Wendell Berry on Scythes

A re-post from July, 2007

It is now hay-making time in Yankeeland. I cannot imagine mowing an entire hayfield with a scythe, but they are excellent tools once you get the hang of the motion, especially for steep or hard-to-reach places.

In the words of Wendell Berry:

"The Marugg grass scythe proves itself an excellent tool. It is the most satisfying hand tool that I have ever used. In tough grass it cuts a little less uniformly than the power scythe. In all other ways, in my opinion, it is a better tool because, it is light, it handles gracefully & comfortably even on steep ground, it is far less dangerous, it is quiet & makes no fumes, it is much more adaptable. In rank growth one narrows the cut & shortens the stroke. It always starts - provided the user will start. Aside from reasonable skill & care in use, there are no maintenance problems. It requires no fuel or oil. It runs on breakfast. It�s cheaper to buy than most weed eaters & is cheaper to use than any other power mower. And best of all it�s good exercise."

Berry wrote a short story titled The Good Scythe.

I suffer from a decadent weakness for power tools and power equipment - anything that uses gas or electricity - but I am sure Berry is right. I do have two large patches on the farm that require a scythe. One is too steep for the tractor, and one is too muddy for the TR or the tractor. A stuck-in-the-mud heavy machine is no fun at all.

Posted by Bird Dog in Gardens, Plants, etc., Our Essays, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 07:10 | Comments (8) | Trackbacks (0)

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Great tool and article. A few challenges that currently inhabit the American culyure with regard to this impliment.
"It always starts - provided the user will start. Aside from reasonable skill & care in use, there are no maintenance problems. It requires no fuel or oil. It runs on breakfast. It�s cheaper to buy than most weed eaters & is cheaper to use than any other power mower. And best of all it�s good exercise."

1. It always starts ..that means someones got to get off the sofa,as the author pointed out.
2. maintenance? ..just take a look inside the microwave in your workplace lunchroom..enough said.
3.Breakfast? An Coke and a moonpie?
4 cheaper... so you're living in a $300,000 home and you're gonna let your neighbor see you with one of these..he'll think it's Holloween..better to hand it to Gomez the illegal and let him do it.
5.Exercise.."Honey, where's the remote?"

#1 Habu on 2007-06-23 09:53 (Reply)

I have one. It was in an old barn on my little 5 acres of orchard I owned back in the 70s when I lived in Edinburg. No not Scotland, south Texas. Got a split in that bentwood handle though, courtesy of my son when he was about 10 and decided to harvest some weeds. Little turd--I'm still mad.

#2 buddy larsen on 2007-06-23 17:08 (Reply)

Tried to read Berry years ago, but found him extremely depressing. I usually only read uplifting authors now. Life's too short and getting old too fast.

#3 sean on 2007-06-24 23:29 (Reply)

I cut my acre of lawn with a scythe. It has to be a hobby or it won't work for you.

You go outside every day for a half hour or so and cut another swath across the lawn, and just start over when you're done, provided it's been raining enough to keep the grass growing decently.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rhhardin/2373423331/sizes/o/

www.scythesupply.com offers the equipment.

#4 rhhardin (Link) on 2009-08-29 07:16 (Reply)

I once saw an attractive and well dressed Austrian woman scything a steep hillside of a hay crop. I had never seen such speed and skill in the use of any manual tool. Until I saw her, I had no idea what a scythe can do.

#5 Fred Z on 2009-08-29 08:19 (Reply)

A scythe is an excellent symbol for why 90% 0f the population once had to live on farms. No matter how skillful a person is with it, you just can't cover many acres. How would you like to have to scythe wheat, knowing that the quantity of bread you would eat in the next 12 months would depend upon on hard and fast you could work?

#6 feeblemind on 2009-08-29 09:52 (Reply)

I have a european style handle with an Austrian ditch blade, a great tool. Its the most effective tool I've found for attacking those tangles of thick vines and brambles we get here in Ct.

#7 lonetown on 2009-08-29 12:14 (Reply)

had to use one on my grandfather's farm when i was in high school. 10 minutes and my arms felt like they would fall off. no thanks!

#8 chrisc on 2009-08-31 13:36 (Reply)

People who find the scythe overly tiring are either in poor physical shape, aren't using the right technique, or it isn't properly fitted to their height and arm length. If you feel it in your arms you aren't letting your torso twist and do the work.

American style scythes are known for being more labor intensive (and require more of a stooping motion) than the European type, but none should be overly hard to use, at least for half an hour or so. If the tool doesn't feel balanced, something is wrong and you need to watch some videos or get trained.

#8.1 Jack C. on 2010-04-30 18:15 (Reply)

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Saturday, August 29. 2009

Wendell Berry on Scythes