Appreciate the support! Cutting grass with it is much easier, however the thick vegetation like this requires more effort and different technique than what you often see here on TH-cam with people using scythes in Europe and other places.
Hi intresse possibly long term cooperation ;) I'm working on the same theme as you, but so far only in German. I would like to bring this channel from June July to 1000 subscriptions by the end of the year and build it up big... But I'm not sure yet if I'll focus more on cooking and recipes ...
My Grandfather had a similar scythe on his ranch in CA. It appears that the one being used is not very sharp. Although I never used it myself, my brother did. I remember being surprised at how cleanly it cut. The one here leaves a lot of stragglers standing in various lengths after each stroke, which means some of those stocks are sliding along the blade a lot before the blade actually cuts it. Also did you notice how he hunches over to get the right level above the ground for his cut. That will give you a very sore back in short order. You need to adjust the angle of the stroke or, in some cases, the placement of the handle so you can keep your back straight up and swing it at the level above the ground you want to cut. When it's done correctly it's a very efficient, rhythmical, and almost graceful move. With a properly sharpened Scythe, it's not a forceful swing, just a rhythmical one.
You are absolutely correct... for even ground with grass. I am cutting wild growth in a swamp in Louisiana. I tried the traditional techniques that I studied and they didn't work well in the thicket I found. I imagine European colonists may have encountered similar things here.
@@Southeastern_Settler Thanks for the reply. Actually on this particular occasion my brother was cutting down a stand of Thistle on the edge of a oat-hay field. Grandpa grew, harvested, baled, and barned oat hay for the cattle on the 2,000 acre ranch. So he was not cutting flat grass. That scythe used to be THE tool to use before harvesters came out and Grandpa would still use it around the edges where the harvester couldn't get to it but the rake could. I often wondered if Grandpa planted that little spot just so he could use a scythe on it to keep up his skill with it. He was born into a large family in 1907, so it was something he grew up with. On a planted field it will be more even because it's been plowed first, which reduces the irregularities, but on a grassy, unplowed patch it "can" look pretty nice even though it is an irregular base, because your swing is nice, steady and even and at the same distance from your shoulders. So it can look even although it really isn't. As soon as you start bending your back, that consistency goes out the window though. Nonetheless, my hat is off to you because what you did was a LOT of work in less than ideal conditions. Thanks for posting this video. It gives people a sense of how it was done before tractors and harvesters became the norm and just how difficult and laborious field work was.
quite a bit of work . I'm sure that one becomes more efficient with movement after hours in the field. *LIKED* and *SUBSCRIBED*
Appreciate the support! Cutting grass with it is much easier, however the thick vegetation like this requires more effort and different technique than what you often see here on TH-cam with people using scythes in Europe and other places.
you don't sharpen often enough. With the grass sometimes after 3-4 cuts...
Hi intresse possibly long term cooperation ;) I'm working on the same theme as you, but so far only in German. I would like to bring this channel from June July to 1000 subscriptions by the end of the year and build it up big... But I'm not sure yet if I'll focus more on cooking and recipes ...
Looking forward to seeing it!
My Grandfather had a similar scythe on his ranch in CA. It appears that the one being used is not very sharp. Although I never used it myself, my brother did. I remember being surprised at how cleanly it cut. The one here leaves a lot of stragglers standing in various lengths after each stroke, which means some of those stocks are sliding along the blade a lot before the blade actually cuts it. Also did you notice how he hunches over to get the right level above the ground for his cut. That will give you a very sore back in short order. You need to adjust the angle of the stroke or, in some cases, the placement of the handle so you can keep your back straight up and swing it at the level above the ground you want to cut. When it's done correctly it's a very efficient, rhythmical, and almost graceful move. With a properly sharpened Scythe, it's not a forceful swing, just a rhythmical one.
You are absolutely correct... for even ground with grass. I am cutting wild growth in a swamp in Louisiana. I tried the traditional techniques that I studied and they didn't work well in the thicket I found. I imagine European colonists may have encountered similar things here.
@@Southeastern_Settler Thanks for the reply. Actually on this particular occasion my brother was cutting down a stand of Thistle on the edge of a oat-hay field. Grandpa grew, harvested, baled, and barned oat hay for the cattle on the 2,000 acre ranch. So he was not cutting flat grass. That scythe used to be THE tool to use before harvesters came out and Grandpa would still use it around the edges where the harvester couldn't get to it but the rake could. I often wondered if Grandpa planted that little spot just so he could use a scythe on it to keep up his skill with it. He was born into a large family in 1907, so it was something he grew up with.
On a planted field it will be more even because it's been plowed first, which reduces the irregularities, but on a grassy, unplowed patch it "can" look pretty nice even though it is an irregular base, because your swing is nice, steady and even and at the same distance from your shoulders. So it can look even although it really isn't. As soon as you start bending your back, that consistency goes out the window though. Nonetheless, my hat is off to you because what you did was a LOT of work in less than ideal conditions. Thanks for posting this video. It gives people a sense of how it was done before tractors and harvesters became the norm and just how difficult and laborious field work was.