Tite was founded in 1921 so it is certainly no older than that.

If I had to hazard a guess, both the blade and snath were likely made in the late 1940's through mid-1950's.

Benjamin Bouchard wrote:

Elizabeth Litke wrote:Hey there everyone! I found an old scythe at a pawn shop yesterday and snatched it up. I was wondering if anyone here would be able to guestimate how old it might be. It seems to be in pretty rough shape so I don't want to take it apart just yet, but if I need to take the blade off let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Thank you in advance! I'm looking forward to learning more about my find.

The blade is a SWECO American pattern bush blade with a plain web, made in Sweden. I'm unsure of who the actual manufacturer of those blades is, however, as that was just a brand name used by whoever was ordering them from Sweden. The snath appears to be a Sta-Tite Supreme No.105

Sta-Tite was founded in 1921 so it is certainly no older than that.

If I had to hazard a guess, both the blade and snath were likely made in the late 1940's through mid-1950's.

Interesting! I also posted in an antique subreddit and someone was guessing 1920-1930 based off of one they have on their family farm that's apparently much like the one I've found. It's super interesting seeing the differences in timeframe and reasonings why but that's also why I asked on such different sites. I actually had to do some digging before I found this forum but I'm grateful for it. I've read through a lot of the topics here.

I plan to use this as a display piece. Do you think it would be worth sanding and refinishing the woodwork and refurbishing the blade? Or should I leave it as is? Also, any ideas on how one would safely mount this to a wall? The curvature is intimidating in that regard.

It's in rough enough shape that there's not much point in refinishing it if you plan on using it for display--that erases much of its history. Regarding mounting it to a wall,  hanging it on a hook by the shank (the portion of the tang that's inline with the blade before it makes the 90° turn) with a peg under the edge near the tip would probably be the easiest way to mount it. I would suggest deliberately blunting it with a few strokes of a file or sharpening stone if hanging it anywhere where people could bump it.

Benjamin Bouchard wrote:It's in rough enough shape that there's not much point in refinishing it if you plan on using it for display--that erases much of its history. Regarding mounting it to a wall,  hanging it on a hook by the shank (the portion of the tang that's inline with the blade before it makes the 90° turn) with a peg under the edge near the tip would probably be the easiest way to mount it. I would suggest deliberately blunting it with a few strokes of a file or sharpening stone if hanging it anywhere where people could bump it.

Perfect, thank you so much!