Underappreciated Historical Weapons: the WAR SCYTHE 

A shovel is really just a spear with a big head.

Kreig Guardsman: Happy gasmask noises.

Cries in trench foot

This isn't actually a joke btw. Maybe not during medieval times but soldiers these days have field shovels. You can sharpen one of the edges and it makes for a really powerful cutting tool. Can easily cut down small trees, so no need for axes. I'd imagine it cuts equally well into someones head/helmet.

Agrees in warrior monk

Grim Reaper is excused to use whatever weapon he/she pleases. I mean, not many people are gonna argue with the Reaper when they're still alive, are they?

The name sort of gives it away. He reaps souls, and reaping is the action of using a sickle or... scythe.

the grim reaper is a pagan representation of death prior to the popularization of Christianity in Europe was a neutral entity that as a farmer only harvested souls when it came time to be represented with a scythe

I bought that exact toy. I still got it.

TL:DR = Depictions of Mythology are almost always "symbolic" and as such do not necessarily reflect Real Life.

That actually happened in at least one instance. Check out the Polish January uprising. They had special battalions of kosynierzy, od scythers, who were in fact, farmers with war scythes

@@mambaramba farmers: "We will reap the fields, and your head's while we're at it!"

"That's it. Send forth the pommel thrower!"

@@christopheredwards9904 *souls* not heads

@@mambaramba also Kościuszko

I'll wip out my John Deere and get all up in them corn rows.

Combine harvester

*looks at shovel* Hell yes!

there have been more deaths caused by tractors than by sharks

Killdozer

Yes, but it can be used as a weapon. Pretty much anything can be used as weapon really, which makes people who say that the GR is not a realistically combat-capable character look really dumb in my eyes. It's a sharp blade on a stick, people have been killed with far less than that!

The fact you can kill with It is worthless, you can kill someone with a chair, why do you think chairs werent weapon used in combat? Obv a scythe would work agaisnt weaponless farmers, you simply dont want use It in a true combat

@@stylesheetra9411 I never addressed the practicality of it as a weapon. Just that death reaped the life of mortals. I think it symbolises that we aren't worth fighting. He merely harvests us like a crop. For death is unstoppable. We cannot beat it. It will come and it will reap...

You don’t say also it’s very intimidating

No shit, Giarno.

I don't know who you are, but for that reference, I fucking love you.

@@megashark1013 i dont know that reference, but i need to

@@Floofv Bill & Ted.

I prefer Pratchett's vision, Death is also the Horseman, his sword is meant for Armageddon, and the Pale Horse's name is Binky.

*_BOGUS_*

I'd love to see that in a film portrayal :D Alternatively, as well as how Death is portrayed, it could be someone who is refusing to die and is challenging his inevitable fate, that Death has to fight.

Dante's Inferno reference?

@@jonathanjoestar3785 precisely

totally stealing this idea

That's basically RWBY's first trailer LMAO

Shad upon hearing a window breaking in the middle of the night: *"It's go time."*

Robber Used gun

@@brightbound3309 shad used gun axe

@@brightbound3309 shad used armor

"This is where the fun begins..."

Check the weapon named "Crescent Rose" that is a high-caliber sniper-scythe from the show RWBY.

@@Narinjas I like how it can transform in to a war scythe.

guntars mierins Ruby's baby sure has a lot of uses.

@@kabob0077 😏

@Thunder Warrior hah. Even imagined the delivery :D

the reaper of ankles

Pewdiepie leg slayer intensifies in the distance

@@a1fastyellowkitten780 It's more like the reaper of ballsacks, what with that picture on 4:40.

Fear the ankler!

TiberiumCapoo I was horrified upon seeing that rip having any kids 😵

I use a scythe sometimes. Sweden 2020

Ooh.

I don't see anything wrong with using it. It's effective and free. Also if you have animals it you use a lawn mower you can't use the grass to feed the animals but if you cut it with a scythe you can

Any tool is good if it does the job. Besides, a proper scythe may be cheaper and last longer than many machines.

@@mistyronin only reason people don’t like classic tools is they too lazy to do work. A society full of lazy good for nothins

Mending 1

Soul Walking 1.

Historical Accuracy .5

@@TheDragonRuler- It says Grim Reapers Scythe, which is actually very historically accurate.

@@prot0prawnsuitablesinc.dom185 Issa joke

are you trapped in the gardening section ?

What is this quote from? It is a quote, right?

@@thefmaster9833 There are no walls but it seems I am trapped in the Open Fields part for the time being.

