Exploring Small Scale Grain Harvesting part 1
Channel: Stephen Simpson
Date: 11/10/2013

This video looks at scything wheat and introduces a grain cradle modified from a traditional Slovak style bow. The film shows how to assemble and adjust the cradle, which is made from green hazel and a length of bent copper pipe. It also examines the effects of mowing style on getting the wheat to fall neatly in the windrow and the final section looks at gathering the cut wheat. This is the first of a series of short films I hope to produce on the subject of small scale grain harvesting. 
Limitations
The cradle is shown attached to an Austrian style two-grip snath. I found this arrangement very workable but I am not sure if it is the most appropriate snath and grip setup for this cradle.
Here are some links providing more information on scything, training courses and purchase of scythes:
 http://scytheassociation.org/ 
 http://scytheconnection.com/ 
 http://scytherspace.wordpress.com/