Peening new blade

Hi all,

I've taken the plunge and started using a scythe! Loving it so far and doing well on heavier brush work but really struggling to get to grips with peening without a reference blade.

I'm using a 2 stage peening jig at the minute not freehand and have probably made 6 passes with each jig followed by 3 stages of stoning. I can get an edge that goes through bush really well but struggles hugely with short grass.

How many "passes" should I expect to make with the peening jigs on a new blade before I get somewhere close to a good edge ready for stoning? Any pointers or tests to know when I am there? Or being super geeky can anyone with a good blade measure the thickness at the edge of their blade for comparison?

It may just be that my technique needs more practice but I don't want to keep hacking away for months to find out that another hour peening would have changed everything :s


Thanks in advance for any advice

Peening jigs will shape your bevel, but also mash the edge apex against the center post. To assist first time peening I suggest filing the edge to a thin edge to start. Since you are peening at all I presume you are using a European style blade, in which case file the top side only, at an angle of about 14-18°, then peen. After peening, hone with a coarse stone to start, since the edge apex will have been flattened against the post of the jig.

Yes European but cheap German blade and I am pushing my luck trying to use it on grass.

Il give the pre filing a go this weekend thanks for the idea! I knew the jigs were somewhat flawed but i had to try and strike a balance between finances and how likely I was to actually get on with / stick with the sycthe.
Il try the filing and if that gets me a bit further forwards I'll be convinced enough to get a proper anvil and start learning

Thanks,
H

Hello everybody,

Since different scythes come in different thickness and hardness, giving a general recommendation in terms of numbers of passes will hardly be useful for anyone.

The first scythe I tried to peen by means of a jig was, luckily for me, quite malleable and thin, and the things went "like in the books". So I was quite puzzled when the second scythe on which I tried the same method yielded almost no result ! I then purchased a narrow Picard anvil, which brought the things to another level, due to the smaller surface wrought at a given time. Then again, when a certain thinness was attained, the jig proved effective again. So, Benjamin's tip about filing the edge a bit first is sensible.

But now to your question : I measured the thickness at the edge of a blade I use for allround duty, ranging from grass to bramble, by means of a digital calliper and the measurements are the following :

Approx. 0.05 mm from the edge : 0.20 mm
Approx. 1 mm : 0.25
Approx. 2 mm : 0.40
Approx. 3 mm : 0.60
Approx. 4 mm : 0.75

In other words the angle is approx. 10°. I have got only a very slight deflection (thumb test), given that the 2nd cap of the jig (the flatter one) seems to further harden the edge - so far, the theory got a confirmation.

Be sure to get a correct snath / blade angle though (I guess you have already read about that). Brush requires less technical refinement than grass, the latter needing a thinner edge, due to its lesser inertia, so what you are telling is plausible to me.