Thread: To Scythe or not to scythe...

Originally Posted by Utopian

At the risk of seeming like a petulant prick, I'm going to try again because this is important and is not just a matter of semantics.

I guess I find it extremely frustrating that the point of how a scythe cuts is being missed. It has absolutely nothing to do with an arcing motion, as that arc is canceled out by the concave curvature of the scythe blade, with the net result being that the blade is slicing in what is described in the Wiki as a guillotine stroke at an extremely low angle. THAT is what is being depicted by the barber at time point 6:40 and that is how one slices a tomato. Doing the arcing motion with a straight edge is barely any better than a straight cut.

If you don't believe me, try slicing a tomato by pressing the blade straight down. Next try touching the blade to the tomato and then pressing down just by pivoting at the wrist. THAT is what is being described as a scything stroke and you will find that the tomato doesn't slice any better than the straight down cut. Now, compare that to how you all know that you actually slice a tomato, which is having the blade travel length-ways through the tomato as you push down, in the same manner that a hand saw blade is moved during a cutting stroke. That is how you should be shaving and that is what I consider to be the scything stroke and that is how you get a close comfortable shave.

That is what the barber manuals describe. That is what the barber video shows at 6:40. That is how the old man's scythe blade saws through the grass. That is how you are supposed to shave.

I'm 48. I've picked corn by hand, shocked corn and oats, driven horse teams to take the bundles to the thresher, and I've used a scythe extensively. Isn't there anyone else older than me who has actually used a scythe who can back me up on this?

If you doubt what I'm saying please look at how the old man's blade actually contacts the grass in a low angle slice.

I'll try once more as well. I give you that a scythe may not move in an arcing motion and to call this a scythe cut my not be correct. However, the blade of the razor sure moves in an arc during this cut - at least the way I and many others perform it.

Look at the diagram below. I am sorry but geometry does not agree with you. The blade moves in an arc during the cut. It is just that simple.

So that's the end of my posting on this topic.