OK, David, here you go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaOolKRsl7eZnZofeature=shared&t=400 It's a common misconception that scythes cannot cut anything thicker than grass. Choose the right blade and you can cut anything a brushcutter can ... with accuracy and serenity. !

Maybe you're right, WC, or maybe you're wrong: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaOolKRsl7eZnZofeature=shared&t=400

You seem to believe that scythes are not capable of cutting anything but grass, WC, which tells us that you've never used a scythe. Brambles are no problem at all.

​@@DaveOxfordCookingWithStarlight Oh honey... I'm a gardener, I even bring a Scythe as a backup. But it's the back-up for a reason. The brush cutter is superior

Hi Alan, the large glass bowl is from a junked 'halogen cooker' (Google that to see an example). They were quite popular about twenty years ago, so there are now many at the end of their useful lives, and you could probably get one that is being thrown away if you look around. I'm not sure where you live, but if you are in the UK, you might try looking on FB Marketplace, or Ebay, or if you are in the US, Craig's list. If you can't find one, the bowls are usually still available, new, on Amazon, where they are sold as replacements. There are two sizes, 12 litre, like this one, and a smaller 7 litre model. The glass top was bought new - it's a standard borosilicate glass lid that some people use on frying pans or large pans. This combination makes a nice big heat trap, as described in the video.

Look carefully, Lando. That interrupted movement he does at the end is his little joke. Here they are right after the competition. Neither looks 'gassed': kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKnCgXefes-Klacfeature=shared&t=404

Not tired, Domain, just messing about. Here they both are immediately after the competition: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKnCgXefes-Klacfeature=shared&t=404 The mown areas are raked afterwards and compared for quality. Here you are: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hKnCgXefes-Klact=398 - quality was about the same.

Here, if you are in the UK, 111: www.thescytheshop.co.uk/product%20list.html#

Yeah, now try this with a brushcutter: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaOolKRsl7eZnZofeature=shared&t=400

Hi Sukotu, I would always advise people to take a course with one of the scythe teachers listed by the Scythe Association of Britain and Ireland (SABI). You can find a list of upcoming courses on their website here: scytheassociation.org/courses/ The reason for recommending this is that learning to keep your blade(s) sharp is essential. If you try to mow with a blunt blade, you will give up. If you do a course, you can usually buy the equipment you need on the course, and have it fitted to you (your height, the sorts of things you want to mow, etc). If you prefer to go it alone, you can buy scythe equipment from 'The Scythe Shop', which brings me to your second question, about blades. Take a browse through the blades available from the Scythe Shop, and you will see that they come in different shapes and sizes. Longer blades are used for mowing larger areas, like fields or large lawns, smaller ones are used in more confined spaces. Some blades are more strongly built because they are intended for use with mixed coarser vegetation (ditch blades). If you still have questions, do get back to me: www.thescytheshop.co.uk/product%20list.html#

You can get different blades to suit the vegetation you are cutting, Hood. For example, here is a 'bush blade' which is used to cut the thicker woodier stuff: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aaOolKRsl7eZnZofeature=shared&t=400 But you can cut woody weeds fairly easily with a blade by using the heel of the blade. You also need to sharpen and shape your blade edge to suit what you are intending to cut - green grass requires a razor sharp edge, nettles and dock will sometimes bend a really keen edge over - it's a matter of experience. Also, a lot of people plan to tackle docks (one of the toughest weeds when it's mature) early in the season, before they are too tough. But yes, you can tackle weeds of all types with a scythe. It sounds as if the scythe you are planning to re-handle is an Old English scythe - with a curved handle. These are heavier than the one you see in the video, and their blades are made of harder steel, so they need filing. They are pretty tough, but you won't find many different types of blade for them. Good luck with your project.

@@DaveOxfordCookingWithStarlight Thanks for the info! It is, indeed, an old English-style scythe, which I think was actually used for quite a while, given the wear on the blade itself. When my brother found it, it was a wall-hanger on someone's garage exterior, so the handle is *_very_* sun and water-worn. I might actually see about getting a new handle for it, now.

I don't know that much about that style of scythe, Hood, but I do know they have been largely superseded by the lightweight Austrian style scythe you see in the video. However, there are folks around you know about and use that type of scythe. If you do Facebook, you could ask for advice on the SABI FB group page here: facebook.com/groups/scytheassociation Someone there may be able to help you track down a new/better snath (wooden handle) for your old scythe.

