Revolutionary War Soldier’s Hand Sickle, as in NPS Museum

This is another nice early piece being offered, it is a Revolutionary War soldier’s Hand Sickle. It has a curved hand forged iron blade with a wooden handle. The overall measurement is 19” with the handle measuring 6”. This was an important implement for soldiers to clear brush and other obstructions, particularly around the cannons and setting up campsites. One of these sickles was recovered by Bill Dancy and is pictured in his book "Discovering Virginia's Colonial Artifacts" (see pictures).

There is a near identical example of this sickle in the “Collector’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of the American Revolution” (see pictures). It states, “It was employed to keep camp areas neat and defensive areas cleared”. There is another one on display at the Guilford Court House NPS Museum (see pictures). This is a very unique piece and amazing how such a relic survived in this condition. There are a couple of surface cracks on the wooden handle, but it does not effect the tool, it remains very tight with no movement.