Trying a HUGE Scythe Blade | MIND-BLOWING RESULTS! Hartstahl 120 cm Competition Size Blade
Let’s try something new! This is my first time trying the competition size 120 cm Hartstahl blade - and it is HUGE! I start by testing out the right lay and hafting angle as well as the right snath and then we really put it to the test.
In a competition with myself, I go for 30 seconds as fast as I can and then for 2 minutes at more normal working tempo.
And you need to see these results!
▶ Mentioned in the video:
Hartstahl 120 cm blade: www.slattergubben.se/shop/pro...
75 cm Fux Hook-nosed blade: www.slattergubben.se/shop/pro...
Shoes: Inov-8 X-Talon 255
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🕒 Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:20 Setup
02:33 First Try!
05:28 First Impressions & Some Adjustments
08:27 Second Try!
09:44 30 Second Test
11:36 Normal Tempo
12:19 2 Minute Test
14:06 Measurements & Calculations
14:57 Final Thoughts & a New Challenge!
#scything #countrylife #gardening #sustainability #sweden
As 30 something South African man with no prior interest in agricultural tools, I had no idea how much a video of a super chilled Swedish dude cutting grass with a piece of kit that would make John Deere blush would entertain me. I have no idea what this is, but it's great and I'll be checking in for more. Subbed.
Change the South African to English and I couldn't have put it better myself. Also subbed 👌
@@EnglishInfidel Mate, I swear I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but it still kinda floors me sometimes that we live in such a weird ass time. A time in which you and I, perfect strangers who will very likely never interact again beyond this, separated by a literal fuggen hemisphere can so easily share the expression of a similar sentiment regarding the actions of some dude who's equally worlds away from either of us. What a time to be alive. Cheers random UK man, hope you're keeping happy and healthy.
Must be hitting SA cause I also randomly found this haha.
That is what great about YT - all hail the glorious algorithm 😀
why would a scythe make john deere blush? i understand john deere makes, for instance, riding lawn mowers, so i get they're connected insofar as they both cut grass, by why would john deere blush at a scythe? it's the kind of thing that a person says and it makes sense only if you don't think about it at all.
I never knew scythes even had competition blades. Who's out there cutting grass competitively?
More than you would think! :)
The same sort of people who cut wood competitively (with both axes and chainsaws). (Racing axes and chainsaws are a thing).
Id love to hire them
The current UK national mens champ cut 5m x 5m in about 30 seconds with a quality score of 8 out of 10. You can't just hack at it. That is like 100m sprint and the competitors collapse at the end. The 1ha challenge is 400 times the area. That's a double marathon at least. I am fully metricated but sometimes an old school unit like an acre (4046.856 square metres) is handy😉
@@joefamliyguy1551just host a competition 😁
The "Never ending honing" was a hilarious joke🤣 I was unaware of how many different parts come together to create a scythe!
Me to my wife: I don’t need TV anymore, everything is on KZhead. It’s much better than regular TV. Wife: what are you watching? Me: competitive scything.
As someone who loves leather working and blade smithing as hobbies it's great to watch ppl who perfect crafts that others would consider outdated. Well done
Those old skills are so necessary to preserve if we are to have a less negative impact on our shared planet. Happy to hear you are doing your part :)
You should absolutely try the one hectare test. The real question is whether or not you have the endurance to keep that blade moving for 8 hours. I do seem to recall a video of folks in some Eastern European country who were cutting hay with long blades like that. They also had very long straight snathes that had to be approaching 7' or more. I got the impression that the long snathes served as a counterbalance to the blade and made it easier to work, in general.
Thanks, I have pretty good endurance as this is my profession and off-season I do a lot of long distance running and biking. Though it might work easier with a 95 or 85 blade. Weight is all, I do not believe in counterbalance. It is just mass also in the other end you need to change direction in every second! Everything that's reduce weight is good in scything. If you try an easier (but similar) snath for a while and then go back to a heavier - then you realise that the easier was better. A more lightweight blade is better than a heavier, a lighter ring is better than a heavy etc.....carbon fiber snath is on my to do list! As well as a super light ring .
