Why Use a Scythe

A Scythe You Say?

As odd as it may seem in this gas powered era many people find a scythe useful, practical and economically sensible. Other folks have a use for one but may not know it yet. People often ask, "Who buys one of these things nowadays?" To answer that question we have put together a list of some of the ways our customers use their scythes. There is no one type of person who uses a scythe. The variety of people and applications continue to impress us. Perhaps, you have a use not included in our list. If so, we'd like to hear about it.

Orchardists, vineyard owners, small fruit growers who want to move away from pesticides, herbicides, etc. With a scythe you can reach under low hanging branches (especially on dwarf species) to clear away suckers and keep the grass low enough to discourage voles. You can get much closer, more easily and safely for the tree with a scythe than with machinery.
Berry growers for thinning and weed removal. Our ditch blades will handle raspberry and blackberry canes nicely. With a scythe the practiced mower can deftly remove the unwanted plants on the outside of a clump while leaving the keepers unscathed. All this while working without a back braking stoop.
Small back yard gardeners and large scale gardeners to keep grasses down around garden edges and between rows or beds.
Ranchers and farmers to clear under electric fences. As my granddad would say, to Mow out the corners of fence lines, or in hayfields where tractor mounted equipment can't reach.
Folks with small animal herds who don't need large machinery to put up winter hay. You can easily scythe enough grass over a summer to keep a herd of 8 or 10 goats, or the like, in feed. Even a few cuttings during a season can supplement purchased hay.
People who know the joys of hand mowing with a scythe and mow just for the fun of it.
People mow their lawns with a scythe and put away the lawn mower or limit its use to save on gas, oil and repairs.
One person we know uses her scythe to keep down the tall grass growing in the center of the road leading to her lakeside camp.
Many customers use a scythe instead of a bush hog to clear overgrown fields and bring them back to useful pasture or hayfield. Ditch blades are designed especially for this kind of work.
Woodlot owners, groundskeepers, landscapers use Bush blades to clear small trees from woods roads and trails, for thinning saplings in a woodlot and at the edges of fields to keep back encroaching brush.
Living history centers needing period equipment.
One fellow purchased an old golf course and is clearing it. He finds a scythe the best tool to clear around edges.
The Army Corp of Engineers land uses a scythe in reclamation project in Washington state. Our scythe was chosen for ts low environmental impact in an area where heavy equipment can't go or would cause damage.
A pair of 81 year olds who remember mowing in their youth and have returned to scything for exercise.
Others have purchased a scythe to:
mow leach a field because heavy equipment limits drainage by compacting the soil and may even damage the underground piping.
mow brush where mowing with machinery presents a fire hazard during dry conditions. Californians in some perennial dry areas are required by law to clear combustible materials from their property before the fire season. Many find a scythe the most effective and/or most economical method for this.
harvest grass for garden mulch and compost.
keep edges of ponds clear of cattails or other unwanted species (an environmentally sound method of control recommended by the USDA).
keep down unwanted growth along roadsides.
open up a field for machinery to begin mowing and save the hay a tractor would trample.
save a crop of hay or grain that has been blown flat by bad weather.
limit use of expensive fuel by minimizing tractor and machinery usage.
harvest flowers, maintain beds in park gardens and promote blooming (deadheading).
remove cornstalks and old asparagus stalks during Fall garden cleanup.
harvest hay and grains on a communal farm.

See our full list of articles.
back to home