The scythe is the ecological alternative to the lawn mower, whipper snipper and brush cutter.

We import hand-forged scythe blades, direct from the Schroeckenfux factory in Austria, where they have been made since 1540. We also import the snaths (handles) and sharpening tools that you will require to keep your blade razor sharp. And to add to the collection, we now have a scythe sickle.

An Austrian scythe consists of a blade, a snath with two grips, and a blade attachment ring.

There are different lengths of blades for different purposes. We sell 6 different blade lengths: the "vegie garden " blade (40 cm), the bush blade (50 cm), the trimming blade (55 cm), the all purpose blade (65 cm), the field blade (75 cm), and the long field blade (90 cm). See Blades.

We also sell 2 different snath lengths - to suit mowers up to about 182 cm tall (150 cm snath), and mowers taller than about 182 cm (160 cm snath. Both snaths can be height adjusted within this range. See Snaths.

Austrian scythes are sharpened in two stages. Firstly the razor sharp edge is achieved through peening, which is a form of cold forging. Then, in the field, the edge of the blade is kept sharp by honing with a whetstone. We sell both peening jigs and whetstones. See Sharpening Tools.

For those embarking on their first Austrian scythe journey, we have put together a scythe starter kit, which provides you with everything you need to get started with scything, i.e. a scythe, a peening jig, a whetstone and a stone sheath. When purchasing the kit, you are saving about 10% compared to purchasing the items separately. See Scythe Outfits.

news

Scything Workshop 2010
We are holding a workshop in March 2010. Please see Hazelcombe Scythe Workshop 2010 for details.

Next shipment of scythes is now on the high seas from Europe.

Watch out for our latest tool, arriving with the next shipment - a scythe sickle. Carvings depicting this tool can be seen in the Pyramids of Ancient Egypt.