The sickle business is in decline in Japan but many of our blacksmiths got their start making these tools and they still produce them for gardeners and small farmers. These handy and interesting tools are used for weeding and harvesting small plots of rice and grass. Japanese farmers don't pay a lot for these tools so they're inexpensive and at minimum make great conversation pieces. The one you see here is made with Blue #2 carbon steel and the blade is about 180mm in length.