Using a Japanese Sickle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.ย. 2024
- A Japanese sickle, or Kama, is an excellent tool for cutting grass in tight areas, chopping down cover crops, and harvesting plants such as comfrey, nettle, lemon balm, and mint, to name a few.
In many instances, it is much faster than using a pair of pruners.
An added bonus: It’s easy to maintain and requires no fuel.
It's perfect for mixed, perennial orchards as you'll see in the video.
I'll show you some different ways to use one and offer a few tips and tricks along the way.
You can find out more about our sickles here:
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I'm Japanese, but it's refreshing to see a sickle that is so familiar and ubiquitous gets so much attention and is captured on video.
I never thought that there would be people using it in America.
I bought a cheap one for 108 yen from a 100 yen shop when I was in Tokyo coz it looked cool.
Just ordered for a old chicken coop, that has overgrown, my husband wanted to use roundup and I said NO WAY!!
Dayum, that sickle turn vegetation to salad in seconds😱thank you mate 👍
sickles and scythes are just so much better than a weed eater or a lawn mower in many situations. I don't understand why they went out of use.
And there became a fear around the shape of the blade from some loathsome misuse and superstition associations
@Jen farmer Using a weed eater is tough on your back after a while. This is way easier on your back than a weed eater. Saw video of a man cutting down 12 ft high cat tails with a scythe.
Modernity’s a bitch…
I found the kid in the background quite reassuring. I'd been wondering if I could handle a sickle safely. If a 9-year-old can use one, I'm probably fine. Appreciated :)
I bought one of these back in the late 80s from Smith and Hawkins, used it just like you show. I still have it after all these years.
Great vid - informative, satisfying to watch, and you clearly know what you are doing and talking about. Thanks.
Great looking tool ... I'm going to give it a try. Just ordered your sharpening files ... wish I would have added the Japanese Sickle with my order.
Your manner is very calming. Thank you!
Fun to see this tool in action ! Thanks !
Thank you, I learned more than I hoped for! I'm familiar with the kama from martial arts I'm learning, but was always curious how to work with it as intended! And yeah, a nice nettle tea afterwards... 😊
I don't know if I want to be that close to the ground with such high grass The possibility of encountering snakes scares me
My thoughts exactly…not in copperhead country.
For precise cutting with a kama, cut at the base, moving the arm from the from the outside-inward while holding or bracing the top of the plant. For general cutting, always cut away from you (inside-outward). This protects you from accidental cuts, as well as moves cut plant material away from you as opposed to gathering it in front of you.
Also, one would never have used a kama or other sickle to carry plant matter. It would have been moved by hand, bundled, and carried with sai or a staff across the shoulders.
But yeah: key thing = never cut towards you, cut away from you unless you absolutely have to. It's easier than it looks to cut at a thick or slightly wooded plant, miss or slide off, and pop the kama blade into your off-side leg.
I've been using one of these to clear a lot of tight spots where I'd have to use the weed whacker and damage trees and other plants through carelessness. Good video.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful ❤️ tutorial 👌
That tool is amazing
I learned to use kama in combat, along with the tonfa and sai. It’s really calming to see how I’m “supposed” to use it. Would you kindly do a piece on sharpening and maintenance for this particular tool?
My knees are shot, I'll use the scythe thanks...lol. I do have a sickle I also attached to the handle.
Someone shot you in your knees? Are you okay?!!??! 😲😲
Hah, I should have watched your video before I tried using one today. Just chopped my offhand knuckle off, as I was stupidly holding the bunches of grass while cutting.
Matt, I just love your hand tools, esp the Japanese stuff. They really know how to make good tools.
I'm still using a dull corn knife to do the trimming you show in the video. Very frustrating.
Thanks for the video!
That does sound rough! Thanks for the comment I do appreciate it!
Nice tool for grass cutting... 🙏👍
Really enjoyed the video!
