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I am often asked if one can mow a lawn with a scythe. Sure you can! Most people scythe a lawn by pressing down on the blade and taking a full scythe stroke, and often end up scalping the lawn. Whenever possible, I prefer to lift my blade slightly, and leave a higher stubble. It's better for the lawn. With a super sharp blade and the lush juicy grass, like the lawn in the video below, I can keep the blade an inch or two above the ground. This requires more of a short, trimming stroke, so this technique is better for small areas. For larger areas, I would use a long hook-nosed blade, and add a wedge between the tang and the snath, in order to raise the cutting edge, above the ground more. See my blog post on wedges. For more tips on scything a lawn see: https://onescytherevolution.com/blog/any-tips-for-using-a-scythe-to-mow-a-lawn
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 Yes. Besides keeping your blade really sharp, when mowing dense bluegrass, you have to make sure that the blade gets down underneath the grass blades, otherwise the scythe blade can slide up over the grass, like it's on top of carpeting, and not cut much. To keep the blade low, you can actually press down on the lower grip, which will keep the blade pressed firmly to the ground. You may be cutting the grass pretty short the first couple of times, but the regrowth will be more tender, and easier to mow. You will have to mow less often with a scythe, than with a lawnmower.
Also, grass is always much easier to mow very early in the morning. Don't worry, your neighbors won't complain, even if you're out mowing at 6AM on a Sunday morning. Mow when the dew is still on the grass, and before photosynthesis gets going. It will be much less work that way. |
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