My Scythe Becomes a Piece of Art

       When it comes to art,  my qualifications are pretty thin. I like art and appreciate it. However, I have no artistic skill and have never had any experience or training. All of this doesn't stop me from expressing my like of art.

The scythe before the handle was taken off.

       A few months ago I did two posts on a scythe I had owned for many years. I  made one post on my life with the scythe and another on the sale of my scythe. So a few months ago my scythe finally sold. The sale and what the scythe was to be used for was interesting. Robin Williams, the buyer, only wanted the handle. He explained to me that he was an artist and wanted a wooden scythe handle in a piece of sculpture that he was creating. He was extremely happy to find this scythe handle as he had been looking for a wooden scythe handle for a long time. Scythe handles for a long time have been made of metal. It's easy to bend the metal into the scythe handle shape. This artist had researched how wooden scythe handles were made. If it wasn't so complicated and the requirement for special tools, he would have made a scythe handle. The wooden handles were made by a process of soaking and steaming the wood. Then it was placed in a jig where it dried and retained it's shape. I found his description and ideas rather interesting. 


      He then went into more detail as to what his plan was for the sculpture. He described himself as a Gothic artist and he wanted to fashion a special blade with Gothic symbols and shapes. At the end he promised me he would send a picture of his sculpture because he knew I was interested to see what happened. Like many things in this aged brain I had forgotten that he would send a picture. So when the picture arrived a month ago I was pleasantly surprised.


     Robin took the old blade off and cut a new piece of metal into the shape of a large blade. He then drew out a pattern on a piece of card board and probably traced it out on the blade. Then the hard work came to cut out the steel and then finish the steel.

New blade and pattern plotted out on cardboard.

New blade and pattern.

Blade against a straw bale.

                                          All photos submitted by Robin Williams


     It was interesting that he had taken steel and cut it  for a blade with Gothic imagery. So my scythe lives on a piece of art.