Scythe
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A scythe is an agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It was historically used to cut down or reap edible grains before they underwent the process of threshing. Horse-drawn and t
A modern scythe of a pattern common in parts of Europe
1. Start of the stroke after stepping forward into the swathe. Mowing rye in 1945.
2. Swinging left into the cut and deepening the swathe
3. Finish of the stroke and depositing on the windrow to the left
War scythe
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A war scythe or military scythe is a form of polearm with a curving single-edged blade with the cutting edge on the concave side of the blade. Its blade bears a superficial resemblance to that of an a
Scythe
…and the Egyptian khopesh were scythes or sickles modified as weapons or symbols of authority. An improvised conversion of the agricultural scythe to a war scythe by re-attaching the blade parallel to the snaith, similar to a bill, has also been used throughout history as a weapon. See § In art below for an…
Illustration from Chrystian Piotr Aigner's "Krótka nauka o kosach i pikach" ("A Brief Treatise on Scythes and Pikes"), 1794
17th century Scottish war scythe
Scythemen during Poland's January 1863 Uprising
The Death of Bara (Jean-Joseph Weerts, 1883), depicting the use of the war scythe