Some people need a scythe for controlling areas of:

• rough grass (eg tussocks, over grown areas of rougher grass species such as cock’s foot, areas that are infrequently mown/grazed ie annually or less)
• soft weeds (eg young docks and thistles),
• rougher weeds (eg old docks, brambles less than a year old, bracken, soft rush)
• tough plants (eg established bracken, saplings, tree suckers)

What you need in a scythe

For this kind of mowing you might need a blade that is:

• versatile – especially if your mowing covers more then one of the types of vegetation above.
• maneuverable – if you will be mowing around a lot of objects, along edges or in narrow areas consider a shorter blade.
• has a resilient edge – for the tougher vegetation you need an edge of the right profile and thickness so that it won’t be bent, cracked or folded by tougher stems.

A note on peening

If you are scything the softer, greener end of this vegetation the work will be more enjoyable and effective if you peen your blade. (Read about peening)

If you are only mowing very rough weeds, docks, bracken and brambles etc it is possible to get away without peening your blade.

• To manage a blade with out peening, use a file and a coarser stone to periodically re-shape the edge of the blade.

Some people need a scythe for mowing grass and forbes eg:

• fields and meadows (eg paddocks, wildflower meadows, “garden meadows”)
• lawns
• grassy orchards
• grassy tracks and paths

What you need in a scythe.

Grass blades are capable of holding a fine edge.

This edge is suitable for grass and soft weeds but is susceptible to damage if used for rougher mowing.

A longer blade allows you to mow more per stroke.

If the majority of your mowing is open grass, lawns or low fertility meadows with a minimum of 6ft of width to mow in, consider a 75cm grass blade.

Longer blades are available (80cm plus), which allow you to cut even more with each pass of the blade. But these blades require greater technical skill from the scyther, both when scything and in scythe set-up and peening / sharpening. Learn on a 75cm blade before you try anything longer!

When a shorter blade might be useful.

In more confined areas, if you have a number of obstacles to mow around or to mow heavier / collapsed / tangled grass, a 65cm blade is more appropriate.

If you are mainly mowing small areas eg tracks, paths, small lawns, garden meadows, see the suggestions under “Mostly garden work….”

Regular peening is an important part of maintaining a good grass cutting edge.

Suggested Scythe Sets

One Blade Scythe Set – Lawns and Meadows

This is a scythe for mowing areas of soft green vegetation, such as hay meadows, lawns or large grassed orchards.

It comes with peening equipment.

One Blade Scythe Set for Grass, Weeds and Rougher Mowing

If you are mowing grass that has not been grazed or cut for a year or more you might be better starting with this set, until you have the vegetation back under control again.

This is a versatile scythe for mixed mowing, covering grass and soft green weeds to coarser weeds and young brambles etc. It is probably our best selling and most versatile set.

It comes with peening equipment.

Two Blade Scythe Set – Smallholdings, Nature Reserves, Extensive Gardens

This set has the same grass blades as the one blade set for lawns and meadows, with the option to add a second blade for rougher mowing or for mowing smaller areas, paths etc.

It comes with peening equipment.

Minimum Scythe Sets

A minimum scythe set, without peening equipment, might suit you if you will only be mowing small areas, or you want to try scything before you invest in maintenance tools.

If you are mainly mowing small areas eg tracks, paths, small lawns garden meadows, see the suggestions under “Mostly garden work….”

Some people need a scythe for their garden or allotment.

Tasks might include:

• Lawn mowing ie mowing short to medium length grass
• Mowing a “garden meadow“ ie mowing long grass
• Trimming around trees, bushes and plants
• Scything paths and tracks
• Controlling weeds and scrubby areas eg docks, bracken, bramble
• “Weeding” amongst established plants

This video shows some of the ways Phil uses a scythe in our garden.

And here’s a guide to managing a lawn with a scythe.

What you need in a scythe.

As a garden scythe can cover a wide range of tasks there are a few factors to be considered

The size of the area(s) you will be mowing

A 60 to 65cm blade can mow larger lawns, garden meadows and tracks (4ft of mowing room or wider) in a reasonable time, but is still nimble enough for a range of garden tasks.

A 50 to 55cm blade is a good compromise if you have some larger areas to mow, but also need a blade capable of mowing around closely spaced plants, obstacles and along narrower paths (around 3ft of mowing room).

Tiny blades (40cm) will be slow in open areas but are useful if you are mowing narrow paths or around closely spaced plants / objects (approx. 2ft of space).

The terrain and the vegetation you are mowing.

If you are mowing mainly grass and soft weeds you can use finer blades.

If you need to mow rougher vegetation, or if your garden contains stones, bed edgings or similar that you might accidently hit with your scythe, you need blades with a more robust edge.

If you have a mix of mowing you can choose a compromise blade to cover most situations, or you can opt to have a two blade set with blades suited to different tasks.

