What is a sickle used for?

What is a sickle?

A sickle is a gardening tool, resembling a knife with a curved blade. This “knife” consists of a handle made of wood or plastic and a sharp, curved stainless steel blade. In rare cases, the blade may be made of copper. The cutting edge of the blade is located on the inside of the curve.

The vast majority of sickles are folding knives, convenient for safely storing them in a pocket.

The Bahco 20 cm sickle is very lightweight thanks to its plastic handle. The Due Buoi folding sickle is more traditional, but it is a robust and effective tool. The Tucana copper sickle is much less conventional: non-folding and equipped with a copper blade. Copper blades never dull and do not rust. Therefore, it is a virtually maintenance-free tool that will last you a lifetime.

The special case of the serpetton: a serpetton is a lightweight knife that is halfway between a sickle and a grafting knife. The blade is less curved than that of the sickle.

Did you know?: in the Republican calendar, in effect in France between 1792 and 1806, certain days were named after agricultural tools. This is the case for the 20th day of Pluviôse, which is 8 February, named “Sickle”.

Old models of sickles and a recent model of sickle

What is a sickle used for?

The sickle is a tool that is very useful in the garden, particularly for:

• maintenance pruning: perennials and green shoots of small-diameter bushes;
• preparing cuttings;
• harvesting fruits and flowers: it is easy to harvest clusters of grapes with the sickle;
• harvesting certain vegetables: the sickle is ideal for cutting at the collar level for lettuces, chicory-scarols, endives (or chicons), and cabbages…;
• easily cutting ivy;
• certain types of grafting (cleft and insertion), requiring deeper incisions on the rootstocks. This is particularly the case for grafting fruit trees.

The sickle provides a very clean cut, which facilitates the healing of tissues. Unlike some pruning shears that tend to crush tissues during cutting.

How to use a sickle?

A sickle is used much like a knife. The sharp side is placed against the part to be cut. Then, you need to work the blade against the plant in a semi-rotational movement. Be careful when using a sickle; if the blade cuts the vegetation very well, it will also slice through the gardener’s flesh perfectly.

Remember to regularly sharpen the blade of your sickle using a sharpening stone.

Good to know! : Don’t forget to clean the blades with alcohol (90°) after use. This operation helps prevent the transmission of diseases from one plant to another, as well as keeping your tool in good condition for a long time. Indeed, the sap from certain plants can attack the blades or make them sticky over time.