It is summer, and time to mow all the high grass around the house. A couple of years ago I made my own scythe. It is really inspiring to be able to make something so useful and custom-make it to suit yourself. It is satisfying to feel how good it works.
I have used the scythe for 3-4 years now but the details are still not finished!
Blade by Mattias Helje.
It takes a while to learn to mow with a scythe. I had the opportunity to get some good advice on how to adjust the blade etc., and also how to mow, by Janne Eliasson from Fågelsjö. Janne got his first scythe when he was 7 years old and has made several scythes for himself. He has great skills and knowledge about traditional woodworking. Always generous in everything he does. So a big thanks to him!
Sometimes when you are mowing grass with a scythe you find a mouse nest hidden under all the tall grass. They are cute while they are small, sleeping so peacefully together.
Niklas,
SvaraRaderacheckout http://scytheconnection.com/adp/snathmaking/index.html they have some neat info on scythes and some videos
Niklas,
SvaraRaderaHow did you carve the handle? Here is a site of an 1923 Liesmide: http://www.sangberg.info/johan/?p=564
Joe
Wow, I loved that site (scytheconnection.com)! It was really inspiring! I will check it out more and try to learn to mow a lawn like that!
SvaraRaderaJoe, the handle, I think it is called nathe, is carved the traditional way of northern sweden, with one grip made from a twig and the other is made with a tenon and inserted into a mortise in the nathe. The top of the nathe rests on the forearm when you mow. They are called "bladorv" and that would be "bladesnath" in english. The top is flat and thin like a blade, I guess. It is often rich decorated. Thanks for the link by the way, it was great!
The only thing that scythe connection didn't post was this poem by Robert Frost "Mowing" http://www.poemtree.com/poems/Mowing.htm said it all with a few words...
SvaraRadera