Why Mow with a Scythe?

Why is mowing with a supposedly old-fashioned tool like the scythe still extremely sensible even today?

The scythe is a simple yet highly effective tool for maintaining lawns, meadows, and embankments. When properly selected, adjusted, and sharpened, it enables clean mowing without engine noise, exhaust fumes, or complex machinery. Moreover, the scythe is a very durable tool.
Mowing with a scythe is therefore advantageous for ecological, health, and economic reasons.

Advantages of Mowing with a Scythe

Ecology and Biodiversity

  • Exhaust fumes and noise are avoided. This is pleasant for you and your surroundings. You can mow in the early morning and evening hours or on Sundays and holidays without disturbing your neighbors.  
  • It promotes biodiversity. The scythe cuts the mown material with a sharp blade. There is no airflow or suction effect as with many motorized devices. The grass is severed with a clean, slicing cut. The stalks are not crushed or shredded. The mown material remains as an easily manageable swath and can be dried or removed.
  • Maintenance of steep or difficult terrain. Especially on slopes, in orchards, or on embankments, the scythe is often the most practical tool. When maintaining wildflower meadows, orchards, and edge strips, you can work very precisely with the scythe: you can leave partial areas uncut, adapt the cutting time to the development of the plants, and control the cutting height through the guidance of the scythe. With an appropriate blade length and adjustment, you can determine the width of the mowing swath and the cutting height very precisely. This makes it possible to cleanly mow areas that are difficult or impossible to access with lawn mowers, brush cutters, or robotic mowers.  

Health

  • Exercise in the fresh air and, with proper mowing technique, minimal effort and low fatigue. A well-fitted and properly adjusted scythe enables a largely uniform, smooth movement. The mowing swing arises primarily from a rotational movement of the torso and a guided movement of the arms, not from thrusting or chopping movements. When used correctly:
    • many muscle groups are evenly engaged,
    • the workload is easily adjustable (work rhythm, break length, area size),
    • no engine vibrations occur in the hands and forearms.
  • The prerequisite for this ergonomic working method is a scythe snath that matches your height, proper adjustment of the grips, and a sharp blade.

Economic Reasons

  • A scythe operates with comparatively simple technology and consists essentially of a scythe snath with grips, a scythe blade, the fastening (scythe ring), and the appropriate sharpening tools (whetstone, whetstone holder, peening hammer, peening anvil). Regular care and maintenance focuses essentially on: regular honing with the whetstone during mowing and occasional peening to restore the blade edge. In addition, there is cleaning after work and light rust protection. With some practice, you will learn peening and honing and can always keep your blade sharp.
  • The scythe is not a disposable product, but a tool that can accompany you for a lifetime when properly maintained. A well-selected scythe with accessories involves certain initial acquisition costs, but is then very durable. During operation, there are hardly any additional costs: no fuel and no engine oil, no replacement of line heads or blades, no battery wear, no engine maintenance at the workshop. The blade is maintained through peening and honing. Whetstones, simple peening tools, and some rust protection are normally sufficient for a long period. The scythe can thus be a very economical solution for many mowing tasks over decades.

Suitable Applications for the Scythe

The scythe is not a specialized tool only for large mountain meadows. It is suitable for different types of terrain, for example:

  • Home gardens with meadow areas, path edges, and “wilder” sections,
  • Orchards and traditional orchard areas,
  • Slopes and embankments,
  • Pasture edges and fence lines,
  • Areas with overgrown grass that is too tall for robotic mowers or reel mowers.

Whether you manage an area entirely with the scythe or the scythe complements your motorized equipment (e.g., for edge areas and hard-to-reach spots) depends on the area size, vegetation, and your personal working style.

Prerequisites for Easy Mowing

For the mentioned advantages to be noticeable in practice, certain prerequisites must be met:

  • Appropriate tool: The scythe blade and scythe snath must match the application area and your height.
  • Proper adjustment: Blade position and grip positions must be adjusted so that the scythe rests well during mowing and can be guided without major effort.
  • Adequate sharpness: A scythe that is not regularly honed and peened when necessary cuts poorly, regardless of brand and design.
  • Basic knowledge of mowing technique: Body posture, stance, and mowing swing should be practiced in simple steps.

The following chapters of “Scythe Knowledge” build precisely on this: First, you will learn about the structure and terminology of the scythe, then the selection of scythe blade and scythe snath, followed by proper adjustment, sharpening, and mowing technique in practice.