The Reaper's scythe is supposed to be more symbolic than practical. It is supposed to represent him harvesting souls in the same way humans harvest wheat.
To quote from Terry Pratchetts Discworld Novel "Reaper Man": “ALL THINGS THAT ARE, ARE OURS. BUT WE MUST CARE. FOR IF WE DO NOT CARE, WE DO NOT EXIST. IF WE DO NOT EXIST, THEN THERE IS NOTHING BUT BLIND OBLIVION. AND EVEN OBLIVION MUST END SOMEDAY. LORD, WILL YOU GRANT ME JUST A LITTLE TIME? FOR THE PROPER BALANCE OF THINGS. TO RETURN WHAT WAS GIVEN. FOR THE SAKE OF PRISONERS AND THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS. Death took a step backwards. It was impossible to read expression in Azrael's features. Death glanced sideways at the servants. LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?”
mattbenz99 [Canadian Gambit] the grim reaper isn't that old, he makes perfect sense when you think about when he became popular, sure there's been many similar things before but the actual grim reaper as we call him appeared in the 1400s with the black death. If you think about it, yes it makes sense, he is death itself a skeleton, he wears black funeral robes from that time and unlike Death before him whom shot down people with arrows, he uses a scythe to cut down the people on mass, this could be seen as the many many sick and dying at the time, withering away from the black death guaranteed to die, whole towns and villages gone in weeks, farming was most people's livelihood and I'm sure thats where the saying of being cut down in prime comes from amongst others, in those circumstances its makes sense not to see death in terms of war like many gods are based on but farming and blighted crops, man is the crop of god after all.
Well, yeah, that's the origin of the imagery, but that doesn't change the ridiculous usage by reaper-ish characters in pop culture derived from a thorough misunderstanding of that, which is the point of/impetus for this video.
The scythe is definitely a weapon. I was once attacked by two acres of tall grass and random overgrown weeds. Armed with my trusty scythe, I sliced them all. It was ugly.
H Abdul Hamid you powerful man, you have done it, my family died because of those bastards, and your comment gives me hope that, one day, I will avenge my family.
@@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668 I pulled my chi together and channelled it to the blade of my scythe. The blade sprouted flames and it cut through anything.
Fun fact, many Poles who fought under Napoleon turned scythe blades into bayonets. Napoleon actually prohibited their use because he felt that they were too gruesome. They had a tendency to remove limbs and bowels when used in that capacity.
Imagine a switch scythe, a double edged scythe with a mechanism to shift the handles and switch the blade upright. One moment you're harvesting crops, the next you're writing legend.
Yes it's an amazing thought, but you have to be extra careful with the switch mecanism, because it could be a weaker point and it can also break and hurt the wielder.
Irvine Spiegel I do like the idea of a scythe with a hinged blade... That's if someone manages to figure out a mechanism to make the blade unfold/fold at the pull of a trigger without making it too bulky or fragile.
I firmly believe it was real. The focus was to train the nobles to defend form scythe attacks. Not to actually train them to attack. More like a set defense manual in this manner.
I really appreciate the heavy usage of pictures, drawings, and texts to support whatever you're talking about. Really makes it a lot easier to follow you. Not sure if the emojis in your title are the way to go, and even that effective, though. Anyhoo, I really love these kinds of videos, reminds of the one where you compared silver and iron, one of my favourite videos of yours Edit: Not sure if I played a part in it, but appreciate the title change!
Speaking of ridiculously big and dangerous pieces of metal that can cause brutal damage despite being way too slow for combat... Sharpened bulldozer duel!
Maybe it's considered as an emergency weapon, i.e. you get assaulted in the countryside without any other weapon (dagger, knife, sword, rapier...) and have to defend yourself with the first sharp thing you can grab. Or maybe the author was just curious if he could come up with a fighting technique for a scythe and documented his findings.
Damn right bro. Improvised drunk dueling sounds like a huge emergency to me (as if fighting sober wasn't dangerous enough). That book's more useful than it seems.
Your farm is being raided by some stupid vikings, drunk bandits or some assholes' cut-throats. You give the rapier or whatever you own to your oldest son. You give your wife and daughters knives and hide them. And you take your shovel/woodcutting axe or better yet your scythe which you know how to use effectively giving you an element of suprise since the raiders will mock and underestimate your capabilities. Especially when they have never fought against someone using the scythe effectively before. Then you proudly say "Wypierdalać" And you fuck them up.
