I love those old tools. Not only are they still useful today, they're made from much better steel than anything you'd buy today. Thanks for sharing Pa!
38yo me has three of these now, and zero weed eaters. The sickle is lighter, quieter, more controllable, less messy, no fuel, and the weeds and grass can be collected up and offered to our 57 pound Sulcata tortoise. 🤓👍
I would love to use a sickle and scythe. I tried for my first years on 2.5 acres. But too much land, too little time, I’ve turn to the dark ways of the weed eater. Grass blade for the meadow, brush blade for the margins, and string for delicate cutting around the furniture & fire pit. Now the sickle and scythe are rather ornamental.
I used to use the bolt on type to clear trails in the woods. I used it like a machete and cut saplings thicker than my thumbs. It was my favorite tool to clear trail. I've also heard it used to trim christmas trees on their farms. I'll have to try it w/ the stick on grass.
Great video I use a grass hook everyday on my place like you said the original weedeater I've got like 20 of them thinking I will replace it when I wear it out but I've been using the same one for over 20 years keep up the great videos and god bless
Sickles are the multi cutting tool of the farms of old, used for just about anything. Cutting vegies from the plant? Sickle. Trim the hedge? Sickle. Need a bit of grain? Sickle. etc etc etc. as aconsequence there are hundreds of styles of sickles and ways to make them. Drom tensioned full style ones you can peen like Austrian scythes to broad iron who cut with the burr left during sharpening. Realy big ones or tiny ones. I own a few and even uses them at work. Few things beat the ease and functionality of a sickle.
I have used a sickle for thirty years. I have a collection of 23 sickles. Mostly Village Blacksmith. Sharpen them with an oval stone about 6" long. Your free (or dumb) hand goes behind your back, do not grab the grass. The sickle will pull it's own pile up easily. I prefer a sickle because it doesn't splatter plant guts all over.
The "dew" also acts as a lube on the blade of a sythe. For my area, grass cuts easier first thing in the mornings, gets tougher as the dew drys. I miss the old "reel" mowers. Those gave you a workout. Great video as always. Cheers :)
My first and only sickle I got a few years ago. It's a japanese style sickle. I really like it. The blade isn't as curved or as large as the ones featured here. And the handle is wood. It's very comfortable and easy to sharpen.
I've heard the solid blade types called "sickles", and the bolted blade types called "grass hooks". Usually the grass hook has the blade at an angle to the handle, so you can get it down level with the ground without bending your wrist too much, and is supposed to be used more like a scythe.
I recently picked one up that is finely serrated, let me tell ya its great for the stalky weeds in my wild gardens, and still does grass just fine! Whacking does not work well with it tho, but I have other tools for that. Using a sickle is enjoyable work for a person who likes long pondering of thoughts :) Thanks for another great coffee break vid :)
They make round tapered sharpening stones for sickles, often called "cigar stones". You use just like shown with the scythe stone, but you won't need a different stone/file to re-shape the blade, just the cigar stone.
Did my Dad invent the Sickle-Scythe? As long as I can remember he's always had a Sickle with a section of broom handle attached with a couple of hose clamps.
I have one, like the last ones you showed..riveted blade. Handle still shows info: True-Temper Kelly Perfect No4. I use it for small patch of grains and random weed trim.
I love seeing your videos! Can you show few examples of how you would yolk a team of oxen or a team of mules along with the rigging required to do so? The use of a wagon or other farm implements would be intriguing as well Stephen and Julie- Port Saint Joe Florida
I started mowing our yard in the late sixties and trimmed out the yard using what we called "clippers". Kind of like a big pair of scissors, with two spring loaded handles that you squeezed together. A workout for the hand, let me tell you! I gained grip strength though, for later things like splitting firewood.
Back hundreds of years ago, the invention of the sickle was a major revolution in agriculture. A person could grab a bundle of grain, cut it with the sickle, and hand it to another person who would make sheaves. A couple of people could harvest a winter's supply of wheat pretty quickly in this manner. A job that previously took 100 times longer with just a knife. The "hammer and sickle" became the symbol of the working class. "We Shall Come Rejoicing, Bringing In The Sheaves" th-cam.com/video/KKGVPylQplg/w-d-xo.html Look at that wonderful painting of people using the sickle!!
I'm actually not sure. This year I harvested my wheat with my bare hands. It wasn't long at all. The downside compared to using a sickle seemed to only be that I would be pulling roots with it, but that's all. For harvesting grain, I am not sure it improved productivity. It was probably just a comfort thing
Thanks for this new video! I have a question: All sickles I saw have teeth. I guess it's for harvesting grains. I was wondering how one goes about sharpening them, since honing on the side that has teeth would definitely defeat the purpose. Do you know about that? Thanks again very much!
