Objektnummer
51/262
Beskrivning
A strickle was a Welsh tool for sharpening scythe and sickle blades, especially in areas where there was no sandstone to make a whetstones. It is made of a piece of wood, shaped like a small cricket bat, and would be smeared with pig fat onto which pepper sand would be smeared and mixed. This process was generally repeated three times a day at meal times.
Fysisk beskrivning
1 strickle: wood; string attached at bottom of handle for hanging
Arkivhistorik
MERL 'Catalogue index' card – 'The use of the strickle for sharpening scythe and sickle blades was limited to rural Wales, especially to those districts where no sandstone for making whet stones occurred. Each reaper when on the harvest field carried a strickle, known as STRIC in North Wales, RIP in West Wales and RIPE in the Border counties, which was usually fastened to the top of the scythe snead. In general it is a piece of wood, in the shape of a small cricket bat, but in some parts of the country an ordinary glass bottle was used as a strickle in place of a piece of wood. // To prepare the strickle for sharpening, the reaper would smear the piece of wood with a piece of pig fat and then pepper sand thickly on it, the sand being well mixed with the fat. This process was generally repeated three times a day, generally at mealtimes. // The origin of this strickle in Wales is unknown. It measures a total length of 15.5 inches and consists of a round handle 5 inches in length which widens into the body of the strickle 10.5 long. The strickle gradually narrows from its relatively thick square top to almost a point at the tip. A piece of string at the bottom of the handle, threaded through the wood was used for hanging the strickle on the snead or on the wall when not in use.'
Datum
1800-01-01 - 1899-12-31
Produktionsperiod
Nineteenth century
Objektnamn
Material
Digital referens
- L:\MERL\Objects\JISC 2012\35 series negatives\Scans\35_187.tif - High resolution image
