Mow Your Lawn with A Scythe

Thanks for Helping Us Test Content for mp3 Book Part 2

Dear Friend,

When My Dad Got into his 90's I'd Come Home Every Other Day.

Take him to lunch.

Shopping.

To the Bank.

And Then I'd Ask, "Do you want me to mow the lawn?

STOCK ANSWER: "No. You Will Destroy my Mower."

Ok Then.

So I'd Get MY American Style SCYTHE out of the Garage. Trim Weeds around the Gardens. And along the Road. (American Scythe has a Heavy/Curved Hickory Handle called a Snath.)

Then around the house.

Trim Along the Walks and The Driveways.

Suddenly on Youtube I Spotted a Little European Farm-Girl. Her Job? Mow an Acre of Hay Before Breakfast.

WITH A EUROPEAN STYLE SCYTHE. (Very Light Handle or Snath.)

She was 90 pounds soaking wet. Made it look easy. And was making Me look bad!

So I did some Googling.

Found lots of Americans Cutting their Entire LAWNS with a Scythe.

THEN I Made a Big Discovery!

My Grandfather, Father and I had been Sharpening The Blade of Our Scythes INCORRECTLY. (Or at least Sub-Optimally!)

I was Taught to use a Sharpening Stone to Sharpen the Blade.

But The Europeans -- who had been using a scythe for 1000 Years -- Knew Something We Did not.

You Can get a Scythe Blade MUCH SHARPER with a Hammer than with a sharpening stone alone. You hammer or "Peen" the Edge. And the Metal gets Thinner at the cutting Edge.

A Lot Sharper.

And The Sharper Edge has a Ripple Effect. (Which we all know from cutting Bread. A ripple Edge cuts thru Bread Much Better than a straight knife.)

EUREKA!

I could suddenly cut the Lawn with A Scythe.

But I had to Replace Everything.

MY SCYTHE WAS 100 Years Old!

Dad had A Collection of American Style Scythes his family used in the 1920's.

I -- You Put a Cradle on your Scythe. (Wooden sections to catch the wheat shafts.)

II -- Then a few men Cut a Wheat Field when it was Ripe.

III -- The Family came back and Tied The Windrows of Wheat into Big Bundles with twine.

IV -- Horse Drawn Wagon comes by. And you pile the Wheat Bundles on the Wagon.

V -- Back at the Barn -- You Take a Wheat Flail. (3 foot Handle with a 2 Foot Handle attached by a Leather Thong.)

VI -- And you beat the Sheaves of Wheat until the Grains fall out.

VII -- Sack up the Grain. Sell it.

(EDITORS NOTE -- The Good Old Days. HA!)

So.

I called the "Marugg Company" in Tennessee. Recently purchased by a young woman and her husband.

With Her Advice. (Which you do not get from Bigger Companies.)

***I got a Light European Scythe Handle. Or Snath.

***A 22 Inch Blade. VERY IMPORTANT. All of the Marugg Scythe Blades come from a 200 year old Factory in The UK. Hand Made. Best Blades in The World.

***And a "Peening Kit" -- so I could Draw Out the Edge of the Scythe Blade to a much Thinner and Sharper Edge.

Works Great!

You ask, "How Great is Great?"

Well.

If you google: "State Fair Scythe vs Mower Contest."

You can Watch various Scythe Users Beat all kinds of Mowers and Machines. But the RACE is always to cut a small swathe of Grass.

Your ONLY Limitation when using a Scythe is Your ENGINE.

You!

I Find that by taking Breaks to...

A -- Pile up Grass I cut.

B -- Sharpen The Blade a bit with my Stone

C -- Get a Drink of Water from my Thermos.

D -- And Use My Legs More than My Arm Muscles

...I Can Cut Sections of my Lawn for 3 or 4 hours at a time. Which is a Whole Lotta Grass!

And I SNEER At Steep Banks, Small Trees, Vines, Poison Ivy, Briars and Honey Suckle.

SWACK!

SWOOSH.

SHhhheeeew.

The Scythe Cuts it all down.

The Only Down-Side?

The Scythe is SO QUIET. That I now have deer -- fawns and Their Moms -- Sticking Their Heads out of the woods.

As if to say, "Aren't you done yet? We wanna come out and eat grass."

Thanks,

Glenn Osborn