A note on peening

Peening is an important part of maintaining a good grass cutting edge. We recommend the majority of people buy a standard scythe set with peening equipment included.

However, if you are only mowing a small area like a garden, your blade will not need peening very often. It can be harder to learn to peen well when you only get to practice once a year (or less)!

Instead of investing in your own peening equipment you can:

• Use our blade peening service
• Find a local experienced scyther to peen your blade (try The Scythe Association if you don’t know anyone).

Suggested Scythe Sets

One Blade Scythe Set – Gardens, Garden Meadows and Allotments

This set is aimed at people maintaining lawns, gardens, allotments and small meadows.

It comes with peening equipment.

One Blade Scythe Set –Gardens and Allotments (paths and weeding)

The very short blades in this set are useful when most of the scything will be on paths or weeding around other plants / objects.

It comes with peening equipment.

Two Blade Scythe Set – Gardens, Allotments and Garden Meadows

This set has shorter blades, aimed at the scyther managing smaller areas.

As well as a grass blade, it comes with the option to add a second blade for rougher mowing or for mowing smaller areas, paths etc.

It comes with peening equipment.

Minimum Scythe Sets

A minimum scythe set, without peening equipment, might suit you if you will only be mowing small areas, or you want to try scything before you invest in maintenance tools.

Minimum Scythe Set (for gardens and small plots)

A basic scythe set with blades suitable for scything lawns, gardens, allotments and small meadows.

It does not come with peening equipment.

Minimum Scythe Set (for paths and weeding)

A basic scythe set for scything gardens and allotments, where most of the scything will be on paths or weeding around other plants / objects

It does not come with peening equipment.

Some people need a scythe for a mix of vegetation.

Tasks might include:

• Mowing grassy and soft vegetation eg haymaking, meadow management, mowing lawns, paths, tracks
• Controlling rough weeds eg docks, bracken, bramble, soft rush
• Mowing large areas eg fields, wide tracks
• Mowing small areas eg paths, along fence lines
• Mowing around obstacles eg orchards, in the garden.

What you need in a scythe.

When scything a mix of vegetation and in a mix of situations you need to find the best compromise blade(s) in terms of length, shape and edge to fit your situation.

Edge management.

• For mowing grass and soft weeds you need a fine, thin edge that will slice through soft and yielding vegetation. But this edge is vulnerable to damage if used on rougher weeds.
• The easiest approach is to have two blades, one kept with a fine grass edge and the other with a thicker, more robust edge for tackling rougher areas.
  • The second blade is usually shorter, and so can also be useful for managing narrower areas, weeding amongst plants, paths etc.
• You can choose to use one compromise blade, though it requires more work managing the edge.
  • eg A blade such as a Styria can be peened to a fine edge for grass work. As the edge wears back and starts to need peening again it can be used for some rougher mowing, whilst it is thicker and less vulnerable to damage. When you are ready for grass mowing again, the edge can be peened back again.

Blade Length and Shape

• A 75cm grass blade is useful for mowing open grass, lawns or low fertility meadows with a minimum of 6ft of width to mow in. A longer blade allows you to mow more per stroke.
• If you also have more confined areas, obstacles to mow around, areas of heavier / collapsed / tangled grass or rough mowing a 65cm blade or shorter blade is more appropriate.
• You can choose to compromise with one shorter blade, that may be slower on the open areas but is useful for the full range of work.
• Or you can choose to have two blades, one longer open mowing blade and one shorter trimming blade.

Suggested Scythe Sets

One Blade Scythe Set for Grass, Weeds and Rougher Mowing

This is a versatile scythe for mixed mowing, covering grass and soft green weeds to coarser weeds and young brambles etc. It is probably our best selling and most versatile set.

It comes with peening equipment.

Two Blade Scythe Set – Smallholdings, Nature Reserves, Extensive Gardens

This set has a grass blade for mowing areas of soft green vegetation, such as hay meadows, lawns or large grassed orchards. It also has the option to add a second blade for rougher mowing or for mowing smaller areas, paths etc.

It comes with peening equipment.

Two Blade Scythe Set – Gardens, Allotments and Garden Meadows

This set has shorter blades, aimed at the scyther managing smaller areas.

As well as a grass blade, it comes with the option to add a second blade for rougher mowing or for mowing smaller areas, paths etc.

It comes with peening equipment.

If you are mainly mowing small areas eg tracks, paths, small lawns, garden meadows, also see the suggestions under “Mostly garden work….”

Some people need scythes for mowing with groups and volunteers

As always, start by think about the type(s) of vegetation you will be mowing (as outlined above). Use that as a guide when selecting blades.

In addition consider the following:

Communal / shared tools are more likely to sustain damage.

• They tend to be less well looked after than personally owned tools. They are also more likely to be used by novices.
• Choose more robust blades that are less likely to suffer terminal damage if used roughly eg Styria ditch blade, Rasierschnitt, bush blades.