Somebody may need to correct me on this, but the only "sickles" I see that have teeth seem to be a different tool, and generally with a longer handle. Many appear to be a Japanese style tool, and they DO have teeth. With those I'm assuming you would need to sharpen 'em much like you would a handsaw.
@@farmhandscompanion Thanks for the very swift reply! I found a link to exactly what I mean: th-cam.com/video/1BrltOb9E5A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=2fRfnAi1ZgZQJtI1&t=697
I'm a Blacksmith hobbyist and noticed that Asian also has their sickle theirs has about an 10 inches handle and it's a shorter and more hook of a blade.They often use in garden choirs. These weed eaters are not such a great invention as our first impression for the wedding experience.. I'm using cover crop for gardening and the need for control cutting is important Hot rivets are tighter just try truck frame from the 40 model like my 1945 Ford half ton frame Apple cider overnight will eat rust.And expoy glue for the handle replacement job. Thanks
I have one like the one you use. Funny I was going to tell you I gather for my rabbits..lol. Funny story about clearing a fence! Lol when I was I think in 4th grade we had a cow that ate something from the grass that made her mad. Well she wouldn't come in to feed and was clear on backside of farm. Dad sent me and my brother to get her ( he was younger) I told him to stay at top of hill and if she stopped wave stick or throw something never her to keep her going. Him being safer because she wouldn't be able to climb that hill fast. While I stayed in the valley with her, which had a 4 strain barbedwire fence and an electric wire probably 8 inches from it. Well sorry so long but hoped you'd get a visual. That cow took off after me and to this day I can't tell you how but I cleared the top of both fences without a tear or scratch. No dress but...my adrenaline and God got me over that fence just in time. Love memories like this.
From 1960 thru 1963 me and my family lived on Okinawa Island. My father was Air Force and stationed at Naha AFB. We lived in on base housing and was issued a sickle for yard maintenance. We hired a local islander to cut the grass and he used this sickle to do cut with. He would grab the grass with one hand a cut it with the other. There was maybe 1/4 acre of grass and he took most of the day and the grass was very even and about 2.5 inches after cutting. He was paid the going rate of one dollar for his work.
Here in Honshu i see more people using a kama, which has a short handle with either a straight or very slightly curved blade and a cutting edge sharpened on only one side. I’ve never seen a scythe used or sold here, and I really wish I could find one, but rather they have a kama blade mounted on a 1.5 to 2 meter stick. This is a good tool for whacking down tall grass and weeds on slopes, but it’s not shaped to cut grass like a scythe will nor is the blade anywhere near as long. As a southpaw, the straight stick combined with a blade facing to the left makes for a tedious day of cutting tall grass. It’s like being a lefty and trying to bat right handed.
Just another dirty angry farmer having a good time being a bald dude in h'overhauls. Putting some wacki og good talkin at some beautiful old tools. Preach bruh. Pass the whet stones. Ol' boogers. 😂
I love those old tools. Not only are they still useful today, they're made from much better steel than anything you'd buy today. Thanks for sharing Pa!
I wish I had heirloom tools.
I've been using my grandfather's that I found in his garage to weed around young fruit and nut trees. Best tool for the job
38yo me has three of these now, and zero weed eaters. The sickle is lighter, quieter, more controllable, less messy, no fuel, and the weeds and grass can be collected up and offered to our 57 pound Sulcata tortoise. 🤓👍
Thanks for the video. Have seen people hone the blade with one long swipe each side. But looks like you prefer shorter strokes. Any reason?
I would love to use a sickle and scythe. I tried for my first years on 2.5 acres. But too much land, too little time, I’ve turn to the dark ways of the weed eater. Grass blade for the meadow, brush blade for the margins, and string for delicate cutting around the furniture & fire pit. Now the sickle and scythe are rather ornamental.
So, another name for a weed-eater would be a Motor Sickle... nice!
To this day the stick is still my favorite toy.
Best widsom ever. " A "stick" is called a stick. I miss this type of common sense. God Bless.
Thanks for sharing your memories of your Grandmother. I do enjoy your style of teachin'!
I used to use the bolt on type to clear trails in the woods. I used it like a machete and cut saplings thicker than my thumbs. It was my favorite tool to clear trail. I've also heard it used to trim christmas trees on their farms. I'll have to try it w/ the stick on grass.
