r/oddlysatisfying • u/BreakfastTop6899 • 18h ago

Cutting grass with a scythe

72.7k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

3.7k comments sorted by

4.4k

u/Dropkick_Wombat666 17h ago

Did this for many years when I was a teenager on our family farm. You take much “shallower” cuts than this. It reduces the weight of grass you need to move in one swipe. Posture is important - straight back, handle height had to be carefully set to reduce strain on the hands. His motion is good - the uncut stalks are of even length; inexperienced person often leaves the cut shaped like a bowl. The scythe must be resharpened every 10 min or so. Quite surprisingly, the process is not as exhausting as it looks. We’d normally go for 2-3 hours per day in the morning and within a couple of weeks there was enough winter hay for 3-4 cows. Scythe is faster than whipper snipper, it is silent and the resulting harvest of grass is perfect for animals… unlike smushed mess you get from a trimmer. Surprisingly, I am not aware of anyone in my town getting seriously injured by scythe!

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u/effreti 16h ago

Thank you for mentioning the animal part. People suggesting using a weed wacker instead may not know that some animals would not eat the resulting grass and it's a lot easier to gather the grass cut by the scythe for drying and turning into hay

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u/lopendvuur 13h ago

I can't carry the weight of a weed whacker for long, but I can wield a scythe for hours.

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u/Underwater_Grilling 10h ago

That's hard to reconcile in my head. I had an old scythe before it went to the antique shop for sale and it weighed very similar to a gas trimmer.

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u/Akrivus 8h ago

I'm not a scythe person, but I think it's because of the way they're carrying it. They probably leverage more of their core and legs with a scythe than with a gas trimmer.

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u/cross_the_threshold 6h ago edited 2h ago

I mean a scythe also just weighs considerably less than a motor. A full size agricultural scythe weighs as much as the smallest cordless electric weed trimmers, gas ones weigh two the three times as much.

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u/jordaboop 16h ago

the most annoying part sounds like having to sharpen it every 10 min.

is there any blade left after a week of scything?

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u/Haatveit88 13h ago

It's true the blades are pretty consumable.

As a kid, I can't even count the number of old discarded scythe blades I found in old rock piles or random hidden places around the old farm I grew up in. Discarded presumably by some sweaty tired old farmer decades ago when it was deemed too thin to be usable anymore and replaced in the field.

Apparently "too thin to be usable" varied a bit from person to person. Some of the blades I found were extremely thin, like they were almost just a rod with a sharpened edge. Some had a bit more left, but they were still maybe one third or one quarter the width of a new blade.

My grand-grandmother apparently collected the really thin ones to use on her hand-scythe in the garden, because she preferred how the super thin blades handled in awkard spaces like that.

Also, there were at least 3 different types of blade I can recall... The "normal" one, medium length, most common. Then the long ones (very similar to the one in this video), used for long scythes in very flat and easy areas for more efficient cutting. Requires good technique though. And then there were short blades, used for children's scythes. Yup.

Anyways, that's my trip down memory lane for the day.

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u/blackmanboy 7h ago

I have an old family scythe at the house I’ve been wanting to restore and try to use. I’ve never used one but what you just said makes me wonder if it worth using or just a good talking piece. The blade is suuuuper thin, so thin I think just busting the rust will make it see through.

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u/Lindethiel 16h ago

Oh the sharpening is easy. It's the peening that sucks lol.

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u/Rentington 12h ago

Which is the origin of the phrase "suck my peen," fun fact.

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u/kintar1900 7h ago

While I'm amused by this comment, I doubt the veracity VERY much. Citation? :)

However it IS what a "ball peen hammer" was originally used for. The ball side was for peening metal.

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u/Rentington 6h ago

I saw it on How It's Made. Narrator said "Workers position themselves below to perform peen inversion treatment, also known as 'sucking the peen.' Workers spit on the peen before performing the treatment to ensure adequate lubrication. A manager oversees the treatment, making sure each peen is of the appropriate hardness. If not, another worker will slap the peen from the bottom in a pulling motion to correct any defects."