Get training if you can.

• Your tools will be better cared for, the work will be done more effectively and people will have more fun if you get some tuition in scythe use.
• You could focus on training leaders who will instruct volunteers, or run workshops for your volunteers. See The Scythe Association for trainers near you.

Each scyther needs their own sharpening stone and holder

• It is tempting to save money by buying fewer stones then scythes but it is a false economy.
• Scythes need to be sharpened frequently (every five minutes or less). This is best achieved by every person carrying a stone with them. If people has to walk back to a common bucket of stones, blades will inevitably be sharpened less frequently.
• Sharp scythes are less likely to be damaged. As a scythe becomes blunt, people tend to use more force to keep it cutting. If they hit an obstacle or drive the tip into the ground, the chance of the blade, clamp or snath being damaged is increased.

You may be able to share peening equipment.

• You do not necessarily need a peening jig per scythe. A common pool of peening equipment can be kept to maintain all the blades.
• It is nice to have more then one set, so people can peen together.

We can carry out an annual service on your set of blades

• Get in touch to discuss how this works and costs

Suggested Scythe Sets

A combination of the following sets suit many groups.

One Blade Scythe Set for Grass, Weeds and Rougher Mowing

This is a versatile scythe for mixed mowing, covering grass and soft green weeds to coarser weeds and young brambles etc. It is probably our best selling and most versatile set.

It comes with peening equipment.

Rough Mowing Scythe Set 

This scythe set is for people who will only be scything rough weeds, docks, bracken, young brambles, with options suitable for mature bramble and woody plants such as raspberry canes and young tree suckers.

It does not come with peening equipment.

Two Blade Scythe Set – Smallholdings, Nature Reserves, Extensive Gardens

This set comes with a grass blades if you have areas of grassy mowing, with the option to add a second blade for rougher mowing or for mowing smaller areas, paths etc.

It comes with peening equipment.

Minimum Scythe Sets

Minimum scythe sets, without peening equipment, can be used to make up the number of scythes needed for your group without adding additional peening sets

Great Idea!

A scythe can do most of the work of a strimmer, and is quieter and more fun to use.

Suggested scythe sets for doing strimmer work:

One Blade Scythe Set for Grass, Weeds and Rougher Mowing

This is a versatile scythe for mixed mowing, covering grass and soft green weeds to coarser weeds and young brambles etc. It is probably our best selling and most versatile set.

It comes with peening equipment.

Rough Mowing Scythe Set 

This scythe set is for people who will only be scything rough weeds, docks, bracken, young brambles, with options suitable for mature bramble and woody plants such as raspberry canes and young tree suckers.

It does not come with peening equipment.

If you are mowing mostly one kind of vegetation (eg mostly grass or mostly bracken) it is easier to pick out one blade that will suit. See “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO CUT WITH YOUR SCYTHE?” above for help choosing the right set up for you.

If you are mowing a wider range of vegetation it can be trickier to settle on one blade to begin with.

• Some blades such as the Styria 65cm are good compromise blades and will cover a range of work. Have a look under “A REAL MIX OF MOWING…” above for more guidance.
• And remember, all the blades we sell fit our wooden snaths. So you can start with one blade then add one (or more!) blades to your set at a later date, once you have been thoroughly bitten by the scything bug.

If you are mowing a wider range of vegetation, having two blades means you can specialize each blade into different kinds of work, which makes edge management easier.

You can also have a range of lengths to suit different size of areas.

Have a look under “A REAL MIX OF MOWING…” above for more guidance on choosing between one or two blade sets.

For a glimpse of what might be to come…

…if you really get into scything, here’s part (yes PART) of our collection of scythes that Phil was getting ready to take to the Scythe Festival down in Somerset.

Bear in mind that we are scythe specialist! We try out many patterns of blades to find the best ones to recommend to other people (and for the joy of it). Not all of these scythes are in daily use on our holding.

Peening is part of the maintenance of the scythe blade.

Regular peening means you will be able to keep your blade really sharp, which leads to easier, faster and more relaxed scything.

There are two aspects to maintaining a sharp blade edge:

• Frequent honing with a sharpening stone whilst out scything
• Use of a peening jig or anvil to create a good blade edge profile; capable of holding a sharp edge for a sustained period of time.

Why is peening needed?

After repeated honing with a stone the blade edge gradually becomes worn back into the thicker metal of the body of the blade. The profile of the edge is altered and it becomes less efficient at cutting.

The mower has to sharpen more frequently, the blade is not holding an edge so well and mowing is becoming harder work. It’s time to peen the blade!

Peening thins and reshapes the blade edge into a good cutting profile.

The process of cold hammering the edge also “work-hardens” the metal, meaning it wears more slowly and will hold an edge for longer.