Great video on the sickle! Any chance of getting a video about maintenance? :)
Yep, here ya go: th-cam.com/video/IpjrSOKv-dM/w-d-xo.html
Мальчишка помогает. Красавчик! Не знаю, сынишка или младший брат 😊
Thank you for the nice tips😆🙏
They have them all over korea. General farming tool. Rice farmers. Burning stubble and grass along the verge.
Different approach to the west. Makes
a good weapon too.
Ask any ex esl teacher from japan or korea. Familiar sight in asia.
Interesting seen applied in the west.
Thank you, this was very helpful! Just subscribed.
What do you use to keep it sharp?
That's a very important question, surprised it hasn't been answered yet. Perhaps the "The Tool Merchants" would like you to buy another tool rather than sharpen 🤔
So that is made of hardened steel so you don't have to peen it like a scythe? I just got a new scythe and it was supposed to be sharpened and it was sharp enough to cut my finger but not to easily slice through grass like it was supposed to do, I guess I need to peen it and then sharpen it. Thanks man.
i used these for more fighting stuff and i do spinning and stuff not harvesting
I've ordered it. Now I just need to figure out how to sharpen it.
Thx.....i learnt a lot🇩🇪👍
The Japanese Weeding Sickle is known as Nejiri Kama.
Yes, but this is a Grass Sickle, Nejiri Kama looks a little different. A very useful tool too
Anyone else see the kid behind him with the sickle? 😣
Jim Kovaleski is the Scythe Master.. find him on Justin Rhodes' videos...
Him and that Scythe are amazing.
I've seen those videos too. Also check out One Scythe Revolution and Scythe Works
Does anyone know if this can be used to cut thick weeds? There is an abandoned house in my neighborhood that has weeds about 6ft tall and about a pinky width in diameter. I want to clean up the yard but it's no match for my lawnmower. Thanks
An old Polish fellow I know recommended knee pads.
ok so I have old an new vines all along my fence and was wondering if this would better than an electric hedge trimmer weight wise for longer periods of work. Be in mind that some of these vines are thick and dry so they've hardened a good amount.
Volume is very quiet, would be good to normalize the sound so the levels are right
Thats nice tools
nice but did you know its also a weapon they use in martial arts?
Well done. Just curious though, not sure if you know or not, but I've seen other videos of people using sickles and their methood is always to hold the plants with one hand while they cut, but I would much rather do it the way you are. Does it depend on what kind of sickle you get, or can people actually do one handed swipes with most sickles?
Here's an excellent video that clearly shows both techniques using the sickle for weeding. As you'll see, the movements are quite different with the different strokes. For the R to L one-handed movement, you can see a lot of wrist movement & speed, with the front 1/4 of the blade facing the weeds at nearly a right angle. (detail @ t=4:01)
With the two handed movement (@ t=3:31), you can see the that the sickle meets the weeds at the 2/3 point, and the blade drawn and rotated around the weed. (detail @ t=4:46)
At t=10:00, he shows a technique of how to advance against thick growth. Essentially he repeats the same stroke in place multiple times until it's cleared, then advances slightly forward and repeats.
BTW @ t=5:05 he does some quick field sharpening before continuing with the weeding.
While the video is in Japanese, the video's clear enough to see the technique.
th-cam.com/video/7XWAjO8ikrg/w-d-xo.htmlm26s
Now, how do you cut grass that grows between pavement blocks? Can you use this?
A ninja turtle 5th member looks more badass with grass stickle than bladed brass knuckles.
Gotsta have a sickle for my garden sheet!
Ha
What brand of sickle is that
Seikouba brand from Hida Tool in Berkeley Ca
Mitsuko Souma’s Tool in Battle Royale
Dope.
Sharpening and maintaining tools video?
Be the sickle of Korea
What's best for honeysuckle?
what is the cost of this sickle?
What happens when the child falls and the sickle goes in to his throat, eyes or chest?
Have another one???
Yikes! Your son is playing with the blade 😯
That is a scythe bub... scythe - slowly blade with slow arc.