@@slattergubben6702 now we need a montage of you training endurance Rocky Balboa style for the one hectar challenge! 😂
@@jacekbujko4485 he he, yes! Needs someone challenging me with a grinding -scythe!
@@slattergubben6702 if he dies - he dies! 😂
Hello! Here we are used to quite long works in competitions. Scythemen have to cut one our in championship finals, bets sometimes take up to two hours. Here historically we haven't seen any need of any type of counter balance. Take a look to the video, handles, scythes more or less 1.20 meters long, techniques... Not saying this is the only way to do it, it's just the way local culture developed scything. Video is a little bit more than an hour long. Hope you find something useful here. Regards!
Fun fact. In a lot of movies and games we see scythes used in battle. Now, the *normal* scythe is kind of a terrible weapon but there *is* a such thing as a war scythe. A war scythe had a straighter blade more in line with the shaft instead of being at a sort of right angle and it was basically a glaive (a glaive is pretty much spear where the spearhead is replaced with a sword). Peasants who used them in battle typically took them to the blacksmith to have the blade's angle changed to be more in line with the shaft as well.
I often think of them like a double-edged war scythe that does look like the Grim Reaper's or to some extent, from the fantasy themed succubi. You know, magic scythe that can gather everyone's souls or life essence within one swing kind of thing
So Bloodborne weapons
Scythe nerds. Huh.
I learned so much in this video. I still have an old scythe from Austria that was brought to America for farming by my ancestors. Even though they were German and Swedish.
we've always made great tools but they've also always been hilariously expensive keep good care of that scythe it's a most likely a gem
The Joy and excitement is contagious. Awesome video. If I ever get a mood swing to the lower side I will try to remind my self to get back to this video🙏
Haha please do! :D
I find, interestingly, that the biggest challenge with very long blades is simply keeping pace with them! It gets to a point where you no longer can comfortably advance one step with every stroke, and instead have to take two or more steps per stroke, which is awkward and breaks your rhythm. When taking maximum-depth strokes with such long blades it necessitates lifting the blade from the ground fully as you advance or else you risk tripping yourself up, as well. As such I find extra long blades best used for sparse and light growth that can be irritating to mow with a more typical blade length, like maintaining lawns or in patchy waste areas. This means the context of use is fairly limited, but they do very nicely under those conditions!
Exactly!
*Skill Issue.*
@@ActuallyDeath merely a *comfort* issue. I have the skill for it no problem, but it is a technique for "sprinting" rather than sustained mowing. 😏
@@FortyTwoBlades *Since when did **_not_** being able to bend the Laws of Nature become anything other than a Skill Issue?*
That blade is outrageous. Too cool.
The algorithm has spoken, this video is going to be a great success!
If you ever wonder why people in the olden days were not fat, even thought they ate lots of fat and sugar, this is it. Also washing clothes by hand and I asked my grandma how they got groceries home from the grocery store, she said they carried the bags home sometimes the bags weight 30-40 lbs. There really was no need to workout when everyday living had so much physical activity.
It might seem like it was great, but consider the amount of time you wasted just washing clothes, and having to pretty much do it every single day because families were bigger, it was very much not great.
@@MrMartinSchou mostly the laundry was done once a week, the entire process of doing the laundry itself was a multi day process, since things need to dry out, it was typically done on monday to give lots of time to dry out before sunday. and generally the people with large families were the poorer working class, and as such had smaller wardrobes per person.
Remember, they did not live very long. They wore out their bodies with labour which we avoid. Instead we can exercise our bodies in ways which are prolonging our healthy lives.
@@thefreedomguyuk thats not actually true, if you lived past the infancy death rate, you typically lived to 60-80 in your average lifestyle
they didnt have alot of sugar. we consume more than any generation ever
I'm from Russia and grew up in a village. All my childhood I mowed the grass with such a scythe, it’s hard work)
Thanks for sharing this, really interesting analysis. I’ve been using a 125cm Hartstahl blade occasionally but my grass is generally too thick and the ground to uneven. I love the 95cm though.
