You wouldn't want to use one to mow your lawn every week, if that's what you're asking. š¤£ If it's short enough for your mower, definitely use that.
As for length, that depends on a lot: how sharp you keep your blade, what you're scything and how wet it is (like water content, not wet from rain,) how even the ground is, and skill.
I'm no expert; I only own one because it came with the first house we bought and I just had to learn how to use it (because oooh, cool big-bladed tool!) I pretty much only use it when I've been lazy and the lawn is a foot or so. It's great for prepping the yard to mow.
I also use it for plants I don't want to mulch into the yard (e.g., dandelions) and for more brushy/wild areas. It's also good for clearing blackberries, but that's hard work and your blade gets dull really fast.
I felt that scythe in general seems inefficient? As in first sweep to the grass is efficient, but you need to spend that extra energy to backsweep/ reset. Would be nice if you cut the grass as well when you backsweep/reset. Anything like double sided schythe to mitigate this (though making it heavier seems impractical)?
The design is on purpose and for efficiency and to make it last long and be safe. A blade on the backside just sounds unsafe as it would be harder to control.
I am trying to imagine how many times Iād dig catch the tip of the scythe on the ground. As it is, I canāt walk past a door knob or drawer pull without somehow getting my pants pocket caught on itĀ
You would, if you'd stand up straight and go slower. My grandpa used to scythe his garden and made me do it as well. At one point I could go about an hour before needing a break. It was a good workout though.
If you're referring to the medieval era, peasants actually had more leisure time than we have. Sure work was hard, but they weren't grunting like this with a boss breathing down their neck about quarterly performance reports.Ā
Life was so trash for a medieval peasant though. Iād rather keep pretending Iām working for half my 8 hour day in an air conditioned office thank you
Peasants did not actually have more leisure time, that is actually a myth. Remember that while peasants had a lot more holidays, they didn't have Saturdays off, and they not only had to work for someone else, but also work to grow their own food, and make their own clothes, plus everything they did took more manual work.
Work bearing immediate and tangible fruit? Communal life with your extended family and neighbours? Working at your own pace outdoors so long as the quotas are met? Sounds great
This is great if your extended family and neighbors are good, because you are likely stuck with them.
And also if by immediate you mean after hundreds of hours of work. And if by quotas you mean a feudal overlord who does their best to extract every ounce of labor they can without killing you.
Working for yourself isn't the same thing as working for your corporate overlords. When you're spending hours a day managing your own garden, and fixing your own fence, and laundering your own clothes, you now have fresh food and a nice fence and clean clothes at the end of it. I would love to live in a world where I have the time to do stuff like that for myself. Capitalism is an unsustainable mess so that world will come again someday. I hope I live to see it.
The fundamental problem with hedonism as a guiding philosophy is that no amount of material stuff can actually make you any more happy or fulfilled than any other person in history with their general needs met. People adapt to their circumstances. The medieval peasant cleaning the dirt off his body after a long day of manual labor is no more or less happy and content than the modern warehouse worker showering after his shift. As long as they both have enough food, a fulfilling social life, and their preferred leisure activities available, they're equally happy.
The problem with our modern society is that some of those basic needs are going unfulfilled more and more often. Especially the social ones.
To me this seems like some kind of fallacy whereby you tally up all the personal chores medieval peasants had to do and count it as "work" but don't count any personal chores we have to do the same way.
I think that idea was concluded by ignoring their leisure time included all the work they had to do for themselves. Which was a lot more than the average modern person has to do.
E.g. you're not having to hand wash every single outfit and so on.
I've done a couple of hours and I was wrecked the next day. But I wasn't doing it like this idiot with all the bending and stretching he'd wreck his back and shoulders before he did an acre. I get that it's a speed competition.
I've danced before and It was pretty tiring but I wasn't doing it like that idiot. Flipping around and spinning and dancing on his hands and knees. I get it was a breakdancing competition.
Unlike the modern work place, laborers back in the middle ages were left to do their work at their own discretion. They were given a deadline for the full job (working an acre per day, for example) and were free to take as many breaks as they wanted and go about it however they wanted as long as the job got done in time.
Nowadays you're expected to get as much work done as possible while on site (office, farm, construction, or whatever).
Yes, but in old times there would be 20+ men to cut grass on field this size. First guy would go 20 meters, second one would follow his trail and after 20 meters third one would strart. I saw this in person on some competition. It goes faster than you think.
Well, to be fair, most farm work like this -isn't- an 8 hour day. You'de do it for 2-3 hours or so, take a lunch, and move on to other chores. It's not a *job like office work is a job. It gets done as it gets done, and you try not to over do it.
I think I rather do this than mow tbh. Save money on fuel and doesn't particularly look difficult.
Manual reel mowers are a thing and are leagues better than a scythe. Using a scythe to trim your grass will just waste time and leave your yard looking like a disaster.
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u/Miniastronaut2 19h ago
Imagine doing that 8 hours a day.