Pardon me for posting, but I was wondering…how does one use a Scythe? I don’t mean those little hand-held Soviet-flag ones, I mean the long handled Grim Reaper ones. It seems like the blade is curved AWAY from the direction it would be “Slashed” in.
And what was the Reaper supposed to use it for? I gathered the “Reaper” symbology, but in most popular interperetations, he just “touches” people to kill them. Is it just for looks now?
Ranchoth
I’m not sure how you wield them, but here is a site that talks about the Grim Reaper connection.
There are a few books out there on the history of grain reaping and lawn mowing – and some like this one with an illustration on the cover. The scythe’s long handle allowed for more grass etc to be cut on the swing, the two-handle design holding the long blade away but toward the body. Check out Google’s image files for shots of workers in the field.
BTW, the Soviet flag had a sickle, rather than a scythe.
I’m no farmer, so this comes from a book, but I understand that one is not supposed to “slash” with a scythe, which is tiring and inefficient, but rather to swing it like a pendulum. For grass cutting anyway, I’m not sure about the proper technique for slaughter.
When my father-in-law cleaned out his garage, he gave me his scythe. After I tried it on some tall grass, and got it hung up at the end of each stroke, I asked him what I was doing wrong. He told me to pull it up sharply at the end of the stroke. That severs the last few inches of grass, and leaves the blade free for the backswing.
He wielded his scyth wickedly…
The main mistake most people make using a traditional scythe is swinging it like a golf club. The blade should move parallel to the ground. That means you rotate it around you. Think like using a metal detector with bigger strokes.
The next mistake is not keeping the blade sharp. You should have a round sided file in your back pocket while scything. Every few minutes, stop and run the file along the blade. May seem like a waste of time to stop and all but really saves a lot of time since the cutting goes smoother.
Very, very carefully.
I used to use a long handled (a modern aluminum job) scythe to cut grass under electric fence. As has been mentioned it is very important to keep it sharp and to work parallel to the ground. The pendulum analogy is a good one. If you get the Discovery or History channel every once in a while you’ll see footage of people using them and it will give you a better idea than any worded explanation. On a different tack, if I’m cutting long grass under the fences or around the edge of the lawn or buildings a scythe will work faster than any powered weed wacker. It will however tire you out faster.
My parents and grandparents used to use scythes for harvesting small patches of grain (poor Alberta farmers ya know) and my mom has told me how it’s done. I haven’t ever gotten my hands on one, but I’d like to try it some time.
I was told you do swing it parallel to the ground in sort of a 1/2 circle in front of you. Many people take too big a swing and can’t complete the stroke. Seems you should only cut into the grass about 6 inches or so, and make sure to keep the tip of the blade tip level or slightly up, otherwise you’ll end up planting the tip into the dirt on every pass. When you get better, you can lopp the stalks off at the bottom on the cutting swing, and then brush them with the back of the blade on the back stroke to lay them over so you can cut into the next bunch easier.
I’m sure it sounds easier than it really is.
I spent more than a few summers walking beans with a scythe. The technique I was taught and which worked well for me was to grasp the corn (or ragweed, etc.) about 1/3 of the way down the stalk, start with a quick cut low on the stalks and angle up with a quick jerk with the scythe. It certainly helped to have a sharp blade and it took some practice before I could do any real damage.
Hello, at the minute I find scythes interesting. There is a description on how to use a scythe at [link removed]
The scythe described is a tyzack patent type. Other types may be maintained better in a different fashion.
And it’s a handy implement to have about you in case of a zombie uprising, too.
That. With a slow a regular movement. It doesn’t require much effort, as long as the blade is sharp,it cuts well without needing to put a big effort in each “strike” (used one a bit when I was much younger).
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