KZbin, apparently.

Here is the same guy racing a lawn mower, Ed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3qXg4Gbo9KZfKs&ab_channel=SimonDamant

You lose your bet, Big. All of the lane mowing was done using a scythe. All the grass for the hay-making, too. Same this year, same every year.

Hi Julia. Three things: No string involved - it's a brushcutter, with three blades. Here is the same chap racing a lawnmower: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3qXg4Gbo9KZfKs&ab_channel=SimonDamant Here is someone using a scythe (S-C-Y-T-H-E) to 'clean up' an area you think it 'can't reach': kzbin.info/www/bejne/nX2VkJaegLWKoKcfeature=shared&t=173

You can use a scythe all day, Allan. This guy worked continuously for 14 hours @ 8.5 square metres a minute - that's almost as fast as the brush-cutter in the video. I don't expect you'll be impressed, though: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q4jVeJ-Dmaykhasfeature=shared&t=14

Do you mean a tri-blade like the one used on the brush-cutter here in this video, Doc?

@@DaveOxfordCookingWithStarlight it's probably not the same one, but yes. The scythe works faster in parts of my yard where I planted special grass for the bunnies and turtles ( it's definitely safer for them)

It's a scythe festival, even in 2024 the freshly sharpened scyth will win hands down against a low range, loud strimmer with a dull 230mm blade,.. And at the farming and forestry fair you will see a guy with a 450mm blade on an electric brushcutter mowing dense brush faster than the guy with the scyth can handle the softest grass,... Already the title,.. if you need something that would qualify for brushcutter use you spend ages peening and sharpening the rather small scyth,..

@@kanaalvanNI who uses a dull blade and electric 🤷‍♂️ (besides small yard people) at the very least 80cc 2 stroke and a 12 inch tip to tip 5/16 thick tri knife. So honestly should you sharpen a scythe with file? I only peen mine and it works great, no file in four years.

@@docholiday3800, like most people i need to sharpen/ straighen the edge after peening, not with a file but with a sharpening stone. The blade on a brush cutter however hardly ever need sharpening, that's part of the advantage of a brushcutter. Only the recipro/ scissors get sharpened, but for such a grass mowing competition it would make a big difference. I don't know of an 80 cc brushcutter, sounds like boys and their toys,.. I do know the 56 CC 561, it is and feels more powerfull than the 461, it would do great in that competittion but after the first few minutes the working speed is limited by the user and for most users the 461 or even the 361 will be as fast for a long session of mowing thick blackberries and sapplings or mowing grass in a ditch,.. And that field from the competition would be mowed with a swather on a tractor,.. In Western europe Pro users are the main electric users, they don't like to be in a noisy, stinking environment the hole day, their clients don't like a noisy and stinking environment, if they make the risk assessment for a job they don't want to write working in a noisy and stinking environment, for them the investment in batteries does compensate the fuel cost, they like not having to start the mower over and over again or have the motor running as they are walking to the next pole that need to be cleared,.. If it's possible to reach an area with a wheeled or tracked mower or flailmower they will use a wheeled or tracked mower and only what remains needs to be done manually, in such case even something like the 1kw FSA 130/135 did the job but the 1,6 kw FSA200 will do it faster, that's about the power of the 361,..

I hadn't noticed that, RattyTatty. Yes, the kilted man is stooping. On the European mainland their competition scythers adopt that stooped posture so their arms are almost parallel to the ground. It's faster in light vegetation with a long blade. Caroline's setup is more conventional for everyday more relaxed mowing. So, either the blades have different tang angles, or one of them is using a wooden wedge. I'll ask.

Thanks, Matt. The food container would need to be sealed as well if you pulled a vacuum inside the glass, or it would lower the boiling point and any volatile components of the food would end up condensed on the inside of the glass - yuck. However, this has been tried with some limited success (not by me). But the existing evacuated cooking tubes (the one with the bread inside in the vid) already make full use of the insulating qualities of a vacuum. And there is now proto-type double skinned hemispherical vacuum shaped glassware that works really well. Much more convenient shape than the current tubes. Not on the market, yet, but just a matter of time.