A Pair of Good Videos on Scything and Making Hay with Hand Tools

Pete Kanaris has a pair of good videos on Jim Kovaleski’s haying by hand.

First, the scything:

And then, the baling:

I can’t find plans for the hay baler he’s using, but it’s ingenious.

Then again, so is this:

I once followed a baler through the field with my Aunt Karen and my cousins. It’s hard work throwing hay around and my allergies hated it, but it was amazing to see how it was done.

Jim Kovaleski notes that his scything and baling can be done even in wet fields where a tractor would bog down. You also don’t have the noise of a tractor or the expense. It’s good to know these things for the “just in case,” and to have good hand tools available as backups. If need be, I could feed the goats and cows with hand-baled hay; however, at roughly 30 minutes of work per bale, it would be a tough row to hoe. Or scythe and rake, as the case may be.

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