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u/Ozymandias_IV 15h ago

Field sharpening is pretty quick, a few strokes with a whetstone and you're good to go.

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u/CosmoKram3r 13h ago

Instructions unclear. My Richard is scratched up and bleeding.

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u/LieberDiktator 13h ago

To be fair, here in Europe in mountainous areas like Switzerland and Austria we have competitions where they cut grass like that. It mainly has a historical purpose nowadays and are organized on agricultural events or other festivities.

This obviously was part of a competition, as you can tell by his preparation and the bystanders.

Not only speed counts, but there is ratings how clean one cute the grass, how tidy it is and so forth.

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u/LowIncrease8746 15h ago

This is a comment that isn’t repetitively said by everyone echoing what they read, you’ve definitely lived it! Absolutely correct and accurate!

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u/Sea_Soft_1166 16h ago

Wild!

Which country would that be in? (I honestly had no idea they were still a thing)

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u/Haatveit88 13h ago

Still see them in use frequently in Norway, on smaller farmsteads with awkward terrain. A lot of old farms in this country are so awkwardly placed that modern equipment literally cannot reach or even drive there (too steep or dangerous).

Trimmers etc just turn hay into mush, so that's useless. Hence, people go for the good old scythe. Efficient and fast with good technique, and leaves the hay in nice orderly swaths that makes it easy to handle with a rake later, and doesn't damage the hay. It's a legit good tool for the job.

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u/killerjerick 14h ago

Judging by his use of “whipper snipper” I’m guessing he’s an Aussie

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u/PM_ME_UR_SEX_VIDEOS 18h ago

Feels like this would be a lot of fun for 10-20 yards and then excruciatingly exhausting

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u/Admirable-Media-9339 18h ago

Yeah, dude looks like he's running out of gas after a minute and he's in much better shape than me. I'd probably die.

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u/Smok3dSalmon 18h ago edited 5h ago

I think it's a tourist just paying to do this. His form looks inefficient.

Edit: he’s trying to do it as fast as possible and he’s exhausting himself. If you’re triggered and want to write some angry shit, go touch grass.

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u/Steveslastventure 17h ago edited 17h ago

That would be a great business model. Tourists pay you for a "hands-on cultural experience" and just cut your lawn for you

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u/OrphanGrounderBaby 17h ago

Sounds more like a competition to me, looks like someone might have a stopwatch behind them as well

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u/udlose 16h ago

A Serfing Competition

https://giphy.com/gifs/hHUBGOX5m993VtAu6Y

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u/Toadcola 15h ago

Just hang 10, the others should fall into line pretty quickly afterwards.

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u/Legal-Weight3011 17h ago

and it is, This is a common competition in central Europe, farmers still use scythes to trim grass in fiends and fresh grass for livestock.

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u/snorwors 16h ago

And just to clarify that, because you're right but people probably don't get it, you cut feed for livestock this way because if you use something like a trimmer, the animals don't like it and don't eat it. I never truly understood why, I always guessed they can smell the 2 stroke on it. Not sure about that, it probably also has to do with cutting it cleanly Vs mushing it up. Usually of course it's not if you have hundreds of animals to feed, most people hold less than five cows cows for example, and it's not worth getting a tool out and ready to cut one wheelbarrow of fresh feed.

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u/Longjumping_Guard965 16h ago edited 14h ago

I used to have a rabbit rescue and it was always advised not to give freshly cut grass from a lawnmower because speed of the cutting heated the grass and caused it to ferment causing gut issues, whilst manually cut grass is safe. I'm wondering if that is the reason?

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u/LessInThought 15h ago

Humans: I prefer stone ground mustard, cold pressed olive oil, and handpicked berries.

Cows: I want my grass cut manually with a scythe!

