The Swing Blade

“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hmmm....  I'm not going to agree with ol' Ralph in this instance.  There is a sliver of land that abuts our property on the backside that grows up really tall in weeds.  The owner doesn't mow it and it can get to be overgrown, harboring thick clouds of mosquitoes that venture out from their weedy sanctuary to bite our ankles as we milk Daisy and Rosie.  For this reason, we'll often put the temporary electric fence up in what we call 'the sacrifice pasture' and allow the girls to mow down the tall weeds.

One problem though is that there are some invasive, bad weeds and grasses that I don't want growing seeds and populating our pasture.  One such weed that grows here is called the Tropical Soda Apple, I think.  It has long thorns on it and don't you ever make the mistake of grabbing it with your hands to try to uproot it. The thorns will stick you and pierce you to the bone.  Believe me.  I'd really rather not mow his property for him and one of my least favorite jobs is using the weed eater.  What to do?  What to do?

Weeds

Well, this seems like a job just meant for the old swing blade.  This is an old tool and I assume this implement was used prior to someone inventing the Weed Eater or String Trimmer.  I can remember many days in my youth using this bad boy out at the farm to clean up areas that surrounded plows and other equipment parked around the shop.

Behold the Swing Blade

Operating the swing blade doesn't take a lot of skill and you don't have to read an operator's manual to figure out what to do.  You simply grab the handle and swing it back and forth along the ground.  There is a blade that chops the weeds quickly and efficiently.  You never have to stop and change the string!  You do learn early on that it makes the job easier if you keep the blade sharpened on both sides.  Swinging the blade will turn a tall, weed-infested area into a somewhat manageable area (like below) in no time flat, if you don't mind a little sweat equity.  Once the weeds are out of the way, it will allow grasses to grow and crowd out any noxious weeds.  That's the goal, anyway.

Taming the jungle

It helps to wear gloves to use the swing blade.  This tool has no doubt spawned thousands of callouses throughout the ages since it was invented and gallons of the watery substance that filled the painful blisters, but that's not nice to think about. When Tricia and I first moved from Houston to the country, we didn't have a lawnmower yet, because we didn't need a lawnmower living in an apartment and a townhouse.  When we moved into a rent house and Tricia asked me how we were going to mow the yard, I handed her this very tool in my hand below.  For a split second, she believed me and thought that I expected her to mow the yard with it!

Get busy

So Saturday morning I walked around in the sacrifice pasture swinging the swing blade to eliminate the bad weeds that the cows won't eat.  If you don't mind some honest work, it is peaceful.  There is no loud, obnoxious noise of a weed eater, no strings to keep replacing, and no gas to burn other than your physical energy.  After a little while your t-shirt will be soaking wet with sweat, but you can get immediate gratification from your efforts as you see the swing blade taking gigantic swaths out of your weed problem with each swing.

Swish!  Swish!  Swish!

As you swing and get more practice, you find that you can give the ground a close 'shave' and can get right next to objects such as fences and trees without hitting them, but that does take some skill building with the tool.  You can see in the picture below, the old swing blade has been brazed and welded at least a couple of times in its long life.  The damage comes from hitting objects such as fence posts and stumps and whatnot. The swing blade is a survivor, though.  I would assume that many weed eaters have been thrown away during the life of this very tool, but the swing blade keeps right on running!  

I don't know if you can still purchase something like this.  I would assume the advent of weed eaters made this thing a relic only found in a cobweb filled corner your grandpa's garage or in a real old-time hardware store like Jenkin's Hardware in Oberlin, Louisiana.

Repair & Maintenance is sometimes, but rarely, needed.

The Swing Blade will run forever (literally) without needing to be refueled.  The operator of the swing blade, however, needs frequent refueling.  And that's when it is best to find a nice shade tree to lean the tool against and have a nice drink of cool water.

Water break

While drinking cold water, wiping the sweat from your forehead, catching your breath and listening to the birds sing, all seems right with the world.  In no time at all, the tool and the operator are swinging again, making significant dents in both the weed overgrowth and our sedentary lifestyles!