Scythes! -- Tool vs. Weapon? -- History -- Fantasy -- Functionality

Light scythe slams every weapon

The overgrown weed in my friend's yard stand no chance against the scythe it's surely is a good weapon right? Right?

As Polish yes i support

What is the make model of the war pick around 17 minutes?

both are no match for the parabolic shamshir ! if you use the blade of that scythes of yours and add a grip to turn it into a sabre or a lets say a sword then youd obtain one of the best swords ever ! a quarter circle curved shamshir or falx or saber , whatever suites you ;D

This subject makes me think of the scythe as a ninja style weapon for ambushing/assassination type attacks as opposed to open combat (unless modified as indicated). I could see a bunch and farmers taking down an armored warrior.

If u ever had to cut grass with one of those, you would have a different outlook on It

Would like to have an old-style scythe the actually is usable for cutting grasses and weeds. But better made than the stamped metal ones we have now don't know if I'd have to go with 100% handmade is the price is good I still would be okay with that

If a scythe was built like a large sickle, it would be a perfect weapon.

I just stumbled across this video ( while watching Shadiversity) which I know I'm SUPER OUT OF TUNE AND LATE, but I have a question. Could you theoretically have a double edge scythe and use it like a polearm or glaive?

wouldn't it have been easier and faster to angle grind the shape than drill all those holes and hand saw them?

I was reading the Percy Jackson series and busy wondering how such a skilled and quick sword fighter was having trouble fighting a narcissistic idiot holding a farming tool

He even taunted said idiot into turning the scythe back to a conventional long sword coz Kronos scythe too hard boo hoo

Great video! Thank you for mentioning Poland :)

It was great for DEX users 👽

Always suspected the Grim Reaper was Polish, now i know for sure!

The manual was probably for Lords and knights for makeshift peasant infantry

If you were to slice horizontally, making contact with the point, would it pierce then slice creating a deep puncture and tear wound or just get stuck into what it made contact with. Looked like om the ballistic you showed it pierced then was able to slice through which seems semi effective? Or am I missing something

If I were to design a Scythe I would make the blade less hooked and more like that sword he had. That way it’s piercing ability would be vastly improved. I would also do what he did to it and make it double edged. On personal thought I think if I were to use a scythe I would over shoot my target so my blade is behind them. Then I would pull them closer (or off their feet if I hooked on the leg) and with my scythe which is more like the blade he had or a small katana on the end of a stick I would stab them while they are on the ground. The scythe can be effective because even if you block the shaft the blade can still reach the targets hand, arm or even body and with a firm tug could disarm or severely wound them. However this is not guaranteed to work.

The angle of this grim reaper scythe replica is much larger than on the real utility scythe, on the real one the angle is almost the same as on that "sword" you showed, the scythes were more straight and only slightly curved, but they were very narrow at the end and this gave the impression of a larger angle than it actually was

Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki enters the chat

We Scots were forbidden from carrying weapons or training army's that's where Highland games came in caber toss.. hammer throw.. atlas stones etc also weapon wise we had skean dhu or black knife. Also deer antlers and simple long spears all swords were hidden.

Same as nunchchakus .. just a peasants rice flail...

Didnt see pewdiepie cover this topic yet

En ka revolución francesa los guerreros narices de vandee , se enfrentaron a el ejército francés con guadañas o scythes , teniendo buenos resultados, dolo se hicieron pocas modificaciones como arma guerra

All I gotta say is no one wants to be hurt even a little bit, people cry over splinters and paper cuts so imagine getting jabbed and sliced at with a sythe. Anyone in the right mind would run away

Castlevania curiosity bought me here to your video. Death, one of Dracula's bosses wields the scythe in all its different forms of scythe attacks within the castlevania games.

You should do a video on weaponized adzes.

Scythe usage on crops produced healthier foods than modern methods

Great show on scythes

Hook swords are another one Japan and China had made since some people in that time where not allowed to have weapons or have any rights so farmers turn farm tools into weapons for war

I have real scythes for farming and I can truly say they have a cube wood shaft and it's with handles but if trained enough it can truly be a very very super powerful weapon I have made a mixed scythe for tall grass but also it's made from a saw blade and more deadlier and leathal I used oak sinews and the sawblade and I have customized it so it is double edged it can be a lim or head cutter gullet slicer more light weight but made from High carbon steel something I would not want to be cut by

oh hell yes

I can see the point being made is just hammer through with the pole, ceep going, and cut while basically overswing after contact.

