[AT] Corn Binding/Hay

[Larry D Goss]

If you can find one, John, use a bona fide corn knife for the job of hand 
cutting rather than the machete-style knives that dealers are selling 
nowadays.  It makes all the difference in the world.  You may have to haunt 
a bunch of antique shops to find one, but a real corn knife looks kind of 
like either a miniature scythe or a hand sickle on steroids.  The forward 
side of the knife is serrated and you don't have to swing it to make it 
work.  You just put the knife down low (close to the root ball) and pull 
toward you at an angle.  It slices off the stalk clean as a whistle.  You 
know that it's time to sharpen the knife when you start pulling the root 
balls out of the ground.

Larry

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <bukowski at uiuc.edu>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 12:53 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay


> Thanks all for the comments and helpful hints on building shocks.  I see 
> my mistake in the past was not using the stalk roots to hold the shock 
> upright.  I thought maybe by not tying bundles it was unstable which was 
> my logic for going that way this year.  If I can just cut and stack in the 
> field, it should be a lot quicker.  I have a small herd of Irish Dexter 
> cattle that I need to feed over the winter. My hay crop was short this 
> year, and prices are crazy currently (and will probably be out of sight by 
> late winter).  I am hoping that I have enough fodder in the stalks plus 
> the ear corn and hay to carry them through to spring.
>
> Thanks again!
>
> John Bukowski
> Potomac, IL
>
> ---- Original message ----
>>Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:52:55 -0400
>>From: "George Willer" <gwill at gwill.net>
>>Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay
>>To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
>><at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>>
>>John,
>>
>>When we cut corn by hand many years ago we began the shock by tying
>>(twisting) 4 stalks together, two from each row, to provide the anchor and
>>each arm load was just stacked against them without tying into bundles.
>>
>>George Willer
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
>>> bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of bukowski at uiuc.edu
>>> Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 9:55 AM
>>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>>> Subject: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay
>>>
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Hay here in east central Illinois is a little tight this year.  I have
>>> about half of what I normally would put up in the barn, and probably 
>>> won't
>>> get another cutting this year.  To make up the short fall, I thought I
>>> might cut a couple of acres of corn to feed.  I don't have a binder 
>>> (which
>>> would be nice) but plan on bundling and tying by hand.  Does anyone know
>>> how many stalk typically went into a bundle tied by a binder.  I'll
>>> probably haul some of the bundles to the barn, and try my hand at 
>>> shocking
>>> the rest.  There is probably  a trick to keep the shocks from blowing 
>>> over
>>> as previous attempts didn't work quite as nicely as I had hoped.  A corn
>>> knife instead of a tractor and binder limits how much I can do, but
>>> probably good exercise!!
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>>
>>> John Bukowski
>>> Potomac, IL
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>>
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