Thread: Scything questions

Originally Posted by fccexpert

A scything motion is not the same thing as a slicing motion. A scything motion is nothing more that a curved stroke. The easiest way to explain the mechanics, at least for me, that as you move the blade linearly (for example down your the side of your face) you also pivot the razor about the point where the blade and scales intersect. I use my wrist to do this, while I use my arm for the linear motion.

Unfortunately there are two different methods that are called scything - the one you describe, and this one:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post313829

The image on the left is what most of us (and the old barber texts) mean by scything. On the right you see the guillotine method.

And if you look closely you will see they are the same diagram! The two methods are one and the same. However, I believe it is safer to think of it as a guillotine action, you only need to think about movement in one dimension and you are less likely to mess up as a result of thinking about a sideways motion.

a safe way to start learning is to lead with the heel

it is closest to your hand and you have lots of control

I have 2 or more inches of lateral motion on every pass, very similar to the 45 used when honing

in other words, the toe ends up where the heel started

Thanks Joe, that was exactly what I was after - just wanted to know if I should be learning this technique from the get-go or holding off on it.

Originally Posted by Rajagra

Unfortunately there are two different methods that are called scything - the one you describe, and this one:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/shavi...tml#post313829

The image on the left is what most of us (and the old barber texts) mean by scything. On the right you see the guillotine method.

And if you look closely you will see they are the same diagram! The two methods are one and the same. However, I believe it is safer to think of it as a guillotine action, you only need to think about movement in one dimension and you are less likely to mess up as a result of thinking about a sideways motion.

Well, they do not look the same to me since the vectors indicating the path of the blade are totally different, and neither shows a proper scything motion.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

Well, they do not look the same to me since the vectors indicating the path of the blade are totally different

Precisely. It is an identical technique being used in a different direction.
Those two diagrams are the same one. Only the viewpoint has changed.

Originally Posted by fccexpert

neither shows a proper scything motion.

The scythe analogy has been used to describe a cutting motion with a slicing action at least as far back as Perret's "La Pogonotomie" (1770)

Originally Posted by Perret's "La Pogonotomie"

A razor's edge needs teeth, because its action is not to cut, nor to slash or hack, but to scythe.

If you watch a video of scything, then sure, the handle is being rotated, but the key point is that the blade slices through the grass.
Maybe it's a poor choice of word because it can be interpreted two ways, but I'm pretty sure that the traditional interpretation was a diagonal stroke, not a rotational one.

Perfect close-up example of how a scythe cuts here, you'll have to click the box twice, as it won't embed. The sharp edge of the blade is facing the user:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KciDA...eature=related