Last summer I posted the following picture of one of my first stacks of hay I had hand cut with a scythe. About ten days ago it came time to move the sheep and start feeding hay. I was very pleased to pull back the outside weathered layer of hay on the stack and pull out a hand full of nice green, sweet smelling hay. I have sections of livestock panels with head holes cut in them to keep the sheep from messing up and wasting hay which I stand up around the stack and wire together.

Just some simple homestead type info I thought Trapperman readers might enjoy.

Very cool. They did things back then for good reason.

LOL Yep, necessity.

Thats Awesome....lotta work there

Good job. That looks like a Marugg scythe and snath? I have one of theirs and it's the best one I ever used.

Cutting hay with a scythe or splitting wood by hand does not have to be of necessity. It can make great economic sense. I have very little input, both money-wise and time, yet most years the sheep pay for their own food and most if not all of my property taxes. On top of that I get great exercise.

I joke that I "farm" with a Toyota pickup and a scythe. If you think things through to the simplest point you can often do with much less than you think. Many people who are hobby farmers simply trade dollars. By the time they buy a tractor and all the equipment and work themselves to death they would have better of buying their hay or just going fishing.

Sportsman (including trappers) are the same. As a friend says, "Most hunters are more in love with Cabela's than hunting!" Most of my outdoor gear comes from Goodwill or yard sales.

My friends say I am tight. Hopefully, they not all chime in at once.

Hats off to you john Sharpened an old cradle many years ago and tried it on wheat I was told by my dad a good Man could do 1/2 acre or more in a day arms were burning after 6 swings and I thought I was in relatively good shape

John can ya maybe get some better pic's of the handles on the scythe, never saw one like it.
some times a good scythe beats a weed eatter.

I don't have a better picture of the snath (handle) but it is a European style scythe rather than the English style that most people are use to seeing. They are much lighter and easier to use. I have my Grandpa's English style scythe with a brush blade on it and use it to cut rough stuff including cleaning up and composting cattails out of the pond. The weight difference and the difference in ergonomics is amazing. The European style is the way to go. Mine came from an outfit in Maine.

Great job John! That scythe work will give you big muscles. Many things are, if you pay attention, a lesson in economics. When I was a young father, poor, and had to prioritize things, I bought a simple Lee hand-loading kit at a yard sale. It was one of those kits that you could fit in your glove box. I was a nut for waterfowling back then, and I burned through a pile of shells. Nowadays I rarely have a chance to duck hunt, so spending hours reloading isn't a money saver any longer (especially with non-toxic shot!). I have all but quit reloading because it no longer is economic to do so. Ditto for home oil changes. As long as I have a shop I trust in town.....I am NOT crawling around on my back under my truck on a chunk of cardboard to save $5!

Good on you John. Swung a brush scythe many miles trimming foot trails 6' wide, horse trails 10', here prior to the A.P. A. , in the Pharaoh Lake wilderness area as it is known by today. Times have changed. Tut

thanks John
all the handles i have seen have a steel loop kind of deal on the handle
granddad used to say a man that knowed how to use a scythe could out do a lawn mower lol

That's how all the Amish do it around here.LOT of work.

I have one that looks just like yours that I got from Marugg Company in Tracy Senate. I like the European ones too. That blade looks nice. Where did you get it?

I looked up where I bought the scythe. It was Scythe Supply[b] out of Perry ME. They make the snath to fit your measurements and the blade is Austrian forged.