Scythes

Thargor

I recently bought a place where the garden has been running wild for a year, I'm getting a lawnmower tomorrow but the grass is a foot high and very thick. Ultimate plan is wildflower meadow with paths through it but first I need to clear the grass so I can get the lawnmower in to get it short enough to put down tarps for a couple of months to kill everything for seeding in the Autumn.

Garden is about 1.5 tennis courts so I was thinking of using a scythe unless people had a better non chemical way of doing it?

If so would anyone have a scythe recommendation for this kind of job or where best to buy/order a decent one in Ireland specifically Limerick? Is there any chance I could get away with it on the cheap like this one? Any help appreciated thanks.

https://suavehome.ie/product/scythe-with-grinding-stone-140-cm/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=18376925956&utm_content=&utm_term=&gadid=&gclid=CjwKCAjwscGjBhAXEiwAswQqNISYeY4qyxpHk3tTD42m7w-brjxOQ9979_mh_y2lfR5Dxk7BKHvxaxoC4wYQAvD_BwE

The Continental Op

Hire a decent strimmer for a weekend. You will easily do a tennis court sized area in under a day. It can be hard work so pace yourself and spend the weekend at it.

Thargor

I kind of really want to do it with a scythe if possible though.

tico1300

If you’re lucky you might pick an old one up in the milk market Saturday morning, there’s a bloke that sells old tools on the corner opposite watergate flats, he has scythes and sickles fairly often

The Continental Op

Give a shout out in the Farming forum and see if anyone has one?

I'm far from convinced the one you linked to is any good. Adjustment of handles is limited and there is nothing to the blade.

I have done a bit with a scythe but personally hate them.

I noticed one in my local builders merchants so maybe try a few and see what they have. Better to hold one and adjust the handles rather than buy online.

Googling found this https://www.fruithillfarm.com/tools/scythes-sickles-and-accessories.html which is a lot more expensive but looks a lot better.

Don't forget to check youtube for sharpening including peening, not always necessary depending on the steel in the blade.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120646288#Comment_120646288

Unless you're experienced using one, forget it. It's not as simple as it looks nor as effective on grass only a foot high. Just hire a decent strimmer.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120646311#Comment_120646311

Oh yeah good plan thanks.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120646357#Comment_120646357

Perfect thanks yeah if I get one it will be the real deal that Ill have forever Ill forget about that cheapo one.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120646288#Comment_120646288

A strimmer with a blade for cutting through tough stuff is essentially a power scythe. Still hard work in it.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120646367#Comment_120646367

I asked my father if he could get one and he reckoned the scythe wasnt a great plan either so he's coming up some day next week with 2 big heavy strimmers the council gave them for looking after the graveyards to blitz it.

Ill need one sometime if Im going the wildflower meadow route though, I measured it out today and 2 5X4 meter tarps laid down now will give me 2 neat squares to seed with lawnmower sized paths in a H pattern around them, cant wait to see how it goes now.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648153#Comment_120648153

A strimmer will do the same job as a scythe on the wildflower meadow,

CelticRambler

No idea what size a tennis court is, but I used to mow 5000m² with a scythe almost identical to the one you linked. Contrary to some of the opinion expressed above, it was then (and still is) much more pleasureable to use on flat ground than a strimmer. No need for hearing protection, no need to worry about the neighbours if you want to keep going till 10pm, no finding out that you've no two-stroke petrol mix left as you're about to start, no finding bits of nylon cord in the grass years later.

The only reason I don't use the scythe as much nowadays is because I had the bright idea of filling my lovely flat 5000m² with annoying stuff like fruit trees, stone walls, rosebushes, terraces and other such inconveniences. With a cutting width of about 2.5m per swing, and additional clearance needed for a getting into a good rhythm, it's not at all suitable for paths and verges. But I do still use it on a shady laneway where the grass and nettles grow a metre high in a week if I forget to run the mower over it. And I'll be using it shortly to cut a small crop of winter oats planted (among other reasons) to give me a reason to keep using it!

Small detail (with a nod to the Continetal Op): I flipped the upper handle around so that it would sit more naturally in my hands.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648241#Comment_120648241

Exactly all those reasons. I dont even like the idea of the petrol lawnmower, a future thread will be asking about the manual push ones. If things go right with the meadow Ill only need the scythe 1-3 times a year anyway.

Plus I really want such a cool looking tool to hang on the wall of my new shed 😎

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648343#Comment_120648343

You can't really hang it on the wall in all its archaic glory and still be able to use it not is a damp shed anyway. We used to grease the blade and then rap the blade up in oil soaked rags to protect them from rust. Maybe coat it with something more modern like Owtrol before hanging it on the wall ;-)

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648343#Comment_120648343

Jaysus, you really want to bring hardship on yerself! You could also use shears to cut the grass if you want to go real simple. When I was a lad we had those push mowers with no engine, put stamina on you anyway. Remember getting a job to cut someones overgrown lawns with one, took many hours of butchering.

On the other hand, a few sheep will do the job very well too, that's what a neighbour hereabouts uses.

CelticRambler

One more thing: they're so much cheaper and more reliable than a strimmer! As of this week (and thanks to my father, not my own decision) I'm now on my fifth strimmer in 15 years; still on my first scythe in 20.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648517#Comment_120648517

You're fierce hard on strimmers. I've mine at least 12 years.

Thargor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648442#Comment_120648442

Ah but the plan is Ill be doing my bit for the pollinators as well as giving myself only a H or 8 shaped series of paths around it that have to be mown instead of the second job its looking like now, then in End-of-Summer-Autumn it will be scythe everything, leave it to drop its seeds for a few days, take the hay away then mow everything with the petrol lawnmower, Im just maintaining the paths with the push mower (which I read gives a nicer golf green type effect for grass anyway?)

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648517#Comment_120648517

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648577#Comment_120648577

My main strimmer (its more a brushcutter if you want to make that distinction Husqvarna, 240R) still has the date sticker on the side of it from when it was bought - 1997. Now I have replaced the clutch, the magneto and two bevel boxes but I expect it to be still going in another 10 years.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120648621#Comment_120648621

You still don't need a scythe to do that though. But, look, good luck with it and I hope you master the technique and enjoy your meadow for many years.

Bill Hook

I'm thinking of getting a scythe to replace some of the strimming/brushcutting around here because I hate the noise and smell of the strimmer and all the pesky little bits of plastic string everywhere. I happened accross this website which might be useful: http://scytheassociation.org/courses/#ireland

RainInSummer

One thing to note is if your strimmer can cut your wildflowers without mulching them down into bits you're good to go.

The main reason behind a scythe for wildflowers is to be able to take up everything you cut and remove it without having it break back down into the soil. You're always trying to knock back fertility in the soil.