Animal food shortages?

[Bacpacker]

Here are 3 links. 1st and 3rd are for European Style Scythes, 2nd one is an American style.
Pay attention to snath (handle) lengths. Not sure how tall you are, but one too long will be a bear to use.
Also take the time to learn the sharpening and peening process. It's not quite like a knife or an ax.


Home

Snaths & Complete Scythes

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...98-traditional-austrian-scythe-set?item=PC509

 

[Neb]

Here are 3 links. 1st and 3rd are for European Style Scythes, 2nd one is an American style.
Pay attention to snath (handle) lengths. Not sure how tall you are, but one too long will be a bear to use.
Also take the time to learn the sharpening and peening process. It's not quite like a knife or an ax.


Home

Snaths & Complete Scythes

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/sho...98-traditional-austrian-scythe-set?item=PC509

Good points.

Sharpening stones were worn on the hip to sharpen often to keep a razor sharp edge.

Hitting a weed with a hard stock and edge needs to be peened to fix. Peening tools taken to the field where the harvesting was going on.

Cutting was done early in the day while the fields were still wet with dew.

I have seen videos showing experienced users swaying left and right as they worked.

My grandmother used to use a sickle to cut weeds before weed wacking was invented.

 

[sonya123]

$20/square bale - southern Ohio

Hay Auction Report (usda.gov)

this is about average
i picked New Holland because we send animals there to sell and get good prices

If I calculated this right, it's about $8.75 a square bale for premium alfalfa
Ohio is not that far away so it can't be just shipping cost, plus Ohio grows hay also

Are you guys buying your hay at the grocery store ? (j/k but really those prices seem way too high)

 

[sonya123]

sorry it got posted twice

 

[sonya123]

You can get sickles and scythe from Leyman's.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/canadian-ash-snath-handle/
Ben

that brings back baaaad memories.....don't even ask I never want to see one of those again !!!

 

[Bacpacker]

Good points.

View attachment 73439

Sharpening stones were worn on the hip to sharpen often to keep a razor sharp edge.

Hitting a weed with a hard stock and edge needs to be peened to fix. Peening tools taken to the field where the harvesting was going on.

Cutting was done early in the day while the fields were still wet with dew.

I have seen videos showing experienced users swaying left and right as they worked.

My grandmother used to use a sickle to cut weeds before weed wacking was invented.

I still have the one I used to cut weeds off the banks and up close to the gardens growing up. One thing I need to learn is how to sharpen the damn thing. I am TERRIBLE with that.
I found an old one in an antique store that still had the wheat cradle attached. I bought it. Figured at least I could copy the design and make one. Did that after I grew a 25'x110' row of wheat one year. It grew well, but I wasn't prepared to harvest , or thresh it.