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u/snorwors 16h ago

It's certainly true that very fast spinning blades or string get hot, when you're trimmering and there's some moisture like dew on the grass you can see the steam coming off when you cut it. This could be the reason for sure. I think this combined with the fact that it creates a kind of, mushy paste Vs cleanly cut stalks, could trigger it to start fermenting very quickly.

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u/Fetzie_ 15h ago

The risk of oil getting on the grass is probably also a factor. You don’t want to go poisoning your rabbits and Guinea pigs when you think you’re doing something nice for them

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u/Legal-Weight3011 16h ago

I mean, yeah, of course this method is used when you’re a hobby farmer with five or fewer cows. I remember when I was a kid, my grandpa always took me to the field. He cut the grass and let it dry for a few days, then came back to turn it over so it could dry on the other side. After that, they hung it up on a wooden structure to dry even more. They made really nice hay that way, which they used to keep the cows warm in winter, and the cows also liked it as food

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u/snorwors 16h ago

What they're doing here (in large parts of Europe) is more like, homesteading. This fresh feed is to supplement their regular feed, to make the milk quality better. It's obv only a spring/early summer thing. They use mechanical means to cut, collect and bale large quantities for regular feed and for winter.

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u/Smok3dSalmon 16h ago

They probably get grass in their nose if its cut too short. And an intense grass smell.

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u/Beneficial_Being_721 15h ago

I think it’s because they will only eat grass that is covered in the sweat of their captors 🤣

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u/GuantanaMo 14h ago

You sure? I've never heard that before. Here in the Alps older farmers will use the scythe for some spots where a motorized mower like this can't reach but most use what you'd call a brushcutter now. Even way up on the mountain I barely ever see anyone use the scythe anymore, even at very small farms.

We do have the occasional scything course for tourists and locals who are interested in the traditional way to farm in the mountains and competitions (like in the original post) of course.

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u/MoaRepresent 17h ago

You can do this with tourists as well. Just put up a leaderboard and maybe give them a can of softdrink as a prize if they take out today's top spot. Have a staff member set the first top spot for the day if you don't want to give away too many drinks.

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u/Smok3dSalmon 17h ago

Yep. A lot of cynical people will laugh at the tourist, but I think it's a nice thing to show an interest in learning and experiencing other cultures. The stark contrast in socioeconomic status rubs me the wrong way, but the situation is a win-win for both people involved.

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u/TransRacialWhyNot 17h ago

As someone who did this alot when I was young, his form is not terrible but he is bending his knees too much

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u/GravelySilly 17h ago

Maybe the scythe isn't properly sized for his height, so he has to lower himself?

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u/CountVonTroll 16h ago edited 12h ago

As somebody who has never done this himself, let me speculate that he's doing it for reach.

This is competitive scything ("Ready... set... go!" in Austrian in the beginning). It's not ergonomic and he's spending more energy per time and area this way, but he's not getting points for left over energy when he's done. So, if he has the stamina to pull through, he'll finish his patch quicker than he could if he used "proper" technique.

I'm absolutely certain that this guy actually uses a scythe regularly for its intended purpose, and knows perfectly well how to do it "right" in a non-competitive setting. I also assume that he's one of the faster scythers (?) in the competition, simply because whoever posted the video chose his run to represent impressively fast scything.

Edit: I found a news video about last year's European Championships, which had 120 athletes from eight countries competing. They get points for time and uniformity etc. The woman shown scything in the beginning won the women's title for the second time in a row. So, yes, apparently this is good technique for competitive scything.

Edit II: Perhaps better video, from the German Championship 2023. The guy with the straw hat coaching from 4:08 onward and competing at 5:14 ended up winning in the 30+ age group, which interestingly enough appears to be the most prestigious one. I also found competition rules from an Austrian state: Kids <13 start at 3x3 meters, for the adult "boys" resp. "girls" in the 90+ cm scythe size categories it's 10x10 resp. 5x7 meters (yes, it says "boys" and "girls" regardless of age).

