In 2022, Phil and I visited the Schröckenfux factory in Austria.
I wrote the following article for our Newsletter but never published it on our website. Finally, 3 years later (!), here it is:
Schröckenfux Scythe Factory
In early December 2022 Phil and I went to visit the Schröckenfux factory as representatives of the International Scythe Retailers Group, along with Jenny Nilsson and Mats Rosengren from Sweden and Christiane Laganda from Austria.
Schröckenfux are one of only two premium scythe manufactures left in Europe. Roßleithen, where the factory is located, has been a site of scythe manufacture for over 475 years!
Travel and Meeting Friends
Image – Walking above Roßleithen with Gerhard Wagner (on the right)
Those of us who do not live in Austria opted to make the journey by train. Rail strikes in Austria on the day of travel meant our night trains were cancelled. We still managed to make it across Europe in time, though Mats got much less sleep then he was expecting!
On the first day we enjoyed meeting face to face with our European colleagues. We already knew Christiane from her visits to the Somerset Scythe Festival, but this was the first time we had met Jenny and Mats in person. Zoom is a wonderful thing but not the same as a face to face chat! Cue hours of scythe and meadow chat, comparisons of the growing scythe markets in Sweden and the UK and general enjoyment of each others company.
In the evening we met Gerhard Wagner, the retired production manager of Schröckenfux, for dinner. It was good to hear stories of his time with Schröckenfux and his meetings with Peter Vido, and ask questions of his vast knowledge of scythe blade manufacture.
A day at the Factory
Image – On the factory steps. Left to Right – Phil Batten, Jenny Nilsson, Michelle Lainè, Toni Baudinger, Mr Dietmar Baudinger, Klaus Perthmayr, Christiane Laganda and Mats Rosengren.
The next day we spent a whole day at the scythe factory. In the morning we toured the production, which left us with an increased awe of the work the factory does.
There is a large amount of skilled hand work. Each blade has passed through the hands of around 24 workers before it leaves the factory!
VIDEO – Hot forging. A trip hammer being used to draw out a scythe blade
In the afternoon we had a meeting with Mr Dietmar Baudinger, owner of Schröckenfux, his son Toni Baudinger, Klaus Perthmayr, the current production manager and Silvia Eggl. We were made very welcome and had a constructive meeting about the strong future of the scythe.
We finished our trip with a kind invitation from Gerhard, to visit him the following day at his home in the mountains above Roßleithen. There was plenty more scythe chat, a beautiful and refreshing walk around nearby Lake Gleinkersee and a delicious Goulash cooked by Gerhard for lunch.
