The Scythe as a Weapon 

The reason the Grim Reaper holds a scythe and is called the "Reaper" is because the action of cutting down wheat for harvest with a scythe or sickle is called reaping, thus, the Grim Reaper's primary tool for reaping (harvesting) the souls of the dead is a scythe.

The real danger presented by a scythe is that is reduces the labor required to harvest crops over simpler tools such as a sickel, freeing up more men from the field for use in combat roles.

may the algorithm bless you edit: seeing this video go from hundreds of views to hundreds of thousands of views has been such a treat, and the replies are so wholesome too. Hope for a million views soon 🙏

"Thousands of people through history have died just because of sharp pointy sticks" wise words indeed

I always knew a scythe was a farming tool, but I never really understood just how effective it was so it was really interesting seeing you cut grass with it.

Despite the fact that scythes are my favourite fantasy weapon, I've always known in the back of my head that they'd be highly impractical, but never bothered to look into how. Good video

I can watch the scythe cut grass for hours. So oddly relaxing.

While some scythes throughout history have been altered to make better weapons, they tend to be the epitome of "Looks cool, lacks practicality." But to be fair, they look REALLY cool.

With the references to death and his scythe, many people want to also assess the scythe with death. In reality, Death was a farmer, not a killer. He represented "reap what you sow" that was why he carries this tool instead of an actual weapon like a sword.

When I saw how scythes are actually used, my thought of their viability as a weapon became: “Oh… Scythe wielders would be the ankle-biters of combat…”

Well despite media depictions, there have been several instances in history where Farmers used Farming Tools and adapted them for warfare, in Japan the most notable were what became the Ninja clans and were made into an unrealistic depiction through media. The field scythe in particular was a Kama in Japan, but realistically the Kama and Chain Spear are or were more relegated to fantasy rather than reality, were they used to kill a samurai, maybe, but we have no evidence of such. In Europe we have had several instances of adapted Scythes in fact in the Royal Armory of Poland there is a very very nasty War Scythe with serrated inner and outer edge, now is it practical in warfare...Maybe???? it could have been more for decoration than usability considering Poland is known for Mining, Farming, and Blacksmithing, but when you go to Royal armories you tend to see a lot of unpractical weapons more for show rather than use, Its certainly close to a halberd and they were the more dominate used weapon on European battlefields due to reach and lethality. Swords although depicted as some legendary weapon was more in fact expensive to make and quite fragile, they were side arms even in Japan with the Samurai they were a last resort weapon due to how fragile they actually were. Swords though were influences by Scythe type weapons the Egyptians swords were very representational of a scythe and throughout history a curved blade has been used due to practicality, Soldiers were always peasants and a lot of them were not rich so they adapted what they already knew into weapons for the battlefield. Dacian Faux sword as an example was created from a scythe into a sword form. Also a Scythe with a straightened blade is known as a thresher and was used in certain regions as a scythe they are part of the Scythe family and still considered a scythe but yes in war they actually changed the position of the blade upright and as it turns out it was quite the deadly weapon of peasant farmers on the battlefield. Sickles are also in the Scythe family its a 1 handed scythe meant for smaller areas. 1600 England they used a War Scythe, Countess Emelia Plater in 1831, Guisarme Polearm English was a Polearm influenced by the Scythe from the 11th century to the 16th. also there was a scythe war between farmers in Poland uprising against Russian invaders.

Hungarian and Polish war scythes. They began by peasants reworking the blade to point upward and mounting it on a 6-8' stave. They worked well enough that the Poles, in particular, raised units of peasant "sctlythemen" with purpose made "war-scythes." Otherwise, as is, I agree. The scythe is too short and cumbersome to be a weapon of any great effectiveness. They look scary AF, though. EDIT: And I just noticed somebody already posted pretty much the same below. Sorry...