Basically shortening the blade and adding a hammer at the end will make it more practical LoL

Hey I've got a genious idea. what if we but a hammer head on a really long pole.

Demeter, the goddess of the harvest in Greek Mythology uses a scythe as a weapon

i have a friend who loves the farming style scythe, when we fight he partners up with a shieldman and snipes the ribs of opposing shieldmen, he does well against newer fighters. He has put a lot of time into trying to design a fighting style for it. it does a good one two combo with a quick snag to the back of the knee and a shield kick. though he dies if he gets the timing a little off. i know this is a zombie post but first time ive seen this video lol

I'm disappointed that nobody has thought to make Giants use scythes and scythes like weapons in fantasy worlds. It's a weapon purpose built to sweep things around your feet, making it a pretty good choice to attack much smaller opponents.

I think the allure of scythes as weapons is they just look so menacing to begin with, plus their association with the grim reaper only adds to their fearsome image. But yeah, as a practical weapon they’re almost useless.

It seems to me the scythe is not meant for traditional concepts of killing/injury. It looks like a weapon that when used is simply used for causing immobilizing and grievous injury, whether or not the enemy survives.

I remember reading that the Scythe-men (Kosynierzy) were still a unit within the Polish military up until at least the first world war, I'm not sure about the second. Though at the time they weren't using war-scythes anymore, be it modified from agricultural scythes or purpose made. They instead, in the tradition of armed peasant or commoner militias, were a type of reserve unit where the members where armed with civilian market hunting rifles, probably their own, or "obsolete" military rifles that were sold as surplus to the civilian market as hunting rifles.
And before anyone tries to say "there is no way a civilian market hunting rifle would stand up in a war" consider that most hunting rifles fire cartridges that are several times more powerful than most military arms, and except for full-automatic machine guns the rate of fire is comparable. The civilian market also tends to have higher quality and more accurate firearms than an average military counterpart (firing the same or comparable cartridge) as militaries are buying at a rate of "what is the least expensive per million" and often at a timetable of "we need them at the front now, we just need them to work, we'll work out quality control later". The only small arms militaries tend to splurge on is sniper rifles, but even then (especially in the World War eras) they were often just chosen from main-line rifles by bulk testing trials and designating the rifles into tiers by accuracy. Indeed, all the characteristics that make a good hunting rifle also make a good sniper rifle, and when someone's life and livelihood relied on marksmanship and concealment for hunting they bring a lifetime of experience to war.

I remember going camping with my buddies, and we found 2 large sticks. One of my friends grabbed the first, a straight, simple log, which he deemed fit to be a greatsword. We had no idea how nimble a greatsword was supposed to be, I apologize on both our behalves. I found one that was pretty scythe-like, complete with a single handle protruding from the haft. due to the weight of our arms, both were unwieldy, the scythe more than the sword. But defensively it was great. the "haft" portruded a bit past the "blade", allowing me to try binding, and the "blade" allowed me to block from a distance. Eventually, we grappled for a bit, and switched weapons. all for show, as we had a crowd of the younger scouts watching. the "sword" was easier to swing with, but I swear the "scythe" was damn good at defense.

I feel like the Zaghnal is essentially the answer to making a scythe into a weapon.

I have to ask can the scythe get passed shields because of the curve and potential hit their hands?

I actually use scythes around my homestead for tall weeds in uneven terrain (22" ditching blades - MUCH less curve than your example). If I needed to face an opponent my first strike would probably be a thrust to the teeth or nose with the back of the blade to stun them (two hands a distance apart gives you leverage to correct fast), then a draw cut with the blade and back to defense while they bled profusely. The shaft (snath) itself is a rugged bostaff or "double handled tonfa" for blocks or several styles of strikes. I'm almost sure with a sweep I could sever a foot; but if it got stuck in bone or the other leg I'd be open. So just a low pull cut and with draw would hamstring them and then I could club them in the head with the heavy heal/collar/tang area (a war club). Though I would hate to face someone else with one. Kind of ungainley but a long reach and frighteningly sharp. PS - the Grim Reaper doesn't kill people. He shows up at the time of death and severs the soul from the body, and helps get them started on the next journey. Actually a kindness. ;-)

Thank you very much for the info.

I had a huge scythe and the way the wood was bent and handles were adjustable, I got it from a yard sale for cheap and used the antique to cut long thick grass and various other small trees and such and you could swing it for a long time but cut a large area clean in one swipe. It was very cool actually.