SCYTHE WORKS blog

by Alexander Vido

*Swapnil shares her scything skills

… using a scythe can be really contagious, especially when the only other available option is a sickle. In comparison to a sickle, while a scythe is still easy to use, it is much faster for cutting berseem.

*New sounds echoing in the high Himalayas.

I am a yak herder and I have some grass field. We used to harvest the grass with the sickle, as an old tradition in Khumbu…

*Dhorpatan — Best kept secret in Nepal

… And today, almost 60 years later, the same scythes are still being used for harvesting oats, barley and making hay for winter months.

*SPIN update 2021

After a few years of dormancy, the Scythe Project in Nepal (SPIN) is making further progress.

*Scythes have no Gender Biases

At many scythe demonstrations in India, I’ve observed that it is the men who are first to step up to try the scythe for themselves. However, scythes have no gender biases. As Swapnil points out, most of the harvesting is done by women, therefore it’s women who could benefit the most.

*Are burning fields choking New Delhi?

A dense toxic smog in New Delhi blocks out the sun. In November 2018, Delhi's chief minister described the city as a "gas chamber". In New Delhi, air quality in recent years is a growing concern. The reasons are numerous, but every November a couple of extra...

*When Nuts and Bolts are your Bread and Butter

… We do this to bring our daily bread to the table to share with our loved ones and sometime we hope for some butter too..

*Fabricating Cane Wood Cradle Ribs

This is a fascinating look at the manual tools and methods used by a skilled craftsman to fabricate a scythe cradle.

*Harvesting Rice Paddy with a Scythe, Varanasi, 2017

As you can see in the video, a scythe dealt with this circumstance quite effectively. It is also evident that technique and skill has a notable effect on the final result.

*Forging scythe blades

This short video is a romantic, nostalgia evoking and beautiful portrayal of forging scythe blades at the Falci factory in Italy.

Need a Scythe?

Order HereLearn More