Improvements in Scythes and the Manufacture thereof.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 31st Dec., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 28th Sept., 1889-Accepted, 2nd Nov., 1889
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Scythes and the Manufacture thereof.
I, FRIEDRICH WILHELM ROBERT BARLEN, of Werdohi, in the Kingdom of
Prussia, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
11
My invention relates to the manufacture of scythes and consists of improvements
therein, rendering the manufacture of the blades, necks and backpieces a more simplo
and cheap operation than is known at present.
The usual manufacture of scythes is as follows: A rectangular rod of steel is
forged taper towards one end, the other end being bent over at a right angle to be
formed into the back piece for the attachment of the wooden shaft or handle. During
repeated heating the steel rod, thus prepared, is flattened under the flatting-hammer
towards the side which is to form tlie edge until it is thin onough to form the blade
of the scythe, the part which has remained thick is then bent over by forging to
afford stiffness to the blade, and the back-piece for the attachment of the shaft is
brought into the right position to the blade. The scythe is then finished by
cutting, hardening, tempering, straightening, planishing, scraping and grinding of
the blade.
My invention is designed to supersede this process and is as follows:-
Instead of a rectangular rod of steel I use steel sheet of the thickness desired for
the blade of the scythe, and cut or stamp from it a piece consisting of two parts;—
the first of which has the outline of the blade of a scythe, the narrow part or neck
connecting the same to the back-piece to which the wooden shaft is attached, and of
such back picce; the second and smaller part has the outline of the back piece, the
neck, and a small part of the broad part of the blade only. The second part is then
bent over the other in such a manner that the corresponding parts cover each other,
and the two parts are then rivetted together. In this manner I obtain the necessary
thickness for the neck and the back piece to which the wooden shaft is to be
attached.
I then bend over the back of the blade at an angle to the latter, to afford stiffness
to the same, and if desirable, the strip thus hent over, is bent over on itself again.
To further stiffen the scythe stamp a groove running along the back of the blade,
the neck, and the back piece, to which the blade is attached. By the same stamping
operation, I bring neck and back piece into the right direction to the blade. That
part of the groove which is in the back piece, has the further advantage of preventing
a sidewards movement of the scythe on the shaft and for this purposo it is fitted into
the latter.
This method of manufacture has the following advantages over the old process :-
My method is simpler and therefore more economical, as I prepare the proper shape
of the material by a single cutting or stamping, operation.
My scythe being made of rolled sheet metal is of the same thickness throughout
as regards the blade, which was not the case with scythes made with the flatting
hammer under the old system. The more even the thickness of the blade, the better
will it cut.
My scythe is lighter and therefore more convenient for the scytheman.
Dated this 31st day of December 1888.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Scythes and the Manufacture thereof.
1, FRIEDRICH WILHELM ROBERT BARLEN, of Werdohl, in the Kingdom of
Prussia, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the construction and manufacture of an improved
scythe whereby the following advantages are obtained over processes of manufacture
as now used :-
1st. The method adopted is simpler and therefore more economical as the blade and
backpiece and the proper shape of the scythe is formed by one single cutting or
stamping operation.
Secondly. The scythe being made of rolled sheet metal the blade is of the same
thickness throughout which is not the case with scythes made under the old system
and consequently the more even the thickness of the blade the better will it out.
Thirdly. The scythe is lighter and therefore more convenient for the user.
The usual manufacture of scythes is carried out in the following manner: A
rectangular rod of steel is formed tapered towards one end, the other end being
bent over a right angles so as to be formed into a back piece for the attachment of
the wooden shaft. By repeated heating and flattening under a hammer this steel
rod is flattened towards the side which is to form the edge of the scythe until it has
been reduced to the required degree. The remaining thick part is then bent over by
forging to afford sufficient stiffness to the blade and the back-piece is brought into
the right position in relation to the blade for the attachment of the shaft. The scythe
is then finished by cutting, hardening, tempering, straightening, planishing scraping;
and guiding of the blade.
By my invention, I use, instead of the rectangular rod of steel, steel sheet of the
thickness desired for the blade of the scythe.
In order that my invention may be the better understood, I now proceed to describe
the same in relation to the drawings hereunto annexed reference being had to the
letters and figures marked thereon.
Figure 1 shows the shape of the steel sheet when punched out.
Figure 2 shows the shape of the steel sheet when punched out and bent for the
purpose of forming the neck and the back piece of the scythe.
Figures 2a and 26 show the stiffening. rib formed at the back by bending the edge
over either inwards or outwards.
Figure 3 is a view of the finished scythe.
Figure 4 is a sectional view through the blade showing the stiffening groove.
Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the neck.
Figures 6 and 7 show modified forms of the stiffening rib and groove.
Figures S, 9. 10 and 11 show the method of attachment of the blade to the
handle.
The first operation is to punch out of the steel sheet the scythe in the form shown
in figure 1 where the part A represents the metal of the blade and the part B in
connection with the adjacent part of A being for the attachment of the handle. The
part B is bent over at the dotted line upon the blade A and is rivetted or fixed in
any convenient manner to A as shown in figure 3 so forming a rigid attachment
between the neck and the blade of the scythe.
The back of the scythe I form by bending over at right angles the edge of the
blade along the dotted line a and by further bending it again upon itself. The
bending may be effected either inwards as in figure 2a or ontwards as in figure 2b.
In order to stiffen the blade of the scythe longitudinally I stamp a groove c
running along the back of the blade, the neck, and the backpiece to which the handle
is attached as shown in figures 3, 4 and 5. By the same stamping operation I bring
the backpiece and the neck into the right position in relation to the blade.

page_text: In smaller scythes it may be sufficient to manufacture the back of the scythe by a
simple bending of the back of the blade as shown in figure 6.
It may however be
advantageous to further bend the back edge of the blade down upon the longitudinal
stiffening groove c as shown in figure 7.
The groove in the back piece has the further advantage of preventing the
movement the scythe side-ways on the shaft and for this purposo is fitted into
the latter as shown in figures 8 and 9 in which C represents the scythe shaft, D the
fastening ring, and E the fastening wedge. If it should be desirable to alter the
angle of the scythe to the shaft the groove c is formed in the reverse position to that
herein before described and the rabbet within which the groove or rib c engages
will then be cut into the wooden wedge as shown in figures 9 and 11.
The finishing of the scythe will be effected in the usual manner by hardening,
tempering, straightening, and grinding.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1st. The manufacture of a scythe out of sheet metal punched out in such a form
that the part A forms the blade and the parts B the neck and means for attachment
of the handle, B being bent over on to A and secured by rivets or by any other
suitable means, substantially as and for the purpose described.
2nd. In a scythe as claimed in claim 1 a groove c which runs along the back of the
blade and branches off into the back piece for increasing the stiffness of the
scythe and for securing the immovable position of the blade in connection with
the handle.
Dated the 27th day of September 1889.
FELL & WILDING,
1, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C., Agents for the Applicant.