Ian Miller
Author of The Scything Handbook (New Society Publishers in NA, Filbert Press rest of world), Das Sense-Handbuch (Haupt Verlag)
"To live at all is miracle enough" ~Mervyn Peake
Baryonyx Knife Co. --Owner
Best luck: satisfaction
Greatest curse, greed
Thekla McDaniels wrote:When a person refers to "an American scythe" is that a shape / style / angle of blade? Or does that mean it was made in the USA?
I have tons of questions about that and every other kind and shape and angle of scythe, and snath.
It is kind of off topic here, so I made this thread
https://permies.com/t/61146/scythes/overwhelmed-amount-information-don-start#520713
just for those questions, in case anyone has the time to catalog them all for me. Otherwise I am just lost when trying to follow and learn from this kind of discussion.
Thanks, Thekla
"To live at all is miracle enough" ~Mervyn Peake
Baryonyx Knife Co. --Owner
"To live at all is miracle enough" ~Mervyn Peake
Baryonyx Knife Co. --Owner
Wes Hunter wrote:Isn't that just it, though? The differences between an American-style scythe and an Austrian-style one boil down to the thickness and weight of the blade, heft and curvature of the snath, position of the nibs, and the angle of the tang, no? You could adjust all those things, sure, but then I don't know that you still have an American-style scythe.
I could take a sledgehammer, cut the handle down to 12" or so, shave off a good deal of the handle's thickness, spend a fair bit of time grinding 4 pounds of metal off the head, and that "properly adjusted" tool is going to do a much better job tapping a nail in a wall. But then I no longer have a sledgehammer, do I?
In my case, the blade was sharp, the nibs were at least well enough adjusted, but the angle that the blade attaches to the snath was off (because that's how they're made), and the whole kit was just so damned heavy that it was not pleasant to use. It did the job, in a pinch, but it was far from the best tool for the job.
Best luck: satisfaction
Greatest curse, greed
Wes Hunter wrote:Isn't that just it, though? The differences between an American-style scythe and an Austrian-style one boil down to the thickness and weight of the blade, heft and curvature of the snath, position of the nibs, and the angle of the tang, no? You could adjust all those things, sure, but then I don't know that you still have an American-style scythe.
I could take a sledgehammer, cut the handle down to 12" or so, shave off a good deal of the handle's thickness, spend a fair bit of time grinding 4 pounds of metal off the head, and that "properly adjusted" tool is going to do a much better job tapping a nail in a wall. But then I no longer have a sledgehammer, do I?
In my case, the blade was sharp, the nibs were at least well enough adjusted, but the angle that the blade attaches to the snath was off (because that's how they're made), and the whole kit was just so damned heavy that it was not pleasant to use. It did the job, in a pinch, but it was far from the best tool for the job.
"To live at all is miracle enough" ~Mervyn Peake
Baryonyx Knife Co. --Owner
Wes Hunter wrote:That is an interesting history. My understanding (from multiple sources) has been that Austrian scythes have a thinner and lighter blade, a narrower and lighter snath, and a tang angle that makes the blade run parallel to the ground, thus making it far preferable to the American scythe with its thick and heavy blade, stout and heavy snath, and tang angle that made the blade point more upwards. In other words, those differences were taken as a given and had significant implications for the work at hand. Apparently I was hoodwinked by Tressemer (et al.).
In any case, it seems that the comparison is still apt, for scythes AS AVAILABLE. If one buys an American-style scythe (whether used at a farm or antique auction or new at a farm/feed store), it is almost certainly going to be as described above, and if one buys an Austrian-style scythe (most likely new, I'd assume), it too will be as described as above. And in my experience--and apparently in the experiences of many others--the one is far preferable to the other. This isn't to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I expect that for the vast majority of folks who just want to buy a scythe to do some mowing, the Austrian scythe is going to be the clear tool of choice.
"To live at all is miracle enough" ~Mervyn Peake
Baryonyx Knife Co. --Owner
I agree. Here's the link: https://woodheat.net |