Sickle- rounded blade that often ends in a sharply curved tip that puts the tip in line with the handle, a sickle blade is always shaped like a C. Best example of a sickle is on the Russian flag. Notice the blade difference? Good know you can tell a scythe from a sickle
The funniest type of know-it-all are the ones that are wrong.
Which type are you?
Still a sickle. I don't see handles on that thing.
How that small boy can to use that dangerous tool, and how do you allowed him to do that?
looking for the video on sharpening this tool. Where can I find it?
If you visit my channel you'll see it. I messed up the aspect ratio of the video but it should still help.
It's the reaper axe
Useful instrument.
I can't believe you are not wearing blade/cut proof gloves AND that your kid seems to be using a sickle, too! I hope you all have good health insurance!
You don't really need them if you're experienced.
@@southsynthic7828 "Don't really need" what? Fingers? Kids? Unscathed skin?
@@GatorCruz Well, yeah, you're right.
Let me see when you born. You born in the 2000' right?
@@lind4mexic4n43 Wow! If you are a psychic by profession then I really hope you have a day job. You are way off.
What if I am left handed
Works the same with either hand. Just flip it over. :)
woah is this spike jonze
I do not think your comfrey is benefited by comfrey mulch, as you point out the plant gets most of its nutrients from a deep taproot. It does not have those lattice roots going out along the ground.
Can i use it with a hammer?
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G2 LTT No, you need to use the american one.
And when u use this stool u dont make steak with insects.
We can easily imagine insects fall of the top of grass 👌👌
Very accurate in a new garden when biodiversity beginn too grow up
hi i wanna be a farmer can u teach how farmer plz
I used these and was standing on o pile of red fire ants
한국에서는 "낫"이라고 한다.
저건 외낫으로 풀베기에는 괜찮지만 나무베기는 어렵다. 한국의 낫은 풀과 나무베기 모두 가능하다.
8:40 Allahuakbar! Nice tips. Thanks for sharing
😎
Next time a Kimono would be more appropriate
Come here because Mitsuko...
Why not just use an Austrian Scythe!
I'm frightened your going to cut your left hand as you keep reaching in to an active cutting zone to move material as your cutting it.
A Scythe would be more effective imo.
Scythes are great and I use one too. You're right, it is faster than a sickle, but it's also a more expensive tool with a steeper learning curve, so I feel good about demonstrating the sickle in this way. The only time I've cut myself on a sickle was when sharpening with a thin diamond stone (not recommended). I've been using a thicker water stone lately which keeps my fingers safe. -Matt
I agree; a family member just received 10 stitches on left index finger from this kind of tool. Wear gloves also.
@@Thetoolmerchants I really have to ask u , I have a scythe but there are areas that I can not use it on so I thought about buying a sickle for hard to reach areas . would u recommend I use a sickle for this ?
@@johnyguerrero5120 Yep.
I have celurit
Really like the idea of this blade but was totally distracted by the small child looking and showing off at the camera instead of what he was doing with such a potentially dangerous tool!!!!
Any good tips on wielding that as a weapon?
Ain't a weapon but aight.
But anyways, at most, you'd just do picking motions with the blade and that's about it. Reason why scythe shaped weaponry weren't weapons.
Swing it?
🌷👋
great video but your kid was worrying me and then threw the scythe.. i hope it wasn't sharp >< heh
im left handed, so,?
Shouldn't be an issue as the tool is the same on both sides (like a machete). Just flip it over and cut left to right with your left hand.
It’s not a sickle, it’s a scythe. Scythes have long arcing blades, even short hand held variants have the same blade shape. Sickles are C shaped blades.
This is Korean's "not"
So you give your toddler a sickle...
:D
You’re filming the guys back and arm but not the actual tool in motion. How frustrating.
*Battle Royale*
Până nu vom fi conduși de cine trebuie .... EU nu votez pe nimeni .... 📢 👋🤨🤨
That works fine until you lop the buttons off of a 5 foot rattlesnake sleeping under a bush......
