A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. Reapers are bladed machines that automate the cutting of the scythe, and sometimes subsequent steps in preparing the grain or the straw or hay.
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
A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reapers and combines.
Eicher tractor with a mid-mounted finger-bar mower
Rotary cutters mounted on a swather
Reel mower
Flail mower