[AT] Corn Binding/Hay

charlie hill chill8 at suddenlink.net
Sun Oct 14 10:03:52 PDT 2007


Hi George,  I don't know if I described it very well but if you've ever seen 
a hunting knife with a "gut hook" on the back side it is similar to that. 
Except that the "gut hook" part appears to be shaped so that you can hook it 
around a stalk ect and cut it by pulling up.  I don't know much about 
raising beets.  We used to grow a few hills in the garden but harvested them 
by hand.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George Willer" <gwill at gwill.net>
To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'" 
<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 11:18 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay


> Charlie,
>
> That sounds a bit like a beet knife if the rounded end you describe would
> spear the beet to pick it up.  They were used for hand topping the plowed
> out beets before the modern beet lifters were available.
>
> George Willer
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
>> bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of charlie hill
>> Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2007 10:55 AM
>> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay
>>
>> I've seen some machettes that have a round notch cut in the back side of
>> the
>> blade.  It's a slot about 1" wide cut at an angle into the blade with a
>> rounded, sharpened end.  I've often wondered what it's true intent was.
>> Could it be they were made for cutting corn or cane?
>>
>> Charlie
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "George Willer" <gwill at gwill.net>
>> To: "'Antique tractor email discussion group'"
>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 8:04 PM
>> Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay
>>
>>
>> > That mower section knife is like the one we used we used to cut the
>> twine
>> > as
>> > the bundles were fed into the shredder after we became modernized with 
>> > a
>> > binder, tractor, and corn shredder.
>> >
>> > When the corn was cut by hand it was with a straight knife somewhat 
>> > like
>> > I still use for some chores around the yard.  It was a straight blade
>> with
>> > no curve like a machete has.
>> >
>> > George Willer
>> >
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
>> >> bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Steve W.
>> >> Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 5:50 PM
>> >> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
>> >> Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Binding/Hay
>> >>
>> >> And if you want the home made version take an old hoe handle and saw a
>> >> slot on one end long enough to install a sickle bar section. Install
>> the
>> >> section with it at an angle. I drilled the holes for mounting so that
>> >> one hole is close to each edge of the handle. You could also use a
>> chunk
>> >> of heavy wall conduit as the handle. To use just slide the handle down
>> >> the stalk till you hit the ground and give it a sharp yank up/back to
>> >> cut the stalk.
>> >>
>> >> Larry D Goss wrote:
>> >> > 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
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Steve W.
>> >> Near Cooperstown, New York
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