Thread: How to Scythe?

Thanks for clarifying guys!

Utopian speaks words of wisdom. The idea is to let the blade move in two different directions, perpendicular to each other at the same time. This is not hard to visualize or to do. Imagine you are cutting a baguette: if you set the knife flat on top of it and press down, you will not cut very efficiently and will "squish" the bread. To overcome this problem you move the knife perpendicular to the long axis of the baguette as you lightly press down. This makes the slices really nice as the cutting is very effective. You must absolutely make sure that you are cutting in both directions as the same time, this is the key.If you cut parallel to the long axis to the blade, you can and will, seriously cut your face. This is the danger with this stroke and hence, why it is not recommended for beginners.

Al raz.

What most call a scything motion is in fact a pivoting motion of the blade during the course of a stroke. It is actually the most natural of strokes if you just relax and let it happen and is the basis behind Natural Shaving(sm)

Originally Posted by MasterRolf

What most call a scything motion is in fact a pivoting motion of the blade during the course of a stroke. It is actually the most natural of strokes if you just relax and let it happen and is the basis behind Natural Shaving(sm)

It may be natural, but that pivoting stroke is not as effective as the guillotine stroke, which is the cutting action that actually occurs when a scythe blade cuts grass.

Yes, but, the scythe's blade also has a wicked frown. And to do the scythe shave correctly you may have to trade your scales in on a snath.

All daunting strategies considered, I just squeeze my eyes tightly closed and hope for the best as I listen for the phantom guillotine blade to rattle down the tracks.

Originally Posted by Bruce

Yes, but, the scythe's blade also has a wicked frown.

The curvature of the scythe's blade matches the trajectory of the blade as it is swung, with the net effect being a straight line contact between blade and the grass. That's why the actual cutting motion of a real scythe is better described by what is called the guillotine stroke in the Wiki.

Originally Posted by Alraz

Utopian speaks words of wisdom. The idea is to let the blade move in two different directions, perpendicular to each other at the same time. This is not hard to visualize or to do. Imagine you are cutting a baguette: if you set the knife flat on top of it and press down, you will not cut very efficiently and will "squish" the bread. To overcome this problem you move the knife perpendicular to the long axis of the baguette as you lightly press down. This makes the slices really nice as the cutting is very effective. You must absolutely make sure that you are cutting in both directions as the same time, this is the key.If you cut parallel to the long axis to the blade, you can and will, seriously cut your face. This is the danger with this stroke and hence, why it is not recommended for beginners.

Al raz.

Very nicely put. For me it was chopping broccoli

I know you all warned me not to do it, but I tried the scything motion today. I only went WTG and it was great! Tough whiskers that gave me trouble were cut easier.

Originally Posted by gull

I know you all warned me not to do it, but I tried the scything motion today. I only went WTG and it was great! Tough whiskers that gave me trouble were cut easier.

If your posting dates denotes your actual time using a straight....your a big boy.....but I don't know!

One thing that I have come to realize is that I never do a scything motion during my first pass, especially with a full hollow. There is a very real possibility, for me, that some parts of my beard will change the speed of the forward progression of the blade if not partially stop it....not good . I do a very light N-S pass normally, then do one scything pass and that makes all the difference in the world.

Another thing that has not been mentioned is that your razor should be very sharp so that you can lay it down as much as possible and thus any mistakes will be superficial......and for goodness sakes use a very light touch, please!

Take Care and be careful,
Richard

I guess I don't understand the concern about the safety of this stroke. To my mind, because it cuts better, this will result in a cleaner smoother stroke and for that reason is more safe, not more dangerous. I would never slice a tomato by pushing the blade straight down and I would never shave that way either.