Now a Japanese hammer... *Soviet National anthem starying intensifying*
Sooooo..the lil boy using the same tool as an adult is both intriguing and disturbing..
Oameni buni, cuvântul sfântului Ardealului se va adeveri ca , cuvântul sfintei Evanghelii .... orașul București va fi șters de pe harta României ( pentru păcatul pedofiliei cu copilași minori drogați ) 👁👋🤕🤕 ....acolo este " furunculul plin cu puroi " 👋😔😔 ..... iar DOCTORUL sufletelor inocente DUMNEZEU ÎMPĂRATUL cu " BISTURIUL " va tăia în carne vie , fără anestezie și va extirpa acest furuncul cu puroi și labirinturi cu cadavre în crime cu premeditare.... OF România 🕯🇦🇩 👁👋
Eu v-am spus infinit că : cerul și pământul vor trece ....DAR 🌈👋 cuvântul lui DUMNEZEU " NU " va trece până ce totul se va împlini 🌈👁👋 nici o putere pâmânteană NU schimbă planul lui DUMNEZEU .... indiferent cum o cheamă pe acea putere ( Europa, mamutul planetei , etc puteri) dacă am spus că doar DUMNEZEU este SUVERAN cu PUTERI DEPLINE .... fix așa este 🌈👁👋
You're kidding ???
You gave a sickle to a child...
He still has his fingers ???
You put a child in this sick world, are you kidding ???
Well, are the ones that cut the grass anyway, normally, nobody gets hurt. Unless some kid is a dumbass. I used this as a kid too
Amazingly, you can teach a child proper use for many "dangerous" things.
Psh. You see how much chopping needs to get done? Put that kid to work!
Este doar adevăr dureros, nici măcar la nivel de gând EU nu aș accepta vreodată ( manipulare ) .... cu mine nu se glumește ( când este vorba despre pedofilie și inocența copilașilor ) și nici cu DUMNEZEU când are un mesaj divin serios .... țara are foarte multe orașe frumoase ....așa că orientați-vă 👋🤔
I didn’t hear a word you said because your son was in the background unsupervised using the same super sharp scythe. At one point, he’s looking at you while holding something and trying to cut it with the tool. Really? Come on, that makes you look irresponsible.
🙄
I know I'm 4 years late to the party, but I'm still gonna say it -
Shut up.
Children are children, but most of them are not incompetent nincompoops; you can teach them how to respect and use "dangerous" tools; you do not necessarily have to have your eyes glued to a child in order to be supervising them; children need to be exposed to doing dangerous things by themselves as a part of having a healthy development, understanding their autonomy, and learning to have a healthy fear and respect of things that can hurt them; you don't know if a partner/parent is out of view of the camera, so again, who are you to assume that child is unsupervised?
If you did have children I hope you didn't coddle them like suckling infants their entire lives, and if you do I hope you do better by doing less, and if you don't then do us all a favor and remain childless.
OK boomer.
You seriously don’t raise kids to know tool safety? It’s common for people who use tools like this to teach their kids how to respect the tools, as I’m pretty sure this guy’s done.
When I was about 5 years old my dad would have me cutting Christmas Decorations on a power band saw standing on a high box .. (his instructions were "don't cut your fingers off") People used to be real instead of "politically correct" "riskless Society", hipster yuppie, slime, like there is today. Helicopter parents. People who question the little boy in the video make me puke.
Lol, I initially thought you were referring to Xmas lights and was so confused. I agree with you though, folks on all sides are too sensitive and careful.
I used to go fishing with my friend alone when we were both 5 years old. The problem is that if today something wrong would happen parents would get a lot of shit for letting their kids do stuff on their own. They could end up in prison.
Please dont allow a small child to play with scythe.
WHY ARE YOU letting that small child use one. Accident waiting to happen. Stupid parenting