I remember a day in university (I'm an agricultural engineer) and we had a small exhibition of "ye olde farming tools" with a small selection of scythes. Everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, immediately took them and posed for photos and the professor was like "ugh, this happens every year. You're supposed to be adult college students, not children." Dear professor, adulthood is not an excuse to not get a once in a lifetime cool photo.

I like the D&D version because it makes sense. The weapon deals low damage compared to other weapons, but it deals 4x critical damage instead of 2x, because if you hit with the the point of the weapon (the ones in the game are Scythes specifically made as weapons and not as tools), then the damage would be insane as the whole weight would focus on the point of the blade

I’m not going to lie, I never knew how a scythe was used properly as a farming tool before the first couple of seconds of this video-

They do basically make “battle scythes”, such as the Kusarigama. Which is basically a mini scythe used for combat. It was used mainly in Okinawa.

The war scythe performed better than you'd expect from a farming tool. They could come in various shapes and sizes, with some looking more like a cleaver. It's pretty much a falx on a pole. Able to go around shields as well as keeping cavalry at bay.

I always thought Scythes looked like a really impractical combat tool, like a spear gone wrong... It's mostly meant for farming, that explains it.

War scythes were single edged polearms with the blade in line with the shaftand considerably heavier than agricultural scythes. Heck the Persians even mounted scythes on chariots

One thing that should be noticed is that in middle ages iron was expensive and medieval pheasants had very little metal at their disposal. Iron was used only where it was not possible to do without it, and most of the instruments, including e.g. pitchforks, were made out of wood. Also, as you have pointed, it was not scythes that were used per se, they were straightened up and used as ersatz spears, for the lack of better weapons.

Growing up in uber-rural southern US, my brother used to lambast me for using my scythe in the lawn and our wild gardens cause the riding mower was faster....and yet i can climb a flight of stairs without being winded despite weighing 2.5 times as much as him. ^_^

Really reminds me of my grandpa. I can still see him put on the porch sharpening his scythe or using it to cut the grass in the field out front his farm.

Glad you mentioned the War Scythe, aka the "deformed" for combat scythe. Another thing I found, if you want the aesthetic of a scythe, is to look up the War Pick. All in all, great video.

At first I was just interested in the weapon analysis, but hot damn it’s so satisfying to watch that thing cut grass I repeatedly found myself tuning out the speech and having to rewind to video

So as other comments pointed out, warscythes are a thing, but ignoring that, I think a simple way to turn a scythe into a usable weapon would be to change the scythe blade so that it's not only more durable, but the sharp edge is outside instead of inside. Additionally, you can take the Ruby Rose (RWBY) approach and have the blade and handle be a single piece instead of two connecting pieces -(and also have it be a customizable high-impact sniper rifle).-

Scythes can be used but the blade must be refit so it becomes like a Naginata. The problem with scythes is that when facing an opponent that has a more robust weapon, the opponent will focus their attack on the blade of the scythe and this is where the scythe will break unless it was built for combat.

The easiest way to weaponize a large scythe like that would be make a war scythe, they’d essentially just have a blacksmith alter the part where the scythe attaches to the handle to be more like a shovels handle and so the scythe points straight out like a spear, I think the Polish used war scythes on horseback to great effect

scythes may be largely impractical for combat because of their shape but that adds to why I think they make such neat weapons. And great metaphors

I like the serenity of the fields in the background while listening to your explanation about a farming tool 😅

this is a reminder that good channels still exist on this platform.

I came to watch awesome unrealistic anime weapon wielding. What I got was watching a man sweep and mow his lawn in satisfying circles and mesmerized by every minute of it.

Nice job. Personally I love the feel of scything along. It's amazing to see how much you can accomplish when you get into the rhythm. Subscribed!

I heard in my history class that the polish during their second occupation (so a bit before ww2) were using scythes as weapons in their many uprisings, as occupants didn't allow them to own real weapons. And they would do what you said - crook their scythes to point the blade upwards. So they were basically ambushing enemy soliders with guns, scythe them down, retreat deep into the forest, rest, regroup, repeat. Besides that I also heard they were using hussars in ww1. They were sending chivalry against tanks and scytheman against guns. What a mad nation.

