Bought a scythe!

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I would think any kind of mechanical oil would work. Oil the blades and wrap them in a greasy cloth for the winter? Similar to what gardeners do with their tools when putting them away for the winter.
Yeah, not something anyone taught me, growing up nor anyone online. =/

Thanks!
 

misfitmorgan

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You can just use 3 in 1 household oil to help it keep from rusting but you need to steel wool the existing rust off first. Thats the oil we use for our shear cutters and combs to keep them from rusting when we store them for the year.
Rust doesnt mean you are bad at taking care of your tools and light rust shouldnt stop it from working properly. We had/used a scythe on the old farm for the years we lived there. No idea what happened to it. Anyhow it was rusted much heavier then that and worked just fine, it was the curved type and very old.

We also never sharpened it.....ever. It just had a very very thin blade no actual cutting edge. Not sure when the idea of sharpening a scythe happened. My grandpa used a scythe most of his life and it was never sharpened, I'm wondering if the modern blades being machine stamped and thicker is what made people start putting an edge on them.
 

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You can just use 3 in 1 household oil to help it keep from rusting but you need to steel wool the existing rust off first. Thats the oil we use for our shear cutters and combs to keep them from rusting when we store them for the year.
Rust doesnt mean you are bad at taking care of your tools and light rust shouldnt stop it from working properly. We had/used a scythe on the old farm for the years we lived there. No idea what happened to it. Anyhow it was rusted much heavier then that and worked just fine, it was the curved type and very old.

We also never sharpened it.....ever. It just had a very very thin blade no actual cutting edge. Not sure when the idea of sharpening a scythe happened. My grandpa used a scythe most of his life and it was never sharpened, I'm wondering if the modern blades being machine stamped and thicker is what made people start putting an edge on them.

🤔
I have to sharpen it if I want it to cut grass, otherwise, it's great for removing several types of weeds & leaving most of the nice grass safely behind.
Kinda turned the edge wavy doing so, but I didn't have a couple hundred to spend on a second weed only scythe. 😶
 

misfitmorgan

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🤔
I have to sharpen it if I want it to cut grass, otherwise, it's great for removing several types of weeds & leaving most of the nice grass safely behind.
Kinda turned the edge wavy doing so, but I didn't have a couple hundred to spend on a second weed only scythe. 😶
That's kind of how things are with tools these days. Modern metal is not like the old metal, it is basically trash compared. If you could find an old scythe blade it would probly serve you much better. Our scythe cut everything and as I said we never sharpened it, to be fair we only used it for 2.5yrs and we not like mowing entire hay fields.
 

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I bought mine to hang on the wall! Fancy country decor! That is where I kept the old sickles and some of my great grandfather's old hand tools. :gigAlso great grandmother's old washboard!
 

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I'll be getting some of that rust remover tomorrow.

Top side, bumpy edge because rust ate it.
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Underside...yikes...
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Great at weeds n vines, no where sharp enough nor smooth enough for grass.
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Did you also do the wonderful gymnastics in that scene? :lol:
I love that movie and haven't seen it in a while. Although excellent swordmanship I'm surprised you used it as a comparison. Although it is something all who don't know what fencing is can compare to.
 

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Did you also do the wonderful gymnastics in that scene? :lol:
I love that movie and haven't seen it in a while. Although excellent swordmanship I'm surprised you used it as a comparison. Although it is something all who don't know what fencing is can compare to.
Mostly cause it was iconic and easy to google, :). No gymnastics for me, the passes on the flat are classic italian drills. Also Degrassi and Aggrippa are real authors of historical fencing schools.
 

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