Great video I use a grass hook everyday on my place like you said the original weedeater I've got like 20 of them thinking I will replace it when I wear it out but I've been using the same one for over 20 years keep up the great videos and god bless
Sickles are the multi cutting tool of the farms of old, used for just about anything. Cutting vegies from the plant? Sickle. Trim the hedge? Sickle. Need a bit of grain? Sickle. etc etc etc.
as aconsequence there are hundreds of styles of sickles and ways to make them. Drom tensioned full style ones you can peen like Austrian scythes to broad iron who cut with the burr left during sharpening.
Realy big ones or tiny ones.
I own a few and even uses them at work. Few things beat the ease and functionality of a sickle.
Thanks for posting!
I have used a sickle for thirty years. I have a collection of 23 sickles. Mostly Village Blacksmith. Sharpen them with an oval stone about 6" long. Your free (or dumb) hand goes behind your back, do not grab the grass. The sickle will pull it's own pile up easily. I prefer a sickle because it doesn't splatter plant guts all over.
The "dew" also acts as a lube on the blade of a sythe. For my area, grass cuts easier first thing in the mornings, gets tougher as the dew drys.
I miss the old "reel" mowers. Those gave you a workout. Great video as always. Cheers :)
My first and only sickle I got a few years ago. It's a japanese style sickle. I really like it. The blade isn't as curved or as large as the ones featured here. And the handle is wood. It's very comfortable and easy to sharpen.
Great information and video covering the Sickle and how to use it Pa Mac. They were great back 70 years ago. Stay safe around there. Fred.
We have one of these, and for the first time in my life I understand it's proper use! TY, Great explanation.
Up here in Vermont the swing blade is called a “swizzle stick.” Great video. Thanks.
Thanks for showing how you sharpen yours..mine needs it
I've heard the solid blade types called "sickles", and the bolted blade types called "grass hooks". Usually the grass hook has the blade at an angle to the handle, so you can get it down level with the ground without bending your wrist too much, and is supposed to be used more like a scythe.
My wife is from Portugal and uses this to gather plantain leaves for our rabbits to eat
I like to use emery cloth paired with some sort of nice clean lubricant like PB Blaster. Keeps the dust down and helps clean the steel a bit.
Thanks so much for your knowledge! I needed a tool to help feed the rabbits healthy grass... now I know better.
I recently picked one up that is finely serrated, let me tell ya its great for the stalky weeds in my wild gardens, and still does grass just fine! Whacking does not work well with it tho, but I have other tools for that. Using a sickle is enjoyable work for a person who likes long pondering of thoughts :) Thanks for another great coffee break vid :)
We had a different type of sickle when I was a kid back in southern Arizona. We used it to cut the heat. It was called a Pop-sickle LOL
No doubt! I lived there for 27 years starting from the age of 6. The ice cream man is the state bird. 🤣
They make round tapered sharpening stones for sickles, often called "cigar stones". You use just like shown with the scythe stone, but you won't need a different stone/file to re-shape the blade, just the cigar stone.
Great video, I've done some time with a sickle in my hand.
I love my sickles and regularly used for different purpose (even harvesting cattails for silage...). But both my sickles is toothed.
Did my Dad invent the Sickle-Scythe? As long as I can remember he's always had a Sickle with a section of broom handle attached with a couple of hose clamps.
or did he reinvented the brush hook?
I have one, like the last ones you showed..riveted blade. Handle still shows info: True-Temper Kelly Perfect No4. I use it for small patch of grains and random weed trim.
I love seeing your videos! Can you show few examples of how you would yolk a team of oxen or a team of mules along with the rigging required to do so? The use of a wagon or other farm implements would be intriguing as well
Stephen and Julie- Port Saint Joe Florida
Hey, that'd be a fun Q & A subject! Let's do it...
I started mowing our yard in the late sixties and trimmed out the yard using what we called "clippers". Kind of like a big pair of scissors, with two spring loaded handles that you squeezed together. A workout for the hand, let me tell you! I gained grip strength though, for later things like splitting firewood.
Yep, I used a pair of those, too, around our house back in the days before the string trimmer. Thanks for watchin'', dustdevil1043
Used a sickle many time as a kid , no danger 50 years ago ,lol . We also used a golf stick ( a one handed scythe ) kinda .
Weed whip, I believe.
Always great stuff!
Thank you sir!
I will be forging a japanese kama (鎌 or かま) for this very purpose, so thank you for the usage tips.
Great stuff
Excited for "The Hammer- My Favorite Shop Tool", "Why Red is My Favorite Color", and "Addressing the Allegations"
Back hundreds of years ago, the invention of the sickle was a major revolution in agriculture. A person could grab a bundle of grain, cut it with the sickle, and hand it to another person who would make sheaves. A couple of people could harvest a winter's supply of wheat pretty quickly in this manner. A job that previously took 100 times longer with just a knife.
