Japanese stainless steel harvesting sickle

A stainless steel bladed medium sized harvesting sickle from Asano Mokkousho, of Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture Japan. With a fairly short, fine but very sharply serrated blade these could reasonably be considered a lightweight hybrid of pruning saw and classic smooth bladed sickles. Typically used for gathering rice whose coarse stems it severs with ease these are useful in the garden as a vegetable harvesting tool, for trimming this years still green woody growth, or perhaps more aggressively for cutting back fibrous annoyances such as nettles and thistles should one face such misfortune. About 35cm overall length, with a blade of 17cm.