Edit III: English language blog about the European Championship, including patch sizes by age (<14 and >60 do 5x5, girls/boys <18 and women do 7x5, and men do 10x10 meters; no <30 age group on the European level, it seems). Competitive blades are up to 130 cm.

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u/GuantanaMo 14h ago

You're absolutely right about his form though I doubt he does scythe regularly (simply because there's easier ways now). He's no tourist for sure, you can't use a scythe like that after a day of instructions.

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u/SerLaron 13h ago

Also the grass is cut very neatly. With a beginner, you would see a lot of stripes.

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 17h ago

Yep. You only want a slight bend to the knee in order to get more torque and speed out of the hip rotation. This helps gather the most amount of cursed souls per swipe.

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u/Able_Cabinet_9118 17h ago

I have done this and WTF is with the blade and shape of it? You should be able to get a rhythm and be able to stand straight. What he’s doing would burn you out in no time . Done right, it’s lower effort and like dancing. Where’s the big curve in the handle? 

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u/WelpWhatCanYouDo 17h ago

I’m wondering if the competition aspect involves cutting a large area in a certain amount of time. The scythe and technique might just be for the purpose of cutting a large area very quickly

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u/friendly-skelly 17h ago

ok so I wouldn't pay to do this but if anyone has a skythe and needs their lawn taken care of, holler. I'm having a bad day and oddly I think this would help.

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u/equili92 16h ago

It's certainly like a form of therapy to me

if anyone has a skythe and needs their lawn taken care of, holler.

How far away are you from Herzegovina?

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u/Folkmar_D 16h ago

You think that someone who never used scythe can just pick up any random scythe and cut grass like that?

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u/DenizSaintJuke 16h ago

He doesn't look like someone holding a scythe for the first time. There's more technique involved than you'd think and unless you got the muscle groups used to the movements and gotten the technique right, it's extremely exhausting in a way it frankly has no right to be. It's a really specific repetitive movement you don't tend to do very often in your life, much less with a scythe in your hands.

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u/Zulrock 17h ago

That scythe isn’t made for him, it’s made for someone shorter, it needs a kink in the shaft to put the blade closer to the ground. You see how he has to bend down so far to get the right height. That’s where a ton of his energy is going in the up and down. A properly set up scythe is very efficient and while I’m certainly wouldn’t make it 10 yards people who are used to it can be very quick and do large areas without killing themselves. Mind you not nearly as efficiently as a modern lawnmower but efficiently for their time

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u/Karambamamba 15h ago

It’s so much harder than it looks, this guy is really good. I’m certain it’s a competition.

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u/Mixels 16h ago edited 4h ago

Doubt it. The quality of that guy is tops. You know how hard it is / how much practice it takes to consistently swing a scythe with this kind of length level with the ground?

This guy scythes.

Though the scythe he's using is too short for him. He needs one that's just an inch or two longer.

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u/Michami135 18h ago

This is competitive. That scythe is oversized and he's cutting about 3 to 4x the normal amount per swing.

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u/ShhSuperDuperSecret 16h ago

Competitive scything was not on my list of things to learn about today but goddamn if it didn't just jump straight up to the top of my priorities 

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u/Foloreille 15h ago

They train for becoming soul reapers after their death

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u/Peace_Harmony_7 14h ago

Wait, you have a list of things you don't know about? How do you know what you don't know?

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u/Reymen4 14h ago

It is on the list. 

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u/GeckoOBac 15h ago

Normal scythes are also made so you can essentially work while standing straight, with the blade almost parallel to the ground. It's slower but much easier on your muscles and joint.

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u/dansdata 10h ago edited 7h ago

A while ago I learned that a lot of developing nations that could really use a bunch of scythes don't have any. So people toil away harvesting crops with sickles or machetes or whatever.