I love the way this channel has progressed in such a short time, thank you for documenting your field journey!

so your telling me that i cant swing a scythe around and cut people in half like i can in POSTAL 2? dang...

It's an improvised weapon with the capacity to kill. There are many better options, though it's a fun fantasy weapon, where things don't have to be totally practical, as magic exists.

Cool that you mention how the schythe kinda stops being a schythe when you turn it, but I think for the peasants it was symbolically important that the schythe was a tool turned weapon- it wasnt the same as a proper military halberd.

It's fascinating to see how so many weapons originated from farming equipment. Particularly in the east where for example the Nunchaku and Tonfa both originated from a flail used to separate rice, and an axle for a millstone, respectively.

Watching you mow with a scythe is cathartic in a way I can’t quite explain

I’ll say, I really like how algorithm recommended me this. Your style of talking reminds me so much of Tom Scott’s, especially with how informative you are. Great video.

Well they can be quite dangerous when you have two scythes in both hands. One is enchanted with frost and the other with blackflame. Makes for a deadly combination when used correctly. I think there was once a woman who lived in a frozen painting who mastered this fighting style. She was soft spoken but had a very cold heart.

Getting a grandthumb vibe but with garden tools. Simple with a nice touch of great detail, nicely done

The sound it makes is so relaxing...

Its like i really loved the image(ry*) of the scythe when i was little and today i randomly get this video in my recommendation and now my whole feed is scythes related and i love it

I would think it is metaphor from when most farmers harvested their crop with a scythe. The idea of death or reaper, is that he is the harvester of souls and would assuredly use the same tool. Ultimately, even though we die to weapons the reaper is not killing but harvesting. As the last point it would be ludacris to people to use and expensive tool in such a way which might add the the unsettling feeling.

I might be in more danger from a pointy stick, but I have a feeling I'd be more intimidated by the scythe Depending on your situation and your needs, the intimidation factor might be pretty valuable

I think the scythe is only terrifying in what it implies. Yes, the grim reaper, but more so that it implies cutting people down similar to a field of wheat.

i just made this account and i already got this in my recommended, the gods are with you this year my boy

I don’t know why I clicked on this video, but I was not disappointed at all. ❤️❤️

The only people who pick a scythe as a weapon are the same people who steal their moms eyeliner.

This video was thoroughly entertaining and informative. It's honestly amazing how the media can warp the perception of many things and it's awesome videos like these that set things back into frame.

This is popped up in my suggested every single f****** time I log onto RU-vid. While I'm not really interested in it I'm glad you're getting that bag

I truly do hope this video is the blow-up your channel deserves. I have had a brief look through some of your other videos, and I cannot wait to sit back and watch from the start. You are very calming to listen to, and I appreciate how much care you are putting in to this wonderful field. You're like David Attenborough and Alan Titchmarsh mixed together. I wish you all the best, Rob.

Definitely an decent weapon, the only problem I see in a battle or fighting multiple opponents is that it could get logged into a body making you vulnerable while you try and pull it out. It also probably breaks pretty easily in combat. Cool video. 👍

i could watch/listen to this guy cut grass with a scythe all day, its so relaxing :D

Thank you, I never seen such an informative Kayn guide!

This was really interesting and useful (and/or frustrating), as I was aiming to do a world building thing where scythes were the standard weapon. Now I'm wondering how much you would have to evolve or alter the scythe to make it viable.

The music is so good for such a humble educational video!

I have no intention of using a weapon, nor having worked in a field, i don't even know why i an here. But the way and the movement you sweep through the grass is amazing. The beautiful combination of rhythm and power with evey step of chopping is almost an art to me. a boy grew up in the city is impressed.

The algorithm has blessed this man

I really think you made a great choice with the music. Also I really like this video.

The video we don't deserve, but the video we needed.

