You see âem waxinâ up their sickles
Theyâre on the manor to stay
Everybodyâs going feudal
Serfdom USA!
We used to have a scythe when my parents lived in the country. Such an elegant and effective tool for clearing high grass and weeds. Not surprised this guy did so well in competition.
Incidentally, Grim Reaper aside, I remember thinking at the time how the thing would be an abysmally awkward to try and use as a weapon.
A lawn mower would be more comfortable. But if you are talking volume then wouldnât a thresher⌠or combine or whatever itâs called, would be much faster. If weâre talking about efficiency vs minimizing the carbon footprint Iâd go with the scythe
Someoneâs been watching Poldark!
Of course, one of those guys is FAR more likely than the other to keep up that pace all day!
yeah, but does the weed whacker make a cool swishing noise as you swing it around all willy nilly?
Well done, good old Bill Door.
I had a similar experience. Did your folks make you wear the black âsafetyâ cloak and hood when you used it?
A tool from a more civilized age.
Never mind a day, Iâd be surprised if he could keep that up for an hour. The key to any physical activity, whether running or heavy manual labor, is pacing. Heâs running a sprint vs an all day marathon. But heâs sure got great technique.
I always chose the scythe over the weed-whacker⌠I got a good workout, it did a much cleaner job, the grass was much easier to pick up afterwards, etc. Occasionally would have similar races against friends with a similar outcome.
My Dad used to cut the grass with a scythe. He tells the story of coming suddenly across a well-hidden nest of baby birds, necks outstretched, and not being able to check his swing in time. Chopped all of their little heads off just like that!
He would work just like that guy in the video, no shirt, but with a metal whetstone holder on his belt. He cut (npi) quite a striking figure.
Is it just safety considerations that make the weed-whacking bit of a weed-whacker so small? The hand held ones seem to top out at around 18 inches in diameter(of the cutting area) and the two-wheeled ones in the low 20s.
With a bit of reckless disregard for the operatorâs ankles, shouldnât it be possible to get a substantially greater cutting diameter, especially if you extended the shaft and used the engine as a counterweight?
You ask your local blacksmith to bend the base of the blade by 90 degrees. Itâs much stabbier that way.
Your post made me think of flail cutters, which are a cross between a lawnmower and a weed whacker with a wide cutting area. So I had a look for them on them on the net.
And I found this:
Primary colour scheme, Fisher-Price school of design, stupidly oversized spiky wheels⌠just paint some flames up the side and weâre good to go.
Iâm sure that this guy would be willing to give it a try:
I donât know, consider the number of people required and the carbon footprint the extra food they would need to consume to make up for the added calories burned would cost.
That guy looks pretty much exactly like I would expect a British Scythe Champion to look.
That was spectacular. Did you see how he almost clipped himself at 2:30? I had a neighbor just like this guy as a kid. He used to walk his dog with a motorcycle, and always had illegal fireworks for the 4th.