That test would be cool to see. 👍
I don't remember the length of my scythe blade, so I would call it a standard length from Bauhaus. I haven't practiced scythe mowing for more than one season, and only in my garden, which I let grow except for some pathways I mowe on a ~ weekly basis. We have become 'wild' on purpose or - deliberately. The 'robo cut' was given away to some friends after someone asked me how I mowed the grass. Did I use a scythe or what? Then I saw a video on KZhead with two guys mowing the same size area with a scythe and a grass trimmer respectively. The scythe was fastest and that made me get going with the scythe. Although in the summer it's quite hot, it's also very, very satisfying! Do the comparison - all in! Eight hours😅
Yes, would love to see the test. Love the videos and content! Keep it up❤
Thank you!
It's a pleasure to see a professional working with such passion!
Thank you!
Beautifully crafted
I would love to see that challenge! I just stumbled across this video and I guess mowing this way in general, but watching you get excited about it got me excited for it and I bet you could pull it off 😊
I'm learning to use a scythe(Your videos are helpful but I asked my dad for a tutorial - when he was mowing it looked easy and didn't require much effort. Unfortunately I'm not that easy) I have a lot of meadow around the house and so far I've used brushcutters. In my country, the scythe placed upright is a symbol of the volunteers in the Kościuszko Uprising, because it was an easily obtainable weapon for them and so it became a symbol even in military iconography.
You have to take into account also, that for example, wheat grew more than twice as long as it grows now. I mean Scythian times. It is estimated wheat height was a bit over 150cm = 59 inches. So then also the straw needs to be stiffer and you needed more heavier tools to cut it.
I did that once. ONCE!!!! Horse Flies! Heat! Brutal! This dude is a real stud muffin. Man to Man Respect!
Haha thank you :D
Very awesome, can't wait to see you test yourself on the hectare!
I didn't know people did that for fun. when I was a kid the mowing scythe was my preferred tool for really tall weeds that the weed whackers couldn't cut fast enough for me. still have my old scythe and double bit axe. I spent so much time with those tools I had to keep them. I was the only one that would use tools like that. wish I still had my big 30lb sledgehammer, another tool no one but me would use. the blade on mine is 27 inches not accounting the curve. the handle is 5 feet long not counting the curves. I notice a difference in how the blades sound as well. mine rings like a sword, a satisfying sound. I never sharpened mine except if I hit a rock. I didn't cut hay or grass just really big weeds. my technique is very different than yours. I raise the blade high gravity helps, and the handle placement kept me from going into the dirt. crouching down like you would wear me out. good stuff I enjoyed that.
A true art form. For anyone using these,👏👏👍
I would love to see the challenge done! Most fun would be comparing also to someone else with a 120 cm blade, and to some other lengths or tools!
I came about this channel by pure chance, I did not know competition/professional mowing with scythes was a thing. Now I'm extremely interested, it looks like an extremely precision-focused kinestetik activity, as well as a very satisfying one. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for being here, happy it sparked your interest :) There is an entire Beginner's Guide on this channel, if you need some help getting started. Let us know if you try it out!
@@slattergubben6702 thank you very much! I'll check it out for sure!
Awesome! Yeah I’d like to see you do the test
Yes 1 hectare test!! Would love to see it
Yes please! I've been thinking about getting a 36 inch or 91.5 centimeters. 8 inches longer than my current grass blade.
This was just incredible! 👍😁
Thank you! :D
This video is awsome and the link to the shop is amazing. I love this stuff, but it is hard to find new scythes in australia.
Amazing thank you for sharing this info
I would love to see you attempt a hectare in one day! You can do it! Thanks for your helpful and informative videos.
Thank you! :D
I can't even imagine what someone's physique would look like after doing that nearly every day for 30 years.
Good shape! But I only do it in season, that's close to three month, also some days is raking and some days off.
You just get going mate 👍👍
You’ve just gained a new subscriber!
There’s just something about places where people have professions in outside sports they make such great videos like just calming and fulfilling
I can feel my back getting sore just by watching this.
Yeah, this blade is really heavy, but scything is actually great exercise, and if done right it's not as hard on the back as a lot of people seem to think. Quite the opposite in fact :)
This is REALLY the most interesting scything video I have seen, and I have seen hundreds. I have learned HEAPS about length of blade, and tang and heft. Thank you. Yes. I want to see how you go with a huge field.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Huge field is coming soon! :D
What a way to get in shape.