Such a nice gentleman. I've never seen how a scythe is used, it looks pretty efficient, in a no-horse and no-machinery sort of way. His demeanor is well suited for this methodical process.

A couple of thoughts to consider: Things that are incredibly impractical to be a primary weapon can be used as a weapon, and when trained specifically for such, can be quite damaging. For instance, an Urumi is essentially a whip consisting or flexible metal blades instead of leather cords as the whipped material. It is incredibly impractical and would be insane for a farmer to choose to use as a weapon if given the option even just to use a stick. However, if when in the hands of a person who trained for many years to use them, they become a quite deadly and quite horrific weapon. I would imagine a similar thing would be the case with a scythe. It is quite unwieldy and would take incredible strength and dexterity to swing at speed with any degree of precision, but this is not dissimilar to an Urumi or many other types of weapons. It is made of dull metal, but this only goes to stop one from "slicing off limbs" as some media portrayals would indicate. If you simply were looking to slice a deep gash into the flesh of a person, that might not be an issue to impede, so much as a purpose to the movements: No limb chopping as an axe, but more slashing the body like a knife. In the hands of someone that trained for many years specifically to use a scythe as a weapon, I imagine it could be quite deadly. This is more what I imagine for when I see it in use in games and fantasy stories, similar to how I'd imagine someone wielding an Urumi, not a common use case but a more specialized and "character describing" as a detail used to make a character, such as the Grim Reaper, who has trained with it for now millennia, stand out. More to curiosity's sake, you mentioned the toe has a steel tip on it to avoid damage to the blade. What would be the difference if that was instead made to be a sharpened point, similar to the point of a spear or knife? Would that change the effects it could have from "slicing limbs" to instead stabbing and make it viable in a different sense of use? Just curious on that as to your thoughts as a person who uses one regularly. Either way, absolutely, the Scythe was not a weapon and would not be a weapon in any *common* use cases. It'd only ever be special emergency "I've been attacked while mowing the grass and this blade is the best thing within arm's reach rather than the little clumps of grass around me or my fists" sort of last resort. Even then I'd imagine it'd be unwieldy enough without any combative training with it, I'd just risk my fisticuffs. It could use some normalization and some more popularity as a tool, though, I wish they were more common to find. I'd love to pick one up at a local shop and use it, but the only ones I can find near me are quite expensive as they're antiques, quite expensive due to being handmade and shipped across the world, or aren't traditional scythes.

scythe as a weapon is still the dopest thing i could imagine using as a weapon

The algorithm gods have spoken, now let this video blow up

The bravest of heroes uses a scythe as a weapon. The master of Earth, Cole Brookstone.

I pray that this will end up on trending. I always say I want a scythe, my friends ask why. “Why? Because it’s a goddam scythe.”

And here im thinking its my favorite weapon in video games. This video is very refreshing for me and i enjoy the explanations you give based off your knowledge