@@alexanderthegreat6682 Its from League of Legends: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-47Oxa-AEM4U.html

Yes

I've done that.

My lawn has uneven ground, lot's of small mounds and valleys. A scythe works better for me than a lawnmower. I've used one for years.

I use a scythe to cut down a hectare of land every year for my garden and dogs. I do use a lawn mower for the paths because I walk bear feet all summer and grass cut by a scythe becomes hard and stabs you in the feet as you walk it can even get blood if it hits the thin skin between fingers.

Hey me too!

I use one for clearing electric fence lines on my family's farm. Especially if you're in shape (sadly, I'm not lol) you can work with it for much longer periods of time than a weed whacker, since you don't have to stop to refuel and re-string. Just catch your breath for a bit. Plus, it's a lot better when there's obstacles such as old fence wire and stuff that can get tangled in a weed whacker. Mine's an Austrian "Old Country Scythe," and supposedly a number of hippy types have picked up on them, citing the fact that they don't burn gas, and thus don't hurt the environment by using. (plus are way more environmentally friendly to make) Honestly, they're a really good way to trim grass in the modern world.

I think he'll know

@@user-mo1li3hk9y if he even survived that is.

@@yannismpa3701 true.

He snapped that man's career by doing an outstanding, illegal pro gamer move

@@hamz5791 is it possible to learn this power?

The door is right there, use it.

I see what you did there. There is something called a door and the one you should use is called the exit. Say it with me now, exit.

Zombycow ultimately what we’re all trying to say is GET OUT

....

Jokes aside, this scythe is pretty cheap. I bought it for a halloween costume. The thing breaks super easily.

I think he meant as the most common implement for harvesting grains and cutting grass.

What were you doing

I think u mean shythe

TIL I was born in 18th century.

@@SemenSlurry Cutting grass probably. If the grass is too high for a lawnmower a sythce is pretty effective and fast.

I still have a kama style blade used for farming but its old and rusty

I can confirm the last point. I have a modern scythe and it works great for thick weeds in various corners. Only problem is that the blade isn't too well attached, so it rotates around a lot during usage. Should probably install an extra support rod.

@@RandyKalff I thought they are pinned. I guess I thought wrong.

@@ub-4630 There are different ways the blade can be attached, mine is just centered around the option to replace the blade. Has some bolts to keep it in place, but it's not designed too well.

Yes, I did allow one Ruby Rose (When she died and became a Reaper) to customize her scythe and that was the result.

I get it! I understood that reference!

Depends, how far and accurate can you throw it?

Better question: *can we get shot-gun gauntlets?*

@@dariusbrawl3759 Shouldn't be too hard, inertial triggers that can be engaged with an outwards twist of the wrists and a self reloading ammo belt that rotates with an inertial pendulum mechanism similar to a self-winding watch and it goes around by way of a ratchet that makes sure the belt always rotates to the next loaded slug and not a previously fired one, and of course the sawed-off barrel below the closed fists that points slightly away from the hand so you can't fire your knuckles off accidentally, as well as a safety that engages if the fist isn't closed first, or if the wrist drops low enough to get hit by the slug should it fire. Lots of cool stuff, and of course an inwards twist of the wrists locks out the inertial triggers as a safety-on mode where the mechanism also pulls back armored knuckle-plates too, and it could be two-stage in that you press a release latch first, then one outward twist extends the knuckle plates, and the second outward twist engages the inertial triggers to arm the gauntlets. It could potentially all be done mechanically :P

Upgrade!

Keep it on the pick to make it a big hammer.

Pickpocket increased to 100

@@darthplagueis13 *pick*pocket

If the spike gets stuck on the helmet but the other guys doesn't go down, you just take the spike with the helmet on it, and hit the guy with the other side, lol.

Forge one! We need a Cody's Smithy series

Yes pls forge

Let me see yer war face! Then we can talk about a war pick.

I want a variant scythe

take one and put gold on it

I knew it was something like that. At least, something to do with a raven or crow.

It sounds really odd to hear french words pronounced in an english way. xD But yeah, translation's accurate.

Crow’s beak

Yeah, in Poland we are told that the scythes were used in uprising becouse lack of other wepons. But about their effectiveness... it depends. In XVIII century (as far as i know )metal armour were less and less popular becouse of gun usage. So in close combat those scythes might be effective.

If the enemy is lightly armoured, or you can't get your hands on a purpose built weapon, a scythe will do nicely.

