Sibley Scythe Co. Scythe

Hey ya’ll, I found this old scythe at a flea market and was planning on restoring it until I looked up the makers mark and discovered it’s from a company that produced scythes from 1800-1909.

I tried to find more information on it but have been unsuccessful in really learning much more than that.

Is anyone familiar with this company or style of scythe?

I think the blade might be slightly bent but I’ve been having trouble finding any pictures of what shape it should be.

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

the snath (wooden parts) is the standard american style. they’re a little heavy compared to the modern european ones, but i kinda like them. whether it’s worthwhile to attempt to fix the blade up, i couldn’t tell you, but i suspect others that could are around here somewhere….

Sibley actually supplied the contracts for scythes used in the construction of the Panama Canal! They're very good scythes in my experience. Yours is a plain-web grass blade and it does look like it may have a bit of a "frown" to it. When viewed edge-on it should be either dead flat or gently "smiling." Being marked as "solid steel" it's not a laminated example so correcting the bend (if indeed present) will take a little oomph atop the chine at the site of the bend, with the underside of the rib against an anvil surface. The snath is in the style of a Derby & Ball, possibly of the "Derby, Ball, & Edwards" period, and in the lineage of the No.50 grass snath (likely went by that name but if not, at time of production, it's in the same family) and looks to be of good lighter weight build without the usual condition issues I often see with these. If the snath is over-heavy (and if it is it probably isn't by much) you should be able to get it down to a weight of about 2lb 12oz without any issue, and possibly as low as 2lb 8oz, including all hardware. A very nice scythe overall--a great find!

If you do any restoration work to it, do be gentle. It's a very nice example and you wouldn't want to do anything overzealous to it. But some work will definitely be needed to get it back in ready-to-mow condition.  

Thank you for all of the information!!

How did you learn all of is this? Are there some resources you’d recommend making myself familiar with??

Mozam Media wrote:Thank you for all of the information!!

How did you learn all of is this? Are there some resources you’d recommend making myself familiar with??

I am, to the best of my knowledge, the leading researcher and collector of American pattern scythes and ephemera. It's a LOT of digging through period documents in libraries, archives, digital repositories, collecting and studying surviving examples of blades, and so on and so forth.