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A strickle is a flat tool used for sharpening scythe blades, especially in areas where there is no sandstone to make a whetstone. It is made of a piece of wood, shaped like a small cricket bat, and would be smeared with pig fat onto which sand would be smeared and mixed. This strickle was used at Harwood in Teesdale. The wide faces takes the coarser sand and the narrower faces the finer sand.