Battle of Raclawice

Painting is named Racławice Panorama Greetings from Wroclaw

The grim reaper in my language latviešu is called pļāvējs literally translating to harvester / cutter. But of course you can just say nāve = death. I just checked google translate and they translated pļāvējs as reaper. Now I finally understand what it means to reap. Reap what you sow. Reap the reward. The grim reaper. It was so obvious how did I not know this.

The perhaps most common name for the reaper in Norwegian, is "mannen med ljåen", which translates to "the man with the scythe".

I'm surprised more people don't catch onto that. I mean, it's right there in the name: Reaper, as in to reap (or harvest) crops; the "Grim Reaper", or "Grim Harvester".

The German word for the Reaper, Sensenmann, literally translates to Scythe Man

In America we just call him Ted.

This weapon he had the 'War Scythe' is just a mediocre glaive

TOTALY AGREE

Shovel is a bit better

Also missing the pitchfork in Shad's serie, especially the two pronged pitchfork with a shaft as long as the wielder seems quite applicable for combat.

Psycho Drummer Polish ancestry and proud, especially as now I have an excuse to be a scythe fanboy

@@Audiotrocious You dont need a excuse to be proud of your nation or to fanboy over a weapon.

@@gunarsmiezis9321 what about the chauchat? Nobody likes the chauchat, except for the people they're pointed at.

@@judahboyd2107 don't get it are you saying its a bad gun

Actually, the picture shown here at the 7:00 is showing people from the Polish January uprising in1863-1864 ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_Uprising )

it's also a gun

COMMUNICATION

Lol the scythe shown at 8:02 is actually used by the Glory of Losers version Deathscythe Hell

Soul Eater: *Heavy breathing*

singular: kosynier :)

Good comment. That is all.

@Anthony Swiss Poland is in a strategically difficult position. The crossroads of Europe, wide open plains nearly everywhere. The terrain certainly did not help during WW2, it helped the Blitzkrieg speed along, and the only places where Poland was able to mount any real defense was on river banks. As for why we constantly get invaded ... bad neighbors?

@@kabyzdoch ... Belarus?

@@Hulaabeo yup. hey, can you invade us, please? it's better you than russia. Rzeczpospolita for the win! :D

Both edgy scythes and the war scythe are in the Dark Souls games. I was surprised to find that they had a real battle scythe even though most scythe weapons in the games are the grim reaper style. One-handed and two-handed war picks too.

Like inverted _naginata?_ Nope. Tactics were "with scythe we take the riffles, with riffles we take the big guns". The Polish scythemen were simple folks.

Check out RWBY red trailer. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pYW2GmHB5xs.html Its a farmer scythe that can transform into a war scythe.

@@RavensEagle OMG, that is a really easy miss, I'm surprised anybody actually noticed that. It occurs like, during the final phase of the fighting and it's a really fast paced shift in weapon design, but it really does transform into a war scythe - that is so cool. Thanks for telling us this!

@@AlHyckGaemsTAD she doesn't use it that often in the actual show, but it's still nice when she does. Small thing you might have missed. If you slow it down to 0.25 speed when it transforms into a warscythe you can see the muzzle of her rifle angle sideways. So she uses that shot to spin aswell.

*THE SCYTHE*

Is it crow or is it raven?

@@ElliWoelfin Beak of corvid. So no real distinction in the original usage, the historical sources I have seen have attributed it to either or in some cases both in the form of corvid or corvus.

Was checking to see if anyone else had commented before I did. Fun fact

@@ElliWoelfin Raven, crow is corneille like the famous author. Both are from the corvidae familly and corbin is the old french common name.

VSKKG I’m not sure- but someone clarifies it in the comments. And Projekt Ragnarok? Nice!

Underrated comment.

Of all of man's inventions/discoveries, few have the longevity and versatility of the pointy stick.

Cry me a river, sword fanboys.

@@DonVigaDeFierro Reminds me of this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uLLv8E2pWdk.html

Stick 'em with the pointy end.

I beat a long shaft every once in a while

@@nahuelmat Brilliant.

I love long shafts

heh... shaft....

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

What about the oxen cavalry?

On your head.

Wicker work has been used in many cultures as light armor. It's not great protection in close combat but can deflect light blows and stop arrows if there is enough space between the wicker and the wearer. And of course, you can put a basket on your head for a quick helmet.

@@jasonpagura6149 alright, now how about the war milking-stool?

