One good scythe per farm, could revolutionize small-scale farming.
Botan Anderson mowing with a scythe.
Mow tall grass and weeds with ease. Harvest your own hay, bedding, and mulch from your own land, without the use of heavy, expensive, and polluting machines. Even grow and harvest your own grains. Our mission is to provide the best performing scythes available, and the knowledge necessary for people to be able to utilize them to their fullest ecological potential.
NO FUEL, NO NOISE, NO POLLUTION.
Whether you are alarmed about Climate Change, Peak Oil, Social Justice, Health Care, Food Safety & Security, or all of the above... At their roots, they all have one solution in common: We must fundamentally change the way we grow our food! Big, mechanized, chemical agriculture is ruining our health, depleting our soil, building up toxins in our environment, wasting the remaining oil, massively increasing CO2 levels in our atmosphere, and financially devastating the closest thing that we have to sustainable farmers; namely small family farms.
Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg states that in order to continue to grow the same amount of food in the future, without burning fossil fuels, we will need 40-50 million farmers, farming 3-50 acres, mostly with hand tools. No, not like in the Middle Ages. We are talking about appropriate technology here.
Small-scale farmers, meet one of your new tools. The modernized "Austrian" scythe....
NO FUEL, NO NOISE, NO POLLUTION.
Whether you are alarmed about Climate Change, Peak Oil, Social Justice, Health Care, Food Safety & Security, or all of the above... At their roots, they all have one solution in common: We must fundamentally change the way we grow our food! Big, mechanized, chemical agriculture is ruining our health, depleting our soil, building up toxins in our environment, wasting the remaining oil, massively increasing CO2 levels in our atmosphere, and financially devastating the closest thing that we have to sustainable farmers; namely small family farms.
Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg states that in order to continue to grow the same amount of food in the future, without burning fossil fuels, we will need 40-50 million farmers, farming 3-50 acres, mostly with hand tools. No, not like in the Middle Ages. We are talking about appropriate technology here.
Small-scale farmers, meet one of your new tools. The modernized "Austrian" scythe....
(Note: The Mystic Prairie Scythe Shop is now known as One Scythe Revolution!)
One Scythe Revolution is a member of the International Scythe Network
Continental European (aka "Austrian") Scythe Blades
I sell the finest, hand-forged, tensioned scythe blades currently being produced in Austria and Italy. The Austrian factory has been making scythe blades since 1540. The Italian since 1600. The blades are mostly interchangeable on the snaths. The Austrian grass blades are triple-peened by the factory, and are super-sharp, and truly "maehfertig" (ready-to-mow). My bush blades are also factory sharpened, and are ideal for mowing mature, thick-stemmed weeds, brambles, and bush and tree seedlings.
Adjustable Wooden Snaths
I sell the best available adjustable snaths from Europe and the USA. New for 2015! Steam bent wooden Swiss-style snaths, with adjustable ergonomic grips designed by Botan Anderson. Made in Minnesota from local ash trees.
Whetstones
Whetstones are used to keep your scythe blade sharp while out mowing in the field. They are carried in a metal, plastic, or cowhorn whetstone holder, that contains water and is clipped to your belt. I carry a fine assortment of naturally quarried and man-made scythe whetstones. The best that I can get.
Cowhorn Whetstone Holders
A 1SR exclusive! Made by Karen Stack in North Carolina. Scythe whetstones are water stones, and are best used wet. The scythe whetstone is carried in the field in a holder that is half-filled with water, and worn on your belt. When your blade needs sharpening, your whetstone is handy at your side, soaking wet and ready to use. Cowhorns have been long been historically used as whetstone holders. Certainly more eco-friendly than plastic or copper!
Peening Supplies
Austrian scythe blades are sharpened by thinning out the metal at the edge, with a hammer and scythe anvil, and then the edge is finished by honing it with a whetstone. They are not sharpened on a grindstone, like the American-style blade. We specialize in freehand peening with narrow anvils. I sell various complete peening kits, with the finest anvils available. A highly detailed peening instruction manual written by Botan Anderson is available online.
Hayrakes
To make hay with a scythe, a hayrake is essential for tedding and turning the drying hay, and gathering up the finished hay. I sell classic, split-head, wooden hayrakes.
Scythe Workshops
It takes a lot of skill to use a scythe effectively. The best way to learn how to use a scythe is at a scythe workshop with a qualified scythe instructor. You will get a huge leg-up on the learning curve, by attending a 1SR scythe workshop. One Scythe Revolution has started a scythe instructor training program, with the goal of having qualified instructors within driving distance of everyone in the United States. An ambitious project; it may take a while. To see if there is a workshop near you, check our Calendar of Events page. I also have online instructional info to help you get a better start, if you can not attend a workshop.
Ordering
Scythe Outfits and Peening Kits are available to order on my Quick Order page. For custom combinations, or individual items, contact 1SR. Send an email to Botan (at) One Scythe Revolution. com, or call 651-604-7090. However, note that during the mowing season, I can get overwhelmed by the sudden surge in demand, and it can take me a long time to get through the list.
Contact One Scythe Revolution
To contact One scythe Revolution, send an email to Botan (at) One Scythe Revolution. com, or call 651-604-7090
"Wooo hooo! I'm scything! I scythe! I'm ever so happy to have this new tool. ...Thank you for being there to sell scythes like this in the U.S.A.. I searched several websites. I must say, your site is straightforward and was the easiest for me to understand."
- C.H. CO
One Scythe Revolution (1SR) in the Media
Newspaper article in The Country Today: "The cutting edge: St. Croix County scythe expert says ancient haying tool making comeback on small farms"
1SR is listed on the Austrian Scythe Associations website as a recognized member of the International Scythe Network. Scythe Network Members, USA: One Scythe Revolution
Tara and Tyler of GoingSlowly.com, stopped by my farm in the middle of winter, to learn about scythes and sickles for harvesting reed for thatching. Reed-Collecting-Tools: Sickles & Scythes
Harvey Ussery's article "The Scythe: Historical Tool on the Modern Homestead" in Countryside and Small Stock Journal
Huffington Post: Marcel Theroux: Scything in Suburbia
Around the Farm Table, episode "Switchel Brew Got the Scything Crew" on Wisconsin Public Television
"The Scythe" on the APM radio show, The Story: "Sixteen Inches of Radio".
Homesteading and Philosophy blog post: "The Scythe"
Follow me on Facebook: One Scythe Revolution
Follow me on YouTube: Scythesman8, aka Botan Anderson
Botan Anderson being filmed teaching at a scythe workshop, for an episode of "Around the Farmtable" for Wisconsin Public Television.
