Sling Blade

[Faulkner]

Sometimes it's just not practical to carry a "weed eater" string cutter to clean out a area around a gate out in the pasture, so that's when a sling blade comes in handy. I have a sling blade that I sorta borrowed from my dad and kind of never took it back. That was probably about 15 years ago. But in all candor, he never asked me about it either.

A couple of weeks back I was using the sling blade near a gate and swung it too close to the gate post, hit the post and broke the handle. A few days later I took the old handle to town and stopped by the local hardware store to see if the owner, Mr. Mackey, to see if he could fix me up with a replacement handle. Turns out he had something close enough, and when I got it home and on the work bench I pulled out the sander and was able to form it into shape.

After I got it fixed I called my 83 year old dad to tell him I put a new handle on his sling blade and I'd bring it back to him. "Heck," he said, "I don't want that thing back here, I have a weed wacker." I asked him how old that sling blade was and he said my grandpa bought in 1958. He said he remembered because he was a senior in high school, and up until that time my dad pulled weeds by hand. He said he borrowed it from my grandpa in the late 1970's and never took it back.

So, we got at least 63 years use out of the original handle, not bad.

 

[Rustyt1953]

"What numbers do you put in to call the poh-leece?

 

[Salty RI]

And it only took you 15 years to break it.[emoji3]

Sent from my LGL455DL using Tapatalk

 

[Dashriprock]

"Some folks call it a sling blade, I call it a Kaiser blade."

 

[Puller]

Come on Faulkner, with a thread title like this you knew it was coming . . .

 

[Eric300]

I just got flashbacks from swinging one of those things all summer long around the property. Don't recall it being too much fun.

 

[sigp220.45]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AynXoLjYrKc[/ame]

Sometimes I feel like Scooter.

 

[444 Magnum]

Looks like me in my younger years...rebellious and out of focus!

 

[Eric300]

Looks like me in my younger years...rebellious and out of focus!

Shakin' the bush, Boss...

 

[WardenRoss]

The convicts called them "yo-yo's".

They were fazed out, on the road details, around 1995.

I still have my Dad's. I use it occasionally. It's ~60 years old.

,

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

I call those yo-yo's, up and down, up and down. My last 2 gasoline powered weed wackers gave it up, so back to the yo-yo.

 

[Rustyt1953]

A lesser known fact is that Carl Sparkler used an "open sided" sling blade to win at Augusta National.

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

The convicts called them "yo-yo's".

They were fazed out, on the road details, around 1995.

I still have my Dad's. I use it occasionally. It's ~60 years old.

,

Warden, didn't know the origin of yo-yo, and no I have not
been a convict. But I have heard the term for years.

 

[Nedroe]

My Dad.......

called that tool an "idiot stick" and when it was time for it to be used he always made sure I was one usin' it.
He's been gone 30 years now, but I can still remember him sayin' " Grab that idiot stick & get with it. You're burnin' daylight."

I still have one, use it in situations when I don't want the weed eater noise.

Ned

 

[snubbyfan]

A lesser known fact is that Carl Sparkler used an "open sided" sling blade to win at Augusta National.

 

[30-30remchester]

I have worn out a half dozen of those things. I never called them sling blades though. They were just 2 handed weed choppers. A sling bladed is a long handled single blade with a small curve and the cutting edge was parallel with the handle. I have one but have only used a few while fighting wild fires. What ever you call either tool they will raise blisters on your hands after just an hour or two of use.

 

[bdGreen]

Sometimes it's just not practical to carry a "weed eater" string cutter to clean out a area around a gate out in the pasture, so that's when a sling blade comes in handy. I have a sling blade that I sorta borrowed from my dad and kind of never took it back. That was probably about 15 years ago. But in all candor, he never asked me about it either.

A couple of weeks back I was using the sling blade near a gate and swung it too close to the gate post, hit the post and broke the handle. A few days later I took the old handle to town and stopped by the local hardware store to see if the owner, Mr. Mackey, to see if he could fix me up with a replacement handle. Turns out he had something close enough, and when I got it home and on the work bench I pulled out the sander and was able to form it into shape.

After I got it fixed I called my 83 year old dad to tell him I put a new handle on his sling blade and I'd bring it back to him. "Heck," he said, "I don't want that thing back here, I have a weed wacker." I asked him how old that sling blade was and he said my grandpa bought in 1958. He said he remembered because he was a senior in high school, and up until that time my dad pulled weeds by hand. He said he borrowed it from my grandpa in the late 1970's and never took it back.

So, we got at least 63 years use out of the original handle, not bad.

You replaced it?

Ha... My dad would have used a cup and a half of two part expoxy and half a roll of duct tape. Yep. That's how he fixed many a thing.

bdGreen

 

[llowry61]

You replaced it?

Ha... My dad would have used a cup and a half of two part expoxy and half a roll of duct tape. Yep. That's how he fixed many a thing.

bdGreen

Where is Red Green when you need him ( Chainsaw Noise in Background) - If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy !

 

[MRB1]

Just a few swings of one convinced me that I had better thing to do. It's the most useless junk tool I have, but since it belonged to my father, I still keep it around.

 

[kraynky]

Pretty common for us to have Dad's tools huh? I have my Dad's too. I recall a buddy's Dad hiring the both of us to clean up a ditch with them (pre-weed whacker days). We started off thinking it was fun, but soon had blisters bursting on our hands, way before the ditch was finished.

I'm not sure why I thought to borrow Dad's years later....... I must bex a slow learner. I discovered that they cut a lot better cleaned up and sharpened however.

I doubt there's enough money to get kids to use one today! I always called it a sling blade too. Fond, but painful memories go with those darn things.