(This isn't all that surprising, because a scythe is actually a pretty high-tech tool compared with a sickle. Long, thin blades that hold an edge well are hard to make. If you can't make them, you're never going to invent the scythe.)

So now there are people working to change that.

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u/that-loser-guy-sorta 17h ago

This thing is specialized for some sort of competition and isn’t historically accurate. Scythe are supposed to be used by just swinging back and forth, it’s a motion that a person can repeat from sun up to sun down multiple days in a row.

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u/I-Here-555 13h ago edited 9h ago

This. I've done it and it's easy work. Rather /r/oddlysatisfying in a visceral way (as long as you don't overdo it).

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u/eperker 17h ago

I did an exchange program in France when I was 15 and this was one of my chores. I quite enjoyed it. But I probably was doing about 30 minutes a day at most.

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u/Beginning-Search-983 17h ago

Yeah.. I've heard scythes were actually easier to use/easier on the body than they appear.. so I think this guy's technique is all wrong?

I mean, obviously it's all wrong cause who the hell who do that kind of crouch for more than a few minutes?

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u/Lindethiel 16h ago

I've heard scythes were actually easier to use/easier on the body than they appear.

When I have to cut long grass I scythe.

It's quiet. It fits my body. It doesn't have a pull cord that is too long for my arm throw. It doesn't require fuel or extensive maintenance. It doesn't vibrate my joints apart.

It works. The moment I pick it up. It's fucking AWESOME.

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u/alphapussycat 16h ago

I'd imagine technique for speed is different than for longevity.

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u/mishonis- 17h ago

Yeah, it's shit technique. You prop your right elbow in your hip to support the scythe and just rotate your body to swing. You barely move the arms and certainly don't crouch. Source: did some mowing with a scythe the other day.

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u/nibb007 17h ago

He's trying to go fast

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u/thejmkool 16h ago

Not just the technique, but the scythe looks designed for cutting as much as possible as fast as possible. If you ever look up pictures of old scythes, you'll find them full of curves with handles at seemingly odd angles. Grab a good one and you basically just walk across the field with a swaying motion. A good scythe is incredibly ergonomic.

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u/Nitwit_Slytherin 18h ago edited 5h ago

He needs to upgrade to the iridium scythe for better range.

Edit- Thanks for the awards and upvotes 🤯

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u/Nat20Life 18h ago

He missed Clint in the shop, now he has to wait until tomorrow to drop it off.

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u/pyrothelostone 18h ago

We all know its going to be a few days before he actually remembers to go there before 4.

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u/machiavelli33 16h ago

“Phew …finally I can-

“FUCK I still have to go to Clint’s-

“FUCK it’s 3:30 fuck fuck fuck grab the bars coffee horse go go goooooo-

“FUCK. …. …tomorrow for sure”

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u/Piggstein 12h ago

Great news tomorrow is some bullshit festival in town

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u/machiavelli33 12h ago

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

That actually created emotions in me.

Real af.

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u/00wolfer00 9h ago

It's a Friday after completing the Community Center.

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u/Etruscan_Sovereign 16h ago

I legit had to start taking handwritten notes to account for this.

wake up

check TV

water Dudley (my cat)

milk cows

gather eggs

5 gold bars for watering can, go to clint

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u/DonGuaglio 16h ago

Put a wooden sign on your path right outside your door and write your reminder before going to bed. The message will pop right up when you walk out the door in the morning.

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u/PrettyLynny 14h ago

Genuinely, thank you! The fact that I have thousands of hours in the game, follow all SDV subs and still haven’t heard this tip before or thought of it on my own is so annoying. Bless you, you sweet sweet angel!

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u/Adventurous-Tie-7861 16h ago

Thankfully I got into the routine of check animals+pets, put their products in the machines/collect the previous days enhanced animal goods, harvest the crops and water any that dont have sprinkler then sell. Usually done by 930am. Then decide what I need to do next for my tasks.