Using regular scythes in my day to day work. I could definitely see ways they could be used as weapons. Especially some of the bulkier kinds like shrub blades, or the finnish style blades. From having worked a lot with scythes (especially heavy ones) one should not underestimate their prowess when just making blunt hits, and for tripping your opponent
When the manual was made, If you trained in the use of the sythe as a weapon, and you had the opportunity to choose which weapons were used in a duel, you would probably have a huge advantage over your opponent
@@ZeroPlayerGame Perhaps the idea is you may gain an advantage by having familiarity and training with the scythe that your opponent lacks Like how an inexperience karateka might even the odds against a stronger opponent by fighting them in a Southpaw stance-its not a particularly overwhelming advantage but it is noticeable in how it effects their timing and technique execution
The scythe is the quintessential exotic weapon ? Monster Hunter has a bagpipe hammer. What is more exotic than subduing your foe with your crushing bardic might ?
"Quintessential exotic weapon" means "well-known, frequently referenced exotic weapon." Not "most exotic exotic weapon." So while a bagpipe hammer is maybe *more* exotic, it's not more *quintessentially exotic.*
@@delphicdescant Technically speaking, the word quintessentially means "used to emphasize the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class". That definition exclude neither the scythe (most well known) or the bagpipe hammer (the stronger representation of the exotic weapon).
I mean he did demonstrate they can make for functional warpicks in a way, just not against heavily armored targets. Not great for slashing though, not without a great deal of modifications to alter the curve.
@@Draeckon You know... actually probably someone sitting and cutting grass with this for 2 decades can do a lot of damage with it... I mean how many techniques we aren't seeing just for a lack of practice ? In my lifetime shooting side of bow switched twice. In fact shooting on outside was waay more natural way of shooting for me.. So ..
It works in media, because in games, for example, your weapon can go through enemies or walls. Such a stupid illogical thing, that I wish would stay in games forever
When you were showing the sword and showing how it could be used to cut, all I could think is that if it’s attached to a long pole, you’re going to have a lot of leverage and power in that swing. Which you pointed out a few moments later.
The last use of scythe as a war weapon, in combat, was just at the start of the WW 2, when Germany invaded Poland. On polish coast, in "Pomorze" Army, whole battalion armed with scythes was used in combat. They replace scythes with rifles taken from dead German soldiers. The reason of this is because was so many volunteers want join the Polish Army, that there was not enough of rifles in armories to arm all of them.
@@afsdsdhsgjf yeah, I found the video you are talking about: ruclips.net/video/48D42708kus/видео.html Now, it was not a battalion but a "group of men with the strength (numbers) of a company" who came to a military post as volunteers. And yes they did arrive with "war scythes" (kosy postawione na sztorc) but as soon as they arrived they were outfitted with guns. So no, the scythes were not used as war weapons. Further more that statement, although it is much more probable than your, has no sources so it has to be taken at face value.
Not the last use. Cretan paramilitia did the same in ww 2. And who knows who else did. Scythes are decent weapons, if you are a farmer and the alterntive is fighting barehanded, lol.
As you noticed, there are lots of variations (as for the cropping tool). As my dad said, it is because the scythe is relatively cheap and can be actually customized: each single reaper can have a few scythes that are to his own use and specific lenght/angle/weight/blahblah ratios for (as you mentioned) different types of grain and terrain. Yes, I am from Poland and we still have folks who don't use lawnmowers... like my dad ;) So regarding the fact that some peasants could have had up to five scythes each, we indeed have a very wide variety (regarding grip modifications, numbers and shapes of snaths, shapes of shafts). Oh, by the way, these guys have done some quite cool study on a few techniques that were possible to use in a mano-a-mano scythe combat ruclips.net/video/SoeNwEjpTE4/видео.html And Racławice is pronounced more like [ratswavitseh]. As for the weapon training and writing "manuals", well it could have come to not the ones who used it (people who couldn't read) but the ones who prepared a group for battle. Therefore we can imagine some troop training by "'webels" or "hauptmanns" passing knowledge among each other. But that is just my presumption. And sorry to bring it up to you, but you were using the scythe wrong on the zombie head. It is not your fault actually. Your scythe is just not right, it should be a lot less curved, as in the one that is used for cutting grass or your falx. And as in some Miyagi or Chinese training, you should first try to cut grass with it to "feel the flow" or just to use it in the correct manner. It is not easy but after you would cut a morgue of wheat, you would probably be capable of cutting people's hair if necessary (if they would agree to lie face down as you say "this will take just a few seconds" gripping a harvest tool...). Hitting the zombie head with the point of your pretty weapon is just... weird, you should be handling something you could actually aim at the opponent ;)
Not Polish, Canadian here, and I have to say, there is nothing better to cut long grass on uneven terrain than a good, sharp scythe. My Grandpa would sharpen my Dad's scythe so good that it could go through the tall grass like it wasn't even there. We would cut the 2-3 foot tall grass once a year in the summer - probably my favourite job at home.
