Lee Valley scythe - what do you think?

I'm musing about getting a decent scythe for heavy grass intermixed with pencil size tree stalks.

I don't want to break the bank but I know that if I buy junk I end up buying twice (i.e., not a deal). There's stuff on Amazon but no way to evaluate its quality.

The only one I can find locally is at Lee Valley Tools. The price is eye-watering ($235 CAD plus tax) but if it's good for 15 years it would be an investment.

What do you guys think of it?

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/garden-care/lawn-care/scythes/10198-traditional-austrian-scythe-set

Literally everything on Amazon is...not great. Even the limited gear that isn't INHERENTLY bad will ship in a completely untuned state and require a lot of setup work to get working right, which is inherently difficult for a beginner. The Lee Valley snath is similarly less than ideal. If trying to go with a Canadian vendor I'd suggest Scytheworks.

Benjamin Bouchard wrote:Literally everything on Amazon is...not great. Even the limited gear that isn't INHERENTLY bad will ship in a completely untuned state and require a lot of setup work to get working right, which is inherently difficult for a beginner. The Lee Valley snath is similarly less than ideal. If trying to go with a Canadian vendor I'd suggest Scytheworks.

Thanks. I'm a sharpening nut so IF the steel was decent I would figure it out.

Unfortunately Scytheworks is not accepting new orders.

I have 2.  We have a love hate relationship.

It's a decent enough scythe at $99 to 120 $10 used (the prices I paied way back when for snathe and blade, i think that was 2010ish).  It's a bit heavy and difficult to adjust to my height.  5foot8in, I'm a bit tall for it.  The handles slip and there is no way to tighten them enough.   The more we use it, the more we tighten it, the more the handles twist and it puts a lot of stress on my arms.  One day, i will drill a hole through the aluminum snathe for each handle.

After a few hours, maybe 10, it becomes obvious the blade needs peening as it won't keep the edge and the blade cracks more easily if it hits a rock.  It would be better to peen before using.

It cuts grass well, especially if there is morning dew.  It cuts long grass better.  Where it shines is nettles, thistles, green blackberry vines (not dry) and other stringy weeds.  Once we get the bite right for the plant, and remember our stance to use our weight,  not our arms for the cutting, it's very effective.   I used mine two days ago to clear a massive area of nettle/thistle that the gas powered tools couldn't handle.  It took no time at all with the scythe.   But the final swoop, I chipped the blade on a rock so now I have no choice but to do proper blade maintenance.



I recently invested in a traditional scythe from https://scytheworks.ca/contact/ and I wish I had done this years ago.  It's about half the weight.  I was able to go in person, so the height was adjusted for me, but it's easy to do at home.  Only downsides are the new sythe is specifically for grass and grain, and the snathe doesn't fit my lee valley blades, so i still use the old scythes for brambles and areas where there are hidden rocks.

I found it best to order from scythworks in the late summer to fall.  Spring and harvest time he seems to be swamped.  

The guy there is awesome and if you can afford to wait, it's worth it!

I found my scythe journal thread that goes into more detail of why I upgraded away from the lee valley scythe.
https://permies.com/t/162096/scythes/terrible-scything#1269961

Alternatively, if you're already an experienced sharpener you can follow the instructions in the Big Book of the Scythe on Scytheworks' website (written by Alexander Vido's late brother, Peter, who was known as "the Scythe Pope") for making a wildwood snath. You may also be able to economically find an American pattern scythe at a local antique shop, though you'll have to put in the elbow grease to get it back to fighting fit. They're my personal preference, and they're no less effective or efficient than the European sort, though they have their differences in maintenance, tuning, and technique.