Interactive lesson

Traditional tools, step by step

Interactive lesson: choose a scythe and set it up for your body, mow in the dew, cut with a sickle without injury, haft a hoe and an axe and restore an old tool.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Traditional tools module. Already bought? Unlock

This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. Why traditional tools

The scythe, the sickle, the hoe and the axe fed rural communities for centuries.

Tools without power — Zero litres of fuel and no noise. For a backyard or a smallholding, a traditional tool is cheap, quiet and enough.
The scythe in the meadow — On steep ground, under fruit trees and on stones a scythe is often just as fast as a strimmer. An experienced mower cuts 0.2–0.4 ha (½–1 acre) of meadow in a day.
Sickle, hoe, axe — A sickle for grass and nettles, a little every day; a hoe and a mattock for the garden and stony soil; an axe for kindling, branches and stakes.
Local names — The snath is also a sned or snaith, the grips are nibs or doles, the whetstone is a rubber, and the old stone holder was a cow horn. Write down the names from your area: they disappear with the older generation.

Why: These tools need no fuel, make no noise and don't depend on a repair shop that is closed exactly when you need it. They are cheap, quiet and enough for a backyard or a smallholding. But you have to know how to choose, haft and set them up.

If there are still mowers in your area, or a local scythe group, ask someone to set up your scythe and show you the first swing. One morning beside someone who knows is worth more than any book.
A strimmer or a mower is faster on the lawn around the house; a scythe wins in the hay meadow, under fruit trees, on a steep bank and on stony ground.

2. The scythe: parts and choice

A scythe has two parts: the blade and the snath.

Blade and snath — The blade is the steel cutting edge. The snath is the shaft with its grips, wooden (ash, spruce) or aluminium.
Parts of the blade — Edge, back (the stiffening rib), heel at the snath and tip.
Grips, ring, wedge — Two wooden grips slide and lock at the height that suits the mower. The ring and wedge hold the blade on the snath and set its angle.
Which blade length — For a homestead the usual blade is 60–70 cm (24–28 in); start with 60–65 cm (24–26 in). A short 40–55 cm (16–22 in) blade is for weeds, fences, fruit trees and steep ground.

Why: The blade is bought; the snath can be bought or made. Once you know the parts, it is easier to choose and set up. A longer blade is not faster in a beginner's hands: it catches the ground and molehills and dulls sooner.

Lay an old blade from a car boot sale on a table: if it rocks, it is bent. A crack running from the edge towards the back cannot be repaired.
A bent snath is easier on the back than a straight one.