A hectare in 8 hours is a phenomenal physical challenge, I think you are able!
Thanks! 8 hour's - I regard a such day will be much longer than that!
so awesome watching a Scythe cutting video :D
Thanks!
Мой дед косил лезвием такого размера. Правда оно звучало лучше, как клинок, а не как железяка. Но тогда это реально нужное изделие было, а не экзотика. У нас было принято делать рукоятку косы в полтора человеческих роста, чтоб можно было косить стоя ровно, а не согнутым в три погибели, поясницу ломать, так как за утро до четверти гектара, порой скосить. Стал и без перерыва минут 20. Потом ещё всё погрузить. Так же было принято режущую кромку косы расклёпывать. Косой с расклёпанной кромкой можно было, при желании человека разрубить. Камнем лезвие только поправлялось на поле. Может и у вас так, в кадре не указано. Правда и косы были другой стали, она звенела аж свистела. Гавняные косы тоже были, хорошую косу не просто было раздобыть. В идеале, у кузнеца заказать. Косили в основном на рассвете, когда роса лежит, по росе как по маслу. Но тут речь о неких соревнованиях, это другая история. И в принципе, это уже история вышедшая из прикладного применения, технология утрачивается.
16 minutes ago I would not have thought I’d be interested in mowing with a scythe. But 16 minutes and 30 seconds later there you go.
You're welcome! ;D
That's a really good work out
It is!
That was very interesting. Thanks 👍
Thank you!
Yes, do the hectare challenge!
Amazing video, we need to see the hectare test though. The people need to know.
And to know that 135cm is the biggest competition blade. Holly molly! Fun to see you having fun with these big blades.
Ok! Thanks- did not really knew there were even longer. Have you tried?
Apparently I just spent 16 minutes watching the bright reaper. Very entertaining!
*Huh?*
People just don't do that kind of thing anymore good show what a blade👍👍👍👏
This is why the Grip Reaper carries a scythe !
*Well, and for other things.*
Yup, I'd like to see you do that.
Det var häftigt att se, bra video. Ja försök på fältet med den lien, det vill vi alla se.
I have no desire to scythe mow, but the video was great! I'm sure I'll watch more of your videos now.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing . The old ways still excel.
I've never seen one used before. Nice video!
Thank you!
definitely would still like to see the 1 ha in a day challenge this year, good luck!!
That was very interesting
Glad you enjoyed it!
1st time I saw it. Very effective.
Indeed! :D
I use one of them things to chop the reeds down around a fishing pond i go to works really well i smear vasaline all over the blade an it helps it even more
Honestly, this just showed up in my recommended, I don't even like yard work, but yeah. The sound is satisfying and interesting.
I am using similar "huge blade" regulary ( my grandfather's) The way to set it up for your body size is to put the 'shaft' on your shoulder, with the blade on the front of you pointing up. Then you hook the little handle behind your head. Then you reach out to the back of the blade. You have to be able to reach the back of the blade with your fingers all away to the tip. That is when it's set up properly. I think you may have to bend the 'neck' of the blade back the way it was. But it will be much easyer on your back that way and you need half of the power and no need for such a wide stance 😉
Thanks for showing me that you can bend the tang angle to suit your height -snath angle, I was never sure if I could, even though my father said to do so. So I would make my snaths fit my height and blade angles.
Welcome , I have one film dedicated to that as well.
kzhead.info/sun/oLOqiaWviIGtp6c/bejne.html
It's 1 am and here I am watching a guy use a scythe to mow a field....time for bed.
Great video
Thank you!
oddly satisfying
Grymt kul att se dig här Janne :)
Tack Erik! Är ju kul att ta greppet om en smal marknad - och dessutom något vettigt och bra som man brinner för.