The redesigning of mundane tools for combat has long been one of the largest sources for weapons designs throughout history. Best examples include the Spear (that conversion was fairly simple since it was already a killing tool in terms of hunting animals, so they just needed to make ever-so-slight adjustments for killing humans), the Knife (Knives were--and still are--incredibly useful tools, and even though their use as weapons would've been mostly adequate, there still would've been ways in which it wouldn't have been as useful for it as they could've been, hence the later tendency to design dedicated Daggers), the Hammer, the Axe, and tying things back to agricultural tools, we have the Flail (originally for threshing wheat and barley, later redesigned to be able to combat armoured opponents) and the Billhook (similar to the Bill that you mentioned briefly here, although the ones that were weaponized would've been based on pole versions for cutting the limbs off of tall trees, now for cutting the limbs off of humans). The spear would've seen minimal redesigning for combat use, though warbows demanded higher draw weights, and so needed to be carved and shaved down differently from hunting bows. The knife would've been very effective against unarmoured opponents, but even light armour would need a more robust design than a simple knife, and so daggers were born. Hammers and Axes can both do a lot of damage to someone when you swing them, but they both have sluggish recovery and are hard to control due to their weight and how it's distributed, so those axes and hamers designed for combat would be designed to have less weight in the head, and often in ways that made them far less effective as tools (for instance, battleaxes often had very thin, hard blades that would be liable to chip, bend, or buckle when trying to chop wood, but thanks to technique, the momentum of maintaining that top-heavy weight distribution, and the general softness of human beings, would've been horrifically effective against enemy soldiers). Flails got a new tether material in the form of chain, and would frequently get spiked and/or steel heads. BIllhooks got extra tips and barbs forged into them, making them more effective at catching onto an enemy's shield or armour, and thrusting into the gaps in armour. So if we were to weaponize a scythe's design, whilst maintaining the general scythe-like shape, then first rule of order would be to remove the extra handles/straighten out the haft, so-as to make it easier to maneuver, as well as giving the haft a more ovular, lenticular, or maybe rectangular cross-section to improve edge-alignment. Then swap out the soft steel for a stronger steel and make the edge angle parallel with the direction of the haft, and possibly affix it in either a socket style similar to a spear, or in a wedged style more similar to an axe. Flatten out the spine into an edge to turn it into a double-edged blade to make it less hit-or-miss. Thus, you get a weaponized scythe design--a polearm for going behind an enemy's shield and basically stabbing them that way. It's basically useless as an agricultural scythe, but it would be far more effective as a weapon.

I didn't really expect to learn this much about farming.

Important life questions right here.

Very interesting video. Never thought I’d need a whole video just dedicated on scythes but 10/10!

This man is a genius in disguise. Immediately subscribed 🎉

youtube recommended me this video and it's pretty well made! Hope you keep making great ocntent!

Using a scythe with the usual orientation has 2 advantages that, as always, comes with their own drawbacks. The blade being at the end of a long stick and pointed at the user means you can reach around your opponent and cut their back if they got in too close and are trying to retreat, but it leaves you more exposed to a frontal attack with only the wooden part to block off potential attacks. Much like a staff, except slower, less practical, because you have to work with the weight at one of those ends. It also allows for something unusual in blade combat which is non-frontal stabbing. Stabbing is notoriously hard to block, but it usually comes from the front. A standard cutting motion with a sword turns into a stab from the side, from the top or underneath with a scythe and requires a whole lot of adapting. There is a whole section in the fencing-treatise "De Arte Atheltica" dedicated to scythe combat, which is quite interesting to look at, if (and it's a big if) you can read a very specific dialect of late medieval latin. (In that case they portray scythe vs scythe which is quite rare, but serves to train people in both roles, replace it with any weapon and it should still work.)

Some fine insight and information in both the video and the currently pinned comment! Very helpful for some wannabe writer myself. Thanks!

the algorithm has certainly blessed me

RU-vid gods have smiled down to this man.

So, fun fact (which is hinted at in the video): The style of scythe used for combat was called a War Scythe and it was pretty much exactly as described around the 4:20 mark, with the blade rotated so that it is in line with the shaft, with some even being given additional modifications such as blade catches, and others being just the blade removed to be used similarly to a knife. As mentioned, this technically means it is no longer a scythe even though it is still named a scythe, in the same way that knives and swords are different specifically because of the additional military changes made to a sword to make it a better combat weapon. As for farming implements being made into weapons, this is actually a very common practice from across the world. Nunchucks and staves originate from farming implements such as threshers for instance.

I feel like if youtube existed in the 1500s this is the kind of content that would be shared.

I don't know what to say, but I'm still going to leave a comment for SEO purposes, more people need to see this

I feel like if a scythe was made to be a weapon instead of a humble harvest tool. It could be a somewhat viable weapon within its initial conception but obviously fading away into obscurity due to being out done by a basic sword or spear

I love getting the answer for a question i've never asked myself

It's a sword on a stick. I came here certain that the answer would be yes, but you've convinced me otherwise. Keep up the good work, man!

