The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: Vic Dupont on July 31, 2023, 09:26:31 pm

Title: Scythe blade warped while peening
Post by: Vic Dupont on July 31, 2023, 09:26:31 pm

Hi there!

I warped my blade while peening it.

Several reasons could be the cause :

- it was my first time peening a scythe
- that scythe had never been peened, while used for decades, thus a lot of peening was required
- it had many dents, though not huge, and I tried to fix one until it disappeared
- I pounded on the center of the blade at some point

After doing some reading, it seems the most likely cause is that I pounded on the center of the blade, not only on the edge. I had seen that the edge was curling back on itself too much and wanted to straighten it. I thus pounded with the flat of the hammer, a bit everywhere, including in the middle of the blade. I think the warping appeared right after that.

Here are some pictures.

Do you guys think I might be able to straighten it?

Or is it that the cause of the warping might be that the metal was spread out too much, and thus won't be able to flatten?

Thanks a lot in advance for the help.

Title: Re: Scythe blade warped while peening
Post by: chrismahon on November 11, 2023, 02:32:05 pm

You haven't much blade left there Vic and looking at the state of it overall I'd consider buying a new one. I think I paid €60 for my 60cm Austrian blade. Failing that I'd grind the whole edge back and try again, but you perhaps wouldn't have enough metal left to have sufficient strength to use it?