3 key tips to Scythe Maintenance
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- Опубліковано 21 січ 2023
- A scythe goes through a lot of wear and tear over its lifetime of cutting foliage in a range of weather conditions. It is important to take good care of the scythe to ensure it will work smoothly and reliably for years to come.
This video offers three easy tips to scythe maintenance:
• Cleaning the blade to reduce rust;
• Honing and peening the blade so that the scythe will smoothly glide through foliage;
• Oiling the snath to keep it supple and to prevent cracks.
Close up of blade when peening: ua-cam.com/users/shorts-FHhBZycOx4?feature=share
Thanks to Andy for the suggestion.
Thanks very much for doing the short, Rob, I can see now exactly what is happening to the blade. It looks like a very therapeutic and satisfying procedure!
Thank you, man! As a novice Grim Reaper, i'm very grateful for you tips!
Thank you, I'm glad you found it useful.
I never really thought about what an amazing tool a scythe is until I watched these videos. Thanks man
Thank you. It takes a little while to learn and can become more difficult later in the season, but the main part is keeping it as sharp as possible by peening and honing it often. It is a very versatile tool with blades which will work with different types of foliage. I use it most days I’m at the field.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! 👍👍👍👍👍
That’s really interesting, Rob. I’d never heard of those peening jigs before, it would be good to see a close-up of the jig to understand what it is actually doing to the blade.
Thanks Andy. It is quite a very small indent which it puts in the blade. I'll see if I can capture the difference and if I can then I'll pop it up as a short.
@@iboughtafield that would be great, thanks Rob!
@@slatsguitar Hi Andy, please see the following short which has the close up: ua-cam.com/users/shorts-FHhBZycOx4?feature=share
Is that a Fux Austria bush blade? I’ve just gotten one - my first scythe - and am trying to find out if it is a type that needs peening. I read somewhere they don’t - but I’m finding it hard to put/keep and edge on it. Thanks!
Hi Tara,
Thank you for the question.
I would peen all of my Fux blades. Do you remember the name of the blade or know the type of blade: {Ditch, grass, Bush}?
If you are mowing grass then it is particularly important to get a fine edge and the blade is likely to require peening. As a rule of thumb then after around every 8 hours of mowing then it should be peened.
Note that it is easiest to mow in the peak growing season around June/July and it will get progressively harder as the year progresses. I am trying to finish off a few bits myself and it is quite a slog as this time of the year.
Also it is normally to have to hone the blade every few minutes. So don't be put off if the blade blunt quickly.
If you are just mowing rough weeds- bracken, brambles, reed then peening is less important, however it will still improve the performance to been peened occasionally.
@@iboughtafield Thanks for your reply! Mine is a bush blade - I'm mowing a very overgrown field full of all types of thick grass and woodier stuff and I'm in the southern hemisphere so it's spring here.
I wonder if I should have gone for the ditch blade instead of the bush. This one doesn't really get through the grass very well. I'm wondering if I should peen it finer and just not use it on really woody stuff? You can peen a bush blade, yeah?
@@tarabenedict8416 I agree. A ditch blade would have been easier, but peening it finer should help.
I learnt to mow with a 65cm ditch blade. I've not used a bush blade much, but I've done a little bit with 40cm blush blade. I found it was much better on grass after peening, but they are not great with grass and bush blades tend to be too short for mowing large areas efficiently.
Good luck!
Where do I get a hat like that !?
I bought it from LoudElephant a few years ago. They don't currently have this exact style, but they have similar hats.
www.loudelephant.com/collections/hats/products/corduroy-captains-breton-cap-blue
I've also got a green version from the British Heart Foundation (UK) new item collection which I got last month.
Keep blade on the ground! Otherwise you’re not mowing as much as you could and it’s a safety issue
Hi,
Thank you for the comment. This is quite an early video that I created. There is some recent footage in my "scythe as a weapon video". I scythe alone and so not too dangerous, but yes it is much better practise to keep the scythe on the grown and get a neater cut for full stroke.
@@iboughtafield sorry for my unsolicited advice. It was uncalled for. Thanks for your kind reply.
Reality is that there are times when scythe off the ground has its place. Sometimes it’s just unavoidable in tricky areas, and if you’re going for speed to set a record they all strike from off ground. But in general yeah I find that the perfect combination is a well peened sharp edge that is bevelled correctly, and the feeling of sliding the belly of the blade along the ground. I don’t have to worry so much about our dogs being accidentally sliced when it’s mostly on the ground.
Keep up the good work and I’ll continue to follow your videos! We need to keep getting the word of scythe out there.
@@musomaster9027 Thank you. I really appreciate the comment and the advice :)