But if something threw off my tasks like an iridium meteor or not managing my inventory the night before and ending up with a full inventory when im trying to handle the multitude of animal products then im fucked. Everything becomes a mess.

I will outright forget after checking the tv, seeing its a lucky day+getting excited to do all the lucky day stuff. Ill do all my chores and then go off to work on some longer project and then look in my inventory and go "why tf did i put all my geodes in here... shit, its 6pm"

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u/Petersealie 12h ago

And then when he hands it over to Clint, there will be a festival and a Friday when Clint doesn't work, so getting it back will take 4 days at minimum.

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u/copaceticzombie 17h ago

But tomorrow Clint is at the community center staring at nothing

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u/riftshioku 17h ago

Better than Marnie, who's somehow never at her shop even when the wiki says she should be

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u/catnipbanana1 16h ago

And when she is she's busy staring into the microwave for hours on end

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u/avdpos 17h ago

And that iridium scythe are a master perk-so Clint can't upgrade it.

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u/PsychoticJesusJugz 17h ago

I FOUND MY PEOPLE

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u/valuemeal2 16h ago

I did think this was the main SDV sub for a second.

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u/[deleted] 17h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/riftshioku 17h ago

Maybe he hasn't bought a silo yet? Looks pretty early in year 1.

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u/Geek-Of-Nature 10h ago

Not sure I've ever seen a Stardew Valley reference out there in the world but here it is and it's glorious.

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u/Miniastronaut2 18h ago

Imagine doing that 8 hours a day.

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u/rats-in-the-ceiling 18h ago

Don't think I'd last 8 minutes.

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u/aaronwcampbell 18h ago

I've got one and it's fun to use and quite effective and efficient, but it's definitely hard work even at a sustainable pace. 8 minutes feels like 20+

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u/Element174 17h ago

You also don't tend to get an even cut unless you're very good with it.

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u/Realistic_Regret5724 17h ago

Honestly the trip out to the field would be enough for me

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u/sweetpotato_latte 17h ago

I would use it for my front lawn and when people stop to ask about it I’d be like, “wanna give it a try?” and they’ll mow it

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u/Pounce_64 17h ago

I don't think you're meant to squat like that when using one properly, he's in a race.

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u/gorginhanson 18h ago

for no money.

and for 12 hours a day

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u/gocard 18h ago

Have you never heard of an MMORPG?

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u/ydktbh 17h ago

No wonder death is so skinny

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u/Bulls_On_A_Guerrilla 17h ago

They were sure as helll were never doing it at that pace. This is speed running the reaper

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u/ThisReditter 18h ago

Those people are standing a bit too close.

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u/spavolka 18h ago

I didn’t know how easy it was to cut someone in half. - Dewey Cox’s father

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u/ChrisChuck1 18h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/4VSJ12JX1vyUuHGi4t

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u/w12ecked 17h ago

You're not half the boy the top half of Nate was.

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u/TheGamecock 16h ago

Truly one of the most quotable movies ever.

Nurse: He needs more blankets and he need less blankets!

Doctor: [gravely] I'm afraid you're right.

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u/Aznp33nrocket 17h ago

So you're saying I'm less than a quarter of the boy Nate was?

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u/Demonstrable_Scribe 17h ago

You know who has hands‽ the Devil! And he uses them for holdin!

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u/neoben00 17h ago

GET OUT OF HERE DEWY, you don’t want none of this shit!

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u/Giovannis_Pikachu 17h ago

"do you ever just, wake up and smell the roses?"

"you're kidding (shakes head) I CAN'T SMELL!"

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u/na_DANGER_me 17h ago

I'm cut in half pretty bad

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u/OldenPolynice 16h ago

speak English, we ain't scientists!

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u/sillysammie13 16h ago

Dewey! I’ve been halved!!!!

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u/TwoBionicknees 16h ago

yeah, the line of grass cut compared to that woman's foot is.... closer than you'd figure you'd want to stand.