I learned to use a scythe when I was a teenager. Boy, hammering the blade was always such a pain, the edge was never even. I still mow my grass with a (60 cm) scythe. My neighbours come to me to sharpen the blades of their electric (or gasoline) lawn mowers. When they ask me why do I still use a scythe, I tell them it's for fitness. ;)
I have one of those 120cm blades. Unfortunately I have very few opportunities to use it. Most of the mowing around me has vetch and other weeds that tangle up and make you feel like you are dragging an entire bale with each stroke. I used my 95cm blade in a recent competition and it was almost too much. All the rain we have had here in New England (USA) has compounded the issue as everything is overgrown and lodged. 1 hectare is about 2.5 acres. I've always heard it said that a good mower could mow one acre a day. So I would very much like to see you attempt one hectare in a day!
Yes that is what I regard mowing myself a good working day. But then in more or less tougher meadows in our pro work. One hectar needs to be on flat area with not so dense grass.
I don't need this blade in my life, but I want this blade in my life!
Just taking a rest today from mowing my horse pasture hay block. I'm 67 and orthopaedicaly challenged/ My steady pace is about 60 metres by 2.5 metres every 40 minutes. I have entered competition for fun as a veteran at the UK Green Scythe Fair and needless to say I don't qualify for the final but I have watched my former teachers push those 120cm blades through 5m squares in the final with no.4 snath's (child size) with amazement. Great effort. Come to the Uk and compete next June👍
Thanks! I am right now preparing for the 1 ha challenge and realised I need to go 100 m every 15 minutes for 10 hours. Feels veeery much!
Took me a while to remeber but No.4 is large but it was cut right down to child size. Only about 1.4m
Yes please would like to see
Much satisfaction.
I really want to get a scythe, but not sure where to go in South Africa. Great video!
If you want our snath and jig look at www.slattergubben.se, else send me a mail and I think I can give you a retailer in South Africa
Absolutly massive. Helt galet😄
You cutting grass is definitely ASMR
Thanks, I love the sound of scything
one man went to mow a meadow... that sure looks hard as f......k and amazing
Najs! :)
As soon as they make a riding scythe I'm all in.
One hectare in one day, yes lets go🙌
Have you tried mowing with the very very short blades that were common on the Norwegian west coast? I still have my grandfathers one handed scythe. Very useful for clearing in rough terrain.
I know about the one handed but never worked with it. I am sure it is good in some very steep rough terrain. 50 cm blades are surprisingly effective, I recommend for kids and elders.
@@slattergubben6702 I don't think ours is even 50 cm, and the haft is not much longer, and the angle is very different from normal Scythes.
Dear mr .Janne Wester sincei discovered your channel i have been literally bingewatching your videos as i am also a great addept of hand tool gardening. i would realy love to see a video in wich you explain how to tacle mowing an uneven area with holes and small erath mounds
It comes, but for small anthills or mole-hills it's just to play around them pretending they are stones - or just cut through dem and hone directly after
Yes
Säg till så kommer jag och hejar på dig om du tänker plåga dig igenom ett helt hektar! 😜👍
now this look so relaxing/ harwork but relaxing/ better than cardio or gym
Absolutely! But a normal 65, or 75 cm blade is relaxing for sure. 120cm blade is heavy
Interesting, is that crouched style usual for mowers ? the little real life scythe work I have seen here (UK) employed a far more upright style.
Depends on, we also use a much more upright style. But if you look at the Bascian videos for example in another commet in this thread they mow like completely folded and seem to thrive with that. But I think in the wester "modern" world people are might a little too stiff and work too upright. If you have too long snath and stand close with your feet you wont get much done! Something in between is maybe best and what works for yourself ni the longrund. But yes we teach a much much more upstanding style on the courses. But with feet pretty wide apart and just a slight bent on the back.
So much more
Omg I don’t even know what a “snath” is! How did I get here? Wow, that looks like really hard work.
Haha you're welcome either way! :D And the snath is the handle or shaft that the blade is fastened to, if you're still wondering :)
And on this day, the mighty algorithm smiled upon you...
Swing it magistern!
I sighed quite a bit while he was honing that thing is amazing, but what a work out!😊
Great video ! Only 50 more acres to go .
The scythe: it's not just for your spooky Halloween cosplay.
I need one one these!! I have 20 acres nwll beibringen soon
Wow! 👏🦾
Loaded this video simply to see how it is done
Now that is a Grim Reaper!
*...Maybe I **_could_** offer him a job in a few decades...?*