I remenber seeing a weapon for decapitation and it looked like a basket with blades inside with a whip to hold

Nice

:( Thats it, I am going to customize my scythe since you all make hers out to be *SO GODDAMN COOL EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT HAVE THE CHARM MINE DOES*

curved penises

@@giacomomeluzzi280 Aren't the majority of penises like that?

@@thisdraco4794 Not to my knowledge...

@@yamik1385 then you don't have much knowledge

Hey, that bladeist!

*Laughs in Halberd*

Weren't the Swiss famous for using polearms?

Andrew Jacks and that further proves my point

@@lawabiding9152 ;)

Andrew Jacks *;)*

Dad has one his garage as we speak lol

We still use them today. They're very useful to quickly cut very long grass!

Yeah, I use a scythe to cut really long grass in places lawnmower can't go (too much rocks, in garden etc) to keep the place neat and clear from snakes (they really like long grass) so it's still useful to this day

They sell Scythes at the Ace hardware across the street from me.

On uneven ground and shitty soils a scythe is still better and faster than most lawnmowers and even most weedwhackers for any grass >8in. I also like them because I'm tall as fuck and lawn mowers all seem to be made for people like 5'5. Makes my back hurt. I'd rather be scythin'.

We also want to be a old time favourite sponsor

@@WorldAnvil Oh you're definitely up there with audible ^_^

ouch thats some cancerous humor

Mr. Scythe would like to have a word with you

World Anvil Worldbuilding nah mate, she's got a shaft

k boomer

@@Neo2266. What? Why?

@@sneezebiscuits7239 Why not?

@@Neo2266. Are you fucking liking your own comments

@@sneezebiscuits7239 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nyerTI4kmvM.html

I think the picture he showed in 7:10 is one of those groups actually.

@@GallowglassAxe Yes, I think that was from the 1864 revolution.

I like the phrase "Unarmed Musketeers".

You'd think the rebels would be smart enough to use the scythe's blade rather than the pole. In case anyone was wondering, that was a joke.

That's why they're called Pole-arms, no?

Hence the name

More like because of plagues, and people dying in such numbers as whet on field, swing by swing, day by day.

The bread of life .. reaped with a scythe :)

shad fact

brother=ha!,i knew you were jealous,i knew it!,i knew you weren't a 1 man type of guy!!

1940s tv spokesman=whoa!,whoa!,whoa!, now see here,these 2 brothers are known to get into alot of trouble,now look... i know they distubed your comments,i know they cased some recuse,now see here,theyre not the "social" type of people,any little thing can tick them off,weather it be a car engine or a ah! ball boucin on the ground. so don't take it personally,all right?

I'm amazed he managed to get a pommel to explode.

@@janisir4529 I heard it exploded, and then he screwed it back on through sheer force of will.

*Happy Death Noises*

Sure, that guy's been delt with. But then comes another one. What then?

@@peterstangl8295 there’s quite certainly more of you guys with the pokey-spikes than of the lunchboxes on horses. (You usually use heavy armour-piercing stuff like that as infantry against knights)

@@jabba258 Not really, just a mace would work fine

@@tabatzanabtheivth6557 that’s true. polearms were generally preferred tho - for somewhat obvious reasons.

@@jabba258 Oh I thought you meant something like a war pick mb mb

*_SEIZE THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION_*

More like attack of the Grim Reaper :D

Its almost harvesting season!

Polish peasants.

@@the_honkler778 Seize?

the "oh shit my balls" moment

would you rather be dead instantly or have bowel and ball problems the rest of your life ? i would much rather be the rolling head laughing at the dude living with that cut.....

@@evanbates3062 The medieval circumcision.

both are fucked

Owww that is going to hurt... XD

And absolutely massive!

**Sad Blake weapon noises**

Or a greatsword-shotgun.

it can be very effective if you are in war with Grassland :-)

RWBY. Main character has a transforming scythe that is also a sniper rifle and can even pivot the blade into a war pike shape. R - "It's also a customisable, high impact sniper rifle." Everyone - "What?" *sound of gun loading* R - "It's also a gun."

Rwby and blaz blue right

Wait, Ragna, right? Doesn’t he only use his sword as a scythe for 2 moves? (And one of them is IK)

Milamber Feist and qrow’s scythe is a shotgun AND a sword

Gotta love Gundam Wing

@@shadiversity you better do a video on famous scythes in fantasy and Sci-fi. Include Deathscythe on the list.

Dang it you beat me to it!