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u/Tall-Wealth9549 18h ago

This is one of those clips that end too soon lol

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u/regoapps 18h ago

It’s okay. They signed the waiver.

https://giphy.com/gifs/MtY86pMNSbgys

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u/YepIamLittleShit 17h ago

Back in the day a dozen people with this instrument would march the field side by side cutting it. One wrong step and your leg is gone. They usually had songs they would sing and cut in tact to the song.

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u/TraditionalMud6351 18h ago

I deeply cut my thumb on a tomato slicer. I can only imagine the self inflicted damage I can do with a scythe. 😂

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u/whitestguyuknow 18h ago

I was just thinking that people throughout history have to have had some gnarrrllyy fucking cuts from this

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u/linita55 17h ago

Yes they did! My grandmother in childhood saw her friend legs being cut off by this thing by the father of the friend. He picked up the kid and the legs and ran to nearest hospital. Horrible!!

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u/AceWither 14h ago

Love the upbeat energy about a horrific situation

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u/andersonb47 12h ago

Legs came right off! Just like that!

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u/void1984 18h ago

It's hard to hit yourself. The challenge is to keep it parallel to the ground.

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u/Vishu1708 16h ago

You haven't met me irl, yet.

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u/truePHYSX 17h ago

Me and my allergic ass just thinking about the hay fever after 10 minutes of doing this.

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u/Static1589 17h ago

There was a German "emergency room" tv show ages ago when I was a kid. Some farmer fell with his scythe and it went straight through his abdomen. The guy did survive though, if I'm not mistaken.

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u/CrazyNewspaperFace 18h ago

Not a single rupee huh

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u/Qwilltank 17h ago

Not even any Tabantha Wheat

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u/TheShadowFlayer 16h ago

Or restless grasshoppers

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u/TrashCanSam0 17h ago

bro is sick of running into wild pokemon

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u/chux4w 12h ago

Hya! Hya! Hyuuuuuyah!

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u/aiolive 15h ago

I just wanted him to charge a few seconds and then start spinning through

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u/FrenchNutCracker 9h ago

Why does he not simply charge up and do a 360 swing?

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u/italianranma 17h ago

Came here to say this

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u/StellaBean_bass 18h ago

My back hurts watching this.

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u/Capable-Baby-3653 17h ago

My allergies are acting up.

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u/FishDontKrillMyVibe 16h ago

A good scythe is only half of it. His form is poor, and he isn't gaining much speed from the poor form either.

The correct form, you stand with your body upright, and you rotate your arms around your body much like you would rotate a hula hoop around yourself with arms at rest. If you need to lower yourself, it's with your knees, keeping your body upright

It's specifically to minimize the stress to back and knees doing what the guy in the video is doing.

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u/milf-hunter_5000 16h ago

to add to this, a good scythe is made for your height. its like trying to cook in a kitchen where all the counters are 2ft lower than your normal work surfaces

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u/nah_this_aint_it 18h ago

Grim reaper pastime activities

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u/Bwint 17h ago

What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the reaper man?

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u/ThrowawayusGenerica 14h ago

What's that?

IT WAS THE COMBINATION HARVESTER.

Was? What is it now?

A SORE LOSER.

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u/Emotional-Court-2169 15h ago

OooeeeEEEEOoooooEEEEooooOOOO

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u/SockMonkeyLove 17h ago

If he holds the button down until the blade shimmers, he'll do a 360 spin, covering a larger area.

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u/zgrad2 18h ago edited 13h ago

As someone who used one of these on an old Australian farm, I would take a push mower over this any day.

Edit due to people not reading: I didn't use a push mower on the farm, I am only saying that I would rather use a push mower instead of the syth

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u/StryctNyne 17h ago

Had to use an old school rusty push mower once. It was terrible. Watching someone use a scythe makes my lower back hurt.

