Scythe

Using a scythe

A scythe (IPA /sαɪð/, most likely from Old English siðe, sigði) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing and reaping grass or crops. It consists of a long (about 170 cm) wooden shaft called a snath (modern versions are sometimes made from metal and/or plastic) with a perpendicular handle at one end and another roughly in the middle. The handle at the end of the snath could be omitted but the handle in the middle of the snath is a must, as it is used to control the position of the blade. A long blade (roughly 60-80 cm, approx. 26"-30") with a slight curve perpendicular to the snath is mounted at the other end. A scythe is used by holding the handles such that the blade is approximately parallel to the ground (with the heel nearly touching the ground) and, on completing the length of the acres in question by walking in a straight line, one performs the very last cut by rotating one's torso from side to side, as the arms maintain the blade's constant position over the ground. In a field full of many workers, it is considered dangerous to raise the scythe up in the air (for the prospect of a down swing, like a golf club), just as driving a hockey stick up in the air, with an up swing, is dangerous. Keeping the scythe down, on the other hand, makes things safer for one and all.

Sharpening a scythe blade is done by peening the leading edge of the blade. In some uses, such as mowing grass, the blade-edge is flattened to a thickness resembling paper. After peening, the edge is finished and subsequently maintained with a whetstone.

The scythe appeared in Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries. Initially used mostly for mowing grass, it replaced the sickle as the tool for gathering crops by the 16th century.

A modern scythe

In the developed world, it has now largely been replaced by motorized lawnmowers and combine harvesters. It still proves to be indispensable for farmers in developing countries and in mountainous terrain.

In Romania, for example, in the highlands landscape of the Apuseni mountains, scything is a very important annual activity, taking about 2-3 weeks to complete for a regular house. As scything is extremely exhausting physical activity and is relatively difficult to learn, needing years of experience to perform the action properly, farmers help each-other by forming teams. It is also why after each day's harvest, the farmers tend to celebrate by having a small feast where they dance, drink and eat, being careful to keep in shape for the next day's hard work.

The Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in Sheffield, England is a museum of a scythe-making works that was in operation from the end of the 18th century until the 1930s. This was part of the former scythe-making district of north Derbyshire, which extended into Eckington. Other English scythemaking districts include that around Belbroughton.

The Allen Scythe was a motorised grass cutter with a toothed blade which slid back and forth across a stationary toothed blade to produce a scissor action. It was manufactured between 1935 and 1973 in Oxford, England.

Tadeusz Kościuszko and kosynierzy - Battle of Racławice

If the blade is transformed so that it extends upright from the staff, it can be used as an offensive weapon similar to the halberd. It was widely used for that purpose by Polish peasants (kosynierzy) in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The scythe also plays an important traditional role, often appearing as weapons in the hands of mythical beings such as Father Time, the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Grim Reaper (Death). This stems mainly from the Christian cultural interpretation of death as a "harvest of souls."

In popular culture

The scythe is also seen handled by the Grim Reaper, the mythological personification of death. European folklore believes that a person sees the Grim Reaper when they die so that their soul can be "reaped", or harvested.

The scythe has appeared as a mystical weapon used by vampire slayer Buffy Summers from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as Melaka Fray another Slayer from a Whedon comic set in the future.

The scythe is also a commonly used weapon in a number of video games. Magus, a character from Chrono Trigger, uses a scythe as his main weapon. Zasalamel, a central villain in the video game Soul Calibur III uses a scythe as his weapon of choice as well. Testament from the Guilty Gear series also wields a deadly scythe. The scythe is used as a weapon in the Final Fantasy video game series. In Devil May Cry, the devil sword Sparda has the ability to transform into a massive scythe via combo moves in battle. In Devil May Cry 3, the Scythe is a popular weapon, used by the Hellkeeper family members Pride, Envy, Sloth, Lust, the Hell Vanguard and Abyss, as well as by Dante himself, though his is spliced with a guitar. In the anime Chrono Crusade Fiore summons a scythe-like weapon to stop Satella from interfering (episode 19), to break Joshua out of the Magdalene order, and to fight Satella with. In the fight with Satella; Fiore uses her scythe in twisting, attack motions as a powerful weapon; seen recently in some shows, backing away from its original purpose.

In "" ("")) one of the main characters known as Serene, uses the scythe as her primary weapon.

In , Marluxia, an organization member, uses a scythe with a pink blade.

Scythes are used as weapons in various Gundam animé - Duo Maxwell's Deathscythe and Shani Andras's Forbidden both carry scythes as melee weapons.

In the game Dungeons and Dragons scythes are used as powerful melee weapons.

In the game World of Warcraft warlocks receive a quest at level 50 featuring a scythe called the Soul Harvester as one of the three rewards.

In the game RuneScape, a scythe was given to the players for halloween on one year.

The scythe also appears as a weapon in the game , where the Postal dude could slice people, and with the right click throw it and cut a person in half, spilling their innards. The weapon is available for use in the rest of the week by downloading the AW7 Mod.

The scythe is the trademark weapon of Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard Chaos Space Marine legion of Warhammer 40,000.

Manny Calavera, in the video game Grim Fandango, carries a scythe as part of his equipment as a Grim Reaper, engaging in a scythe duel at one point.

In Final Fantasy XI the Scythe is among the strongest weapons of the game, mainly equippable by Dark Knights only, and is the best weapon a Dark Knight can use. They feature high delay with high damage.

The horror-themed first-person shooter game Clive Barker's Undying features the Scythe of the Celts as its strongest melee weapon. It is an ancient magical artifact with the ability to decapitate as well as drain life from enemies.

External links

Robert Frost's poem "Mowing" uses the scythe as the main symbol in one of his most famous works known to date.

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