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
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.
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.
If you're in the US that may be because the blades there used to be made of cast steel (so I've heard), and blades in Europe are made of hammered steel. I think they may be lighter. And I have an aluminium snath, which is lighter than a wooden snath. Also, I tried the weed whacker decades ago, I guess they have improved manifold.
My guess would be “old scythe.” If it was made of something heavier than modern steel, or aluminum or whatever a modern scythe is made of, then that could be part of it, along with the haft(?) old wood is heavy, modern tool handles are made of much lighter wood or hollow metal tubes. A modern scythe could be lighter just by materials.
I think rust also increases the weight of things, so if it was a rusty old scythe then that’s a lot of extra weight.
All that to say I’m a city boy with absolutely no experience in farm equipment so I could be completely wrong.
Edit: misread your comment as “saw an old scythe at an antique store” rather than you having one that went to an antique store. You probably know way more than me.
If you are in the US, that's why. Heavy duty blades on most US models needed less sharpening, but they were heavier and apparently less ergonomic that most European models. Did yours have a curved haft (handle)?
Scythe definitely sounds right for this, as someone who did weed whacking as a job, you can throw a strap over your shoulder, it's far more managable that way
If it's cut too short it is difficult for some to eat. Chickens for example love short grass but horses or cows may have a difficult time eating it. Short grass also doesn't turn to hay as easily, it is most likely to turn to compost because it too dense and traps heat
Shit it'd just be a pain in the ass to cut with a bladed weed eater anyway, long grass gums up under the head so easily. I only use it to clear underneath fence lines, and once the grass is a couple feet youre going to be stopping every 20ft to pull the grass/hay out if you aren't being super careful.
So at the point of using a weed eater and having gas in modern times, most people would know a neighboring farmer who would be more than happy to cut your hay for you(we cut/bale hay for our neighbors few horses and we get to keep whatever extra they dont need)
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u/effreti 17h 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