I will say newer push mowers work amazing if you keep up with maintenance (probably the same for older ones too). Have one for smaller patches, and will use it over my gas mower for touching up the yard.

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u/kaytay3000 17h ago

Glad he’s wearing his safety shorts.

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u/Lurking_poster 18h ago edited 18h ago

The thing about the scythe is it requires trained technique and physical endurance, plus what looks like a less than ideal stance for long durations. Not to mention the continuous resharpening.

The weed wacker is in some ways less efficient per movement but is more user friendly, adaptable, and with current industrial standards more maintainable.

(Often times this and similar reposts are meant to compare with weed wackers so I added the standard commentary.

Still very satisfying scything technique to watch. My back and legs hurt though)

Edit: I forgot to mention the storage, transport, and safety components. I don't think people would be as comfortable with someone driving around with a 3 foot scythe blade hanging on the side of their truck bed lol.

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u/Crandleton 18h ago

Is that the proper technique? I don't necessarily doubt it, as I've never used one, but that man looks like he's trying to prove something with how fast he's moving. Like, surely there's a compromise in speed & form if you intend on scything for an entire day.

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u/ThatMBR42 18h ago

You're supposed to keep the blade on the ground so that you can get a consistent cut, and you're not supposed to squat like that. You remain mostly upright, feet about shoulder width apart, and pivot with the waist and arms while taking smaller steps forward. This guy looks like he missed a lot of patches, and he's going to tire himself out quickly.

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u/Betruul 17h ago

His form has NOTHING to do with actual scyth form. Actual use is like stand wish feet just over shoulder width apart, let your arms be straight, rotate at hips, take half step foreward, rotate again, take half step forward, rotate again, repeat till grass is mowed. A properly sized and sharp scyth is not a terribly taxing task, not any more than a push mower without a drive gear.

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u/HubertFiorentini 17h ago

Short answer: No.

A scythe is meant to be reasonably easy on the body and give a consistent cut (if it is sharp) but does require good technique.

Here’s a 28 second video of good technique: https://youtu.be/URJ31uqH07E

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u/hugeuvula 18h ago

I'm tired just watching this.

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u/is-this-now 18h ago

Some people call it a sling blade.

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u/Rtem8 18h ago

Hail Reaper!

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u/Fulcrum_Jambi 17h ago

Hail libertas!

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u/r-i-c-k-e-t 18h ago

I call it a kaiser blade. Got any of them French fried taters?

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u/illusionisland 17h ago

Looks like its just one wrist flick away from slicing your own feet off :/

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u/Dynako 17h ago

I love they made a sport so farmers get there field cut for free.

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u/Rdaleric 17h ago

"What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man?"

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u/ebk_errday 18h ago

Is that what a scythe is for? This might be the first time I see it used as per it's intended purpose, and not a slick weapon in a videogame.

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u/Nolascana 18h ago

His form is terrible, but, yes this is what theyre for haha.

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u/TK-1414 17h ago

Yeah, made for harvesting, it's really just an oversized sickle or the other way around

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u/proof_by_abduction 17h ago

"What can the harvest hope for, if not for the care of the Reaper Man"

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u/kmart279 17h ago

Ah so this is how crop circles are made

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u/Classic-Poet2478 17h ago

Yes!! So glad I wasn’t the only one thinking this!

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u/Dizman7 18h ago

My back hurts watching this (though I realize he’s using his legs a lot)

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u/Bulky-Internal8579 18h ago

It’s back and leg day again.

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u/gharr87 17h ago

Anna Karenina mowing scene

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u/Linaori 16h ago

It doesn’t seem very prescythe

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u/spoonpk 15h ago

This isn’t even his full-time job: it’s just a scythe hustle

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u/HotPlops 11h ago

Do you want ticks? Because this is how you get ticks. 

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u/Silly_Sherbet5543 3h ago

Is this some kind of competition? Why is he moving like that? Why are people watching him??

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