sharpening / peening a scythe

http://www.permies.com

Brian Kerkvliet of Inspiration Farm in Bellingham, Washington gives a quick demo of sharpening with whetstone, and then talks about two different ways of peening a scythe.

First comes removing the scythe blade from the snath. The blade has a tang that fits in a hole in the snath (complete with a "snath saver"). Brian shows two types of peening anvils and his peening hammer. The anvils are a type that is mounted into a block of wood.

Brian demonstrates how to mend flaws and dings in the scythe blade.

Brian teaches us about the "hafting angle" for mounting the scythe blade to the snath.

I get the impression that Brian doesn't particularly like the "peening jig". He shows us his and how it works and talks about why the anvil is a better solution.

Relevant threads at permies:
http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/2172_0/homestead/scythe-vs-string-...
http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/9982_0/permaculture/supplying-scyt...
http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/8882_0/lawn-care/where-can-i-get-a...
http://www.permies.com/permaculture-forums/6734_0/permaculture/hand-tools-vs-...

music by Jimmy Pardo

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• sharpening
• scythe
• anvil
• eco
• green
• permaculture
• organic
• sustainability

[pocketmeadowfarm]

Thanks, that is VERY helpful.  Can we see a scything demo by this gentleman too?

[paulwheaton12]

@pocketmeadowfarm yeah - i have a video of him scything around a barrel

[TheHjalmur]

Very cool. My wife and I have been mowing with scythes for a few years now; something of a curiosity to folks driving by, but we really enjoy it. I'm going to be paying closer attention to my tools after watching this!

[TheHjalmur]

@RocketCityGardener I'd go with thin brass or copper; the iron won't cut it through like it would the leather, and the soft metal won't blunt the edge of the iron.

[plasticspine]

one person wants to bemhacked to death by a scythe :)

[RocketCityGardener]

a wonder if a couple small squares of leather on those metal position holders would keep you from having to worry about them dulling your freshly peened surface.

[laswan5]

I really found this to be useful information. I wonder if you do the same with machetes?

[oneyeopn]

Very good information...I suppose this would work the same on a sickle.

[Rhinoch8]

I've seen some awesome peening machine (austrian made) at the krameterhof. They are amazing! With the draw of the lever, two anvil-jaws just peen it really quickly!

[Rhinoch8]

@roargathor You can't peen high carbon steel. Also, it is so thin i believe it would chip very easily.