Garden Sickle

Garden Sickle information - with details of this traditional English agricultural or garden sickle and other traditional English garden tools

A "Straight" Garden Sickle with Hardwood Handle made in Sheffield, England from high quality hardened and tempered steel. Although the garden sickle was traditionally used in agricultural farming before mechanisation, the garden sickle can also be useful in clearing out light weeds or cutting down old garden crops. This garden sickle is not a slasher and will not withstand heavy slashing of weeds, it is a more delicate garden tool for crops.

A garden sickle is a curved, hand-held agricultural tool typically used for harvesting grain crops before the advent of modern harvesting machinery. The garden sickle consists of a curved blade with a short, one-hand handle attached. The inside of the curve is sharp, so that the user can swing the sickle blade against the base of the crop, catching it in the curve and slicing it at the same time.

A garden sickle blade which is used to cut the silica-rich stems of cereal crops acquires a characteristic sickle-gloss, or wear pattern. When this pattern appears on ancient stone tools, it can indicate early use or development of agriculture.