[opwieurposiu]

A good scythe is faster then a weed-wacker but slower then a lawnmower. I have been using a scythe to cut my lawn for a few years now. It works, and is fun, but you must keep it VERY sharp. If the scythe is not razor sharp it will simply push the grass over instead of cutting it. A sickle will still work when somewhat dull, because it gathers the grass into the concave bit and/or you can hold on the grass with one hand and cut it with the other.

A scythe you have to sharpen every 5-10 min or so, normally you keep a scythe stone in your pocket to do this. The sickle you can just sharpen at the beginning of the day and that will be good enough.

The sharpening process takes some practice to get good at, particularly if you start peening it as well.

https://scytheworks.ca/knowledge-base/chapter-4-preparing-th...

[yetihehe]

> The sharpening process takes some practice to get good at, particularly if you start peening it as well.

I wish someone invented an easier and safer way to sharpen a scythe. If you make an error, it's pretty easy to cut yourself pretty deeply, and even cut into finger joints (did it one time, cut was deep but so clean it healed essentially in a day). "Dull" scythe is still as sharp as your average knife. Sharp scythe is sharper than a razor.

[opwieurposiu]

I agree, I have cut myself a few times as well. The awkward way you have to hold the scythe while you sharpen it does not help.

One thing you might try is an oval-shaped diamond coated sharpening rod. The handle keeps your fingers safer.

[nataliste]

I spent last year in an off-grid home and had to care for three acres of unmaintained pasture filled with patchy and matted fescue. I used nothing but a European-style scythe to do so. I actually wished I had had more pasture to care for because of how deeply satisfying and meaningful it was to do.

For example, it's one thing to have an idea of the Grim Reaper, but it's another to viscerally experience the reality of what a scythe does to grasses. Thousands of beings anonymously ended, their lives cut short.

[motohagiography]

it really does. I use a scythe for clearing high grass that I got from lee valley and hoped it would be a fun lawnmower alternative, but it was less satisfying than I had hoped. Maybe next season I'll get good at it, or buy a few more and and bus city people out to do scythercise classes.

[FirmwareBurner]

Or just monetize the scythe skills at Halloween.

[lm28469]

> It works, and is fun, but you must keep it VERY sharp

It's also immensely more relaxing than the alternative, extremely sustainable and a pretty good workout