The "hammer and sickle" became the symbol of the working class. "We Shall Come Rejoicing, Bringing In The Sheaves"
th-cam.com/video/KKGVPylQplg/w-d-xo.html
Look at that wonderful painting of people using the sickle!!
I'm actually not sure. This year I harvested my wheat with my bare hands. It wasn't long at all. The downside compared to using a sickle seemed to only be that I would be pulling roots with it, but that's all. For harvesting grain, I am not sure it improved productivity. It was probably just a comfort thing
I don't recall ever seeing a left-handed one. Must be rare.
Thanks for this new video! I have a question: All sickles I saw have teeth. I guess it's for harvesting grains. I was wondering how one goes about sharpening them, since honing on the side that has teeth would definitely defeat the purpose. Do you know about that?
Thanks again very much!
Somebody may need to correct me on this, but the only "sickles" I see that have teeth seem to be a different tool, and generally with a longer handle. Many appear to be a Japanese style tool, and they DO have teeth. With those I'm assuming you would need to sharpen 'em much like you would a handsaw.
@@farmhandscompanion Thanks for the very swift reply! I found a link to exactly what I mean: th-cam.com/video/1BrltOb9E5A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=2fRfnAi1ZgZQJtI1&t=697
Man i would love to buy a scythe but sadly here in the Philippine it aint available
I'm a Blacksmith hobbyist and noticed that Asian also has their sickle theirs has about an 10 inches handle and it's a shorter and more hook of a blade.They often use in garden choirs.
These weed eaters are not such a great invention as our first impression for the wedding experience..
I'm using cover crop for gardening and the need for control cutting is important
Hot rivets are tighter just try truck frame from the 40 model like my 1945 Ford half ton frame
Apple cider overnight will eat rust.And expoy glue for the handle replacement job.
Thanks
if your stone is durable enough you can use just the corner of the wheel for a sickle, not recommended but you can.
I have one like the one you use. Funny I was going to tell you I gather for my rabbits..lol. Funny story about clearing a fence! Lol when I was I think in 4th grade we had a cow that ate something from the grass that made her mad. Well she wouldn't come in to feed and was clear on backside of farm. Dad sent me and my brother to get her ( he was younger) I told him to stay at top of hill and if she stopped wave stick or throw something never her to keep her going. Him being safer because she wouldn't be able to climb that hill fast. While I stayed in the valley with her, which had a 4 strain barbedwire fence and an electric wire probably 8 inches from it. Well sorry so long but hoped you'd get a visual.
That cow took off after me and to this day I can't tell you how but I cleared the top of both fences without a tear or scratch. No dress but...my adrenaline and God got me over that fence just in time. Love memories like this.
That's a good one! Hope yall are doin' well
From 1960 thru 1963 me and my family lived on Okinawa Island. My father was Air Force and stationed at Naha AFB. We lived in on base housing and was issued a sickle for yard maintenance. We hired a local islander to cut the grass and he used this sickle to do cut with. He would grab the grass with one hand a cut it with the other. There was maybe 1/4 acre of grass and he took most of the day and the grass was very even and about 2.5 inches after cutting. He was paid the going rate of one dollar for his work.
Here in Honshu i see more people using a kama, which has a short handle with either a straight or very slightly curved blade and a cutting edge sharpened on only one side. I’ve never seen a scythe used or sold here, and I really wish I could find one, but rather they have a kama blade mounted on a 1.5 to 2 meter stick. This is a good tool for whacking down tall grass and weeds on slopes, but it’s not shaped to cut grass like a scythe will nor is the blade anywhere near as long. As a southpaw, the straight stick combined with a blade facing to the left makes for a tedious day of cutting tall grass. It’s like being a lefty and trying to bat right handed.
The second style you have, ive always heard those call a hand scythe.
The stick is called a Prog
Shearing + whacking = Shwacking
Kinda hard on the back.
That's right.
Time to pull out the old one-legged stool.
shouldn't whack with the sickle, it should have teeth and be very sharp, so you can cut even maize stalks easily
Just another dirty angry farmer having a good time being a bald dude in h'overhauls. Putting some wacki og good talkin at some beautiful old tools.
Preach bruh.
Pass the whet stones. Ol' boogers. 😂
Communists were also fans of Sickles.😂
Yep, I thought of that, hime273.
They were big fans of the color red, too, but it won't stop me from likin' red. Thanks for watchin'!