It is also used to tailor the blade edge to the task in hand (eg ultra-fine for lawns, more robust for mowing weeds) and to repair damage to the blade edge.

You can read all about peening in this guide.

Please don’t be put off trying.

Most of us are familiar with sharpening with a stone or a steel, even if it is just kitchen knives.

But peening can seem strange and intimidating. It involves taking a hammer to your precious new blade for a start!

With the right tools, it’s not hard to learn.

A peening jig is designed to simplify the process whilst you learn. And for many people, it is all the peening equipment you will ever need to use.

You will need to set up your peening jig before you use it for the first time. This could be a simple as a peening log, or you could build a simple peening bench. Once that is done, you are away!

There are many benefits to learning to peen:

• the ease and effectiveness of mowing with a really sharp blade (particularly when mowing soft weeds and grass).
• work hardening of the edge, which allows it to hold a longer lasting sharp edge.
• the drawing out of new metal to replace that worn away by work and sharpening. This prolongs the life of the blade.

You might be able to get someone else to peen your blade.

If you are only mowing a small area like a garden, your blade will not need peening very often. It can be slower to learn to peen well when you only get to practice once a year (or less)!

In this case, instead of investing in your own peening equipment you could:

• Use our blade peening service
• Find a local experienced scyther to peen your blade (try The Scythe Association if you don’t know anyone).

If you are mowing grass, green weeds etc…

…your scything will be much more effective and enjoyable if you learn to peen.

If you are only mowing rough weeds, docks, bracken and brambles…

…it is possible to get away without peening your blade.

Though there are still advantages to peening if you can.

These include work hardening of the edge, the ability to carry out small repairs and extending the life of the blade by drawing out new metal to refresh the edge as it wears.

To manage blades with out peening, use a file and a coarser stone to periodically re-shape the edge of the blade. The edge needs to taper to a point but not be as fine and thin as an edge used for grass mowing.

• The book Learn to Scythe contains instructions on using a jig.
• We cover basic jig peening during our Introductory Scythe Course.
• We look at all aspects of peening in detail on Peening and Sharpening Workshops.
• This YouTube video by Neil Dudman is a good introduction.

You could:

• Book on to a scythe course or a fitting and advice session
• Take a look at our most popular scythe sets:
  • One Blade Scythe Set for Grass, Weeds and Rougher Mowing
  • Two Blade Scythe Set – Smallholdings, Nature Reserves, Extensive Gardens
  • Rough Mowing Scythe Set

You are also welcome to get in touch and we can go through the options with you.

Left handed people can use a standard scythe and do not need a special scythe.

Scythe are not considered to be a handed tool. Unlike with tools such as scissors, left and right handed people are able to use the same equipment with comfort.

Blades get called “right handed” and “left handed” but the names are referring to the direction in which the blades mow, not to the kind of people they are meant for.

Still in doubt? The current (and longstanding!) British Women’s Scythe Champion, Andi Rickard, is left handed. She mows with a standard scythe, and even thinks that they are somewhat easier for lefties to pick up then righties.

So called “left handed” blades do exist…

…but they were probably meant for left handed jobs not left handed people.

This make the name “left-handed” scythe blade rather misleading.

Have a look at this excellent pair of articles on the Scythe Association website by Richard Brown. He explores the history of left handed blades and the jobs that they were needed for, and proposes we switch to calling blades “anti-clockwise” and “clockwise” to remove the confusion.

Anti-clockwise scythes – time to put the label “Left-handed” Scythe to bed? Part 1

Anti-clockwise scythes – Part 2 : What then is the point of a clockwise scythe set up??

The benefits of using a standard scythe

The major benefit of using a standard scythe is that you will have a much greater choice of scythe blades available to you. Only one or two patterns of “left handed” or clockwise blades are made by the manufacturers. Not least because it’s quite hard for the blacksmiths to make a blade backwards!

The other benefit is that it is much easier to mow with a team of people if you are all moving your scythe in the same direction.

The case for a left handed blade

Some people enjoy the challenge of trying to “mow the other way”. Every so often, some left handed scythes will show up at a scythe festival and people will have fun playing with them.

There are also some left handed jobs, for which they are useful. See this article for an explanation of why the left handed or clockwise blade is useful when cutting the sides of drainage ditches in the Fens.

The best way to learn to scythe is to go on a scythe course.

• We run courses May – August at Dyfed Permaculture Farm in West Wales.
• You can look at the Scythe Association Courses Page for tutors near you.

You can also:

• Read the book “Learn to Scythe”. It is a clear, comprehensive guide to using the scythe.
• Explore our Scything Guides
• Watch videos on YouTube. But take care, not all scything videos show good technique! Have a look at the links on our Quick Set Up Guide for videos and channels we recommend.
• Join the Scythe Association Facebook page. It’s a great place to ask questions and share your experiences.