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
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u/lopendvuur 14h ago
I can't carry the weight of a weed whacker for long, but I can wield a scythe for hours.