Deathsycthe is Best Gundam Ever, Especially the Deathscythe Hell version. Just cuz. . . big ass bat wings, the thermal scythe, cloacking capability. And inside, Duo Maxwell singing along to Blue Oyster Cult. (OK, that last bit was fanon, but ya can't tell me he wouldn't, lol)

@@barrybend7189 is Gundam Wing any good because I don't seem to like any Gundam series newer than Gundam 00??? Seed was bearable, couldn't survive 2 episodes of Seed Destiny.

Thanks, nearly gave me a heart attack when I put on headphones, I mean holy crap, I'll never use the pitch shifter effect ever again.

One in each hand.

SCYTHES Shirt when?

Sister Friede would be proud about it ;-)

Ah the great scythe. The best dex weapon because it doesn't look like a dex weapon. Who the fuck needs high frequency of attack when you can hit them once and kill them. Also the running attack looks stupid but it's fucking great.

I suggest checking out RWBY red trailer ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pYW2GmHB5xs.html Its scythe that transforms into a war scythe.

For the record, it's a high-tech war scythe that transforms into a sniper rifle.

Sythes are like any thing in anime where people have inhuman powers, way more effective then traditional weapons

@@_aWiseMan this comment is very old so I don't really remember what my point was exactly but i think i was commenting about it being under appreciated or something. If its celbrated in culture its not that under appreciated as stated. Makes sense? That was probably my point

i recognize that Kayn reference

In Poland scythers won several battles aganist trained soilders in 1795...

@@a.w.4708 Cossacks with scythes handled a war with Polish winged hussars pretty well as well in 1640s...

@@yajrobot Yeah, it's true... Wait, Cossacks used scythes? It would be logical since big part of their army had some really good fields, but I've really thought about what they used. By the way it's quite sad it was so much wars between Poland and Cossacks and later Ukraine, some of them were even stirred up by countries which wanted to make both of them weak...

@@a.w.4708 True. Nowadays Poles and Ukrainians need to be united in order to be strong. Every country experienced its glorious and awkward times. Peace, man.

There's a picture of some Polish scythemen at 7:00, but I think he just pulled the picture from the Wikipedia without knowing what it really was

When in Medieval times Kurwas got ambitious you send the Kosyvnierzy. That would make them think twice

Michał Cłapa At the same time in my home region (from 1793 to 1795), the farmers from Vendée took arms against the French Republicans, and they modified their scythes to use them in the same way. I had no idea about that Kosciuszko uprising! I will read about it. But it really goes to show that the scythe was the weapon of the rebels. Greetings from a Vendéen living in Lithuania

The Kościuszko Uprising is so strongly associated with the war scythe, that there are hundreds of contemporary and some modern paintings of the scythemen. Although the uprising was not successful, it was often glorified later to show the bravery and patriotism of Polish peasantry. I recommend looking up "Panorama Racławicka", it's an impressive and HUGE painting that is built in the shape of a cylinder where you stand in the middle, as if in the middle of a battlefield. Probably the most famous of the art depicting the scythemen.

He uses image of a later January Uprising (1863), which features unit with war scythes. The thing is, it causes misconceptions about what original unit used (cough... Lindy, cough). In 1863 the war scythes used were custom made war scythes used more for their prestige than any other reason. In 1794 they used real scythes modified into war scythes. Things like thinness of the blade didn't really matter since it was late XVIII century not XV so most people didn't wear any armor. Not exactly the best type of infantry for their time, since they only could go against other infantry which outranged them, so their success was all thanks to how they were used.

The pommel would instakill even if you would miss the opponent, he would have died from the pommelphobia

End them rightly

They weren't instakills, they were the weapon of God Inspiring your opponents with your unadulterated rightfulness they yield on the spot immediately out of pure respect

Well, I can't, because you're right.

@Jonathan Wheeler yikes dude

Nemanja Đukić I’d use it

I have one!

Sometimes can be better than weedwackers.

SomeKidWithNoSkills I prefer the chaos blade

Oh look a dex casul

@@rurichan6455 strength is for casuls

Ruri Chan Boi I’ve beat the game with a claymore, zwei, and chaos blade and I just prefer chaos blade

Hysels warpick is the first thing i thought when he said warpick.

bringoutthelegos Why of course. Even better if it folds into a sword ;-)

Dragons are nothing in comparison to the might of the scythe

they either grasp them in the foreclaws, like a knife, or bind several together in the manner of Tekko-kagi, depending on how comfortable they are balanced on their hindlegs.

That's bass. 💜✌🏼

CHOP CHOP