Keep up the great work friend! You have something really special here! ❤

If both sides of the blade were sharp, in other words a double-edged scythe, it would be more effective. Also, it would require a lot of training to be properly effective, however it has the advantage of being able to hook into limbs and around people to hit their blind spots, as well as reach around shields. If the opponent is lightly armored, a scythe seems like it would be decent for rending the flesh on someone’s legs or slicing their Achilles tendons, or stabbing into their sides if it doesn’t have a stone spike and is double-edged. And because a scythe is curved, we can go back to the point I made where it rends flesh, causing some substantial bleeding on a good strike like a shotel, katana, or cutlass. Again, the real problem is that only one side of a scythe is edged, making it only good for reaching around/hitting their back or stabbing into their side. If the scythe was made double-edged, with the “rib” going down the center/middle of the blade for structure, it would be a far more effective weapon for slicing and cutting someone from a distance. In my opinion, the ideal scythe (as a weapon) has the “top” edge very sharp, and the “bottom” (or normal) edge serrated for extra rending of flesh and even snagging and damaging bone and armor. Also, the blade is a little longer and the pole is a little shorter, with only one handle on the pole for the dominant hand. Also, the back of the scythe’s blade would be flat and thick to make it work as a sledge hammer too. The end of the pole comes to a metal point like a spear, essentially making a scythe-halberd. Finally, the upper quarter or fifth of the pole is either made of or encased in metal for effective guarding.

As someone who use a scythe to cut grasses sometime, i can say one thing about this tool : It's super satisfying to use. Do it at least one time in your life !

There was at one point in history a tool called a warscythe which was an altered much sturdier version of a scythe with some modifications that would allow it to be practical as a weapon

Well researched, thank you for making this!

5:07 my thoughts halfway into this is that you seem to be imagining the scythe you use for farming as the actual weapon in a combat setting. I imagine that the combat scythe would have a metallic shaft That doesn’t have those side handles and would have the blade situated in the center area of the shaft not the side of it. The blade itself would be made of a stronger metal (probably a good alloy for weapons) and the would be double edged. there would also probably be a smaller blade at the opposite end of the shaft in the style of a circular motion. The actual wielding would be based on the mastery of the Bo staff just modified a little to account for the extra weight. A soldier would be trained to use this weapon for mid range combat (wide sweeping, piercing, and bashing techniques) and would be told to drop it in close combat. In close combat, the soldier would then switch to auxiliary weapons, most likely a short sword or dual knifes. Anyways that’s my take. I’ll see this video to the end to hear the rest.

what a great chill video, a well deserved subscription! cant wait for your older and upcoming videos :)

The scythe is one of the best weapons in my favorite game oldschool runescape

Thanks for the alternatives!

I think the scythe, if it has a sharp point and does *not* have the blunt tip for protection against stones, can be useful as an improvised weapon against a single person for a good overhead or sideways stab using said tip, and not using the blade to slash. But that would be the extent of its usefulness. I don't think it can be used to fight more than a single person, as fantasy portrays it. But a sharp tip should be good enough for one good stab that could be amazingly effective, but would be near difficult to dislodge from an impaled foe.

Some random soldier: HIT HIS LEGGGGGGGGGS! Scythe wielder: *My time has come!*

I've never watched Rob's other videos, but I know what allowed it. Also the other scythe head(?) that he brings up really looks like a silver lizalfos horn. Pretty neat.

There is nothing worst than facing the zealot who is able to throw scythe and cut heads with just the handle. Truly fearsome expierence.

Bless the algorithm for bringing me here. I agree, pointy stick is the greatest weapon of all time.

Make adjustments to your scythe as a weapon, like weights in one end to make the weight of the weapon balanced, make the blade of the scythe double edged so that when cutting flesh the spine won't interfere with the cut, instead put the spine in the middle of the double edged blade, and the put 2 handles where your going to be holding it, the idea of a weaponised scythe is to cause damage from the tip like a pick axe hitting stone.