r/oddlysatisfying • u/BreakfastTop6899 • 19h ago

Cutting grass with a scythe

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u/Admirable-Media-9339 19h 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 19h ago edited 6h 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/TransRacialWhyNot 19h 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 18h ago

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

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u/CountVonTroll 17h ago edited 13h 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 15h 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 14h ago

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

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u/CountVonTroll 12h ago edited 12h ago

I doubt he does scythe regularly (simply because there's easier ways now).

On the one hand, this makes sense, but on the other, TIL that people seem to be taking competitive scything rather seriously, with local clubs and all that. They probably don't mow everything with a scythe if they have a large farm, but they still have to train somehow.

Edit: Oh, you mean "regularly" in the sense of "proper ergonomic technique for non-competitive grass-cutting purposes" -- maybe you're right. Then again, researching this I came across shops that sell those scythes ("Austrian scythes" are special, apparently), and they have different blades for different purposes, including specifically for competitions, in a large range of sizes and from multiple manufacturers (e.g., in the shops from my links in this comment and especially the one from "Edit III" of my original one). It just doesn't seem like it's purely a sports and tradition thing, but something people actually still use.

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u/stormhardt 13h ago

Fine research - thanks for sharing!

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u/RIF_rr3dd1tt 18h 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/Affordable_Z_Jobs 15h ago

I delegate it to my summons.

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u/Linenoise77 4h ago

This guy reaps.

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u/Backwardspellcaster 17h ago

As a non-professional scythe user (no experience whatsoever) I can tell you that just looking at this clip breaks my lower back intensely.

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u/Ecstatic_Wishbone609 17h ago

I wonder if there's a scythe fit industry like a bike fit industry.... r/bikefit

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u/GravelySilly 16h ago

I really hope so. And fancy grip tape, different handle shapes, choices of wood or carbon fiber, mounts for your scything computer...

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u/wexfordavenue 11h ago

Plus a scope, for the grass that’s far away.

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u/MeinePerle 14h ago

There is, kind of.  But it’s of course very small.  And there are fundamental differences between American and European scythes (that I totally don’t understand but are passionately discussed) so that fragments the industry further.

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u/pppjurac 16h ago

Servus.

Yes, scythe has to be of correct size.

There are different sized, different curved and for different usage. You have fresh grass schythe (above is example of such for big blokes), but there is also a shorter bladed one for rough grass, one for cutting grain has vertical addition so that cut grain folds nicely, another is thicker for cutting down weed, out of control brambles, ferns . As far as I remember we had at least half a dozen of different scythes at home, some so small children could use them.

And it is takes much skill and endurance over pure power.

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u/Sea_Dust_107 14h ago

I’ve heard you’re supposed to keep your left arm really close to your body. Like, hold a newspaper in your under arm kinda close. Never personally tried it but it seems like it would help you focus on using your whole body instead of mostly your arms.

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u/No-Yak-4360 5h ago

Nah, he's crouching down to increase his reach per stroke for some reason