Skallagrim really helps me with my investigation into "fantasy" weapons. I'm a fantasy writer myself and I love to have characters with badass crazy weapons but I also want to add the touch of realism to it as to "why" their using it. Not just say "magic" but just go a bit deeper. Skallagrim's videos like this help!
I have been doing some digging at the etymology of many bladed and hooked polearm weapons, you know the usual (Glaive, Guisarme, Fauchard, Guandao, Sovnya, Naginata etc) and i found something very interesting, the origin of the names for many of these weapons roughly translate to "scythe/sickle" or in some cases refer to a crescent blade Guisarme: "origin is likely Germanic from Old High German "getīsarn", literally "weeding iron" Fauchard: French, from Old French fausart, fauchart, from faus, faux sickle, scythe (from Latin falx) + -ard, -art -ard Naginata: roughly translated means "mowing down blade"reaping blade" Glaive: likely a French/Welsh? translation from guisarme or the latin "gladius" word for sword. Guandao: yanyuedao (偃月刀; lit. "reclining moon blade" (as in a sickle/scythe) Sovnya: sadly i cant find a solid origin of the name/meaning but it is safe to assume it translates to scythe/sickle or reaping/mowing blade
I remember my brother's character in Everquest had an awesome scythe. I played his character once and almost died to the first low level monster I encountered because I didn't realize you couldn't actually attack with it, it was only for stats.
I cannot describe how much this helps I've been a little toubled as to what to give my mascot character (in my pfp) as his weapon keep up the hard work on these videos, they're quality
Fun fact, the original depiction of the grim reaper had both a scythe and a sword, which he used was based on how noble you were in life but did so to sever the bond between body and soul, rather than outright weaponry. Also weapon scythes in fiction generally have curved shafts so the swinging momentum eventually made the blade strike with the edge.
10:37 lmao love the idea of a lord telling his knights to train with scythes just in case there's a peasant uprising and the knights going "Yo it could be better but this is lowkey kinda neat!"
The scythes used in Polish uprisings weren't intended to be durable weapons. If successful, it only needed to be used once. After that they would just grab fallen enemy's musket with bayonet.
Not quite true. There was a manual for scythemen and pikemen created around 1794. Scythemen were to be used as shock troops and there were recruited from populace not accustomed to firearms. There was neither reason nor time to retrain them as range troops.
Absolutely wrong I'm afraid, Scythmen were regular troops used since medieval times. Served as shock troops until the end of the January uprising. Their weapons were regular agricultural scythes converted by village blacksmiths the Polish term for this conversion is "Na sztorc.". They would serve as Scythmen until the end of the campaign.
Sejfudin Halarewicz 'Scythmen were regular troops'. How did you come up with that fantasy? Also, in January Uprising, there was no regular troops on Polish side at all, let alone any 'units of scythman'.
PobortzaPl I wasn't talking about retraining troops. I was talking about grabbing usable weapon during battle. Scythes are paper thin on the edge and it takes little effort to break it. Anything that takes little effort to break will not make durable weapon.
I can't help imagining a scythe with a Monster Hunter-style mechanism for actuating the blade, folding it out from a reaper-style scythe to a Polish-style polearm mid-combat
Also, it's overlooked by the people in it's own "FNDM", but Ruby Rose's scythe from RWBY actually folds out to resemble a war scythe during some of her attacks. Well, it used to at least..
I always liked how in RWBY Ruby got around the lack of cutting power from pulling the scythe by using a gun's extreme recoil to provide the power instead of her own strength.
It shows how she knows how to use Crescent Rose. She knew she wouldn't have the physical strength needed to make it cut through grimm, but by using the rifle portion she can cut through no problem. And in it also gives her a good platform to shoot from that's much more stable than just holding the portable version of it.
In Bretagne (France) there’s a myth about the reaper “assistant” named ankou and it’s almost like the reaper but he has a scythe (like a peasant scythe) but the blade is mounted upside down. I wonder if this design wouldn’t be more effective than the “classic” design...
This was exactly what I was thinking. Were you to essentially make it a sort of slashing polearm that utilized the same technique you would typically use a scythe for. I'd love to see how effective that would be.
I'd be interested in seeing what you could do with the "weaponized sythe" you show. A polearm with forward curved vertical blade... As opposed to this, which seems to be an impractical fantasy weapon appropriate for heavy metal albums.
well, in Poland there was an entire group of militarized farmers that used the scythe-turned-spear thing in a few uprisings apparently worked quite well, like normal spears do
I was talking about hypothetical situations with a friend and they were convinced that a Scythe would be the best weapon for a close range combat situation and when I countered with "no just use a shotgun" they got legit angry trying to convince me that a glorified kitchen knife on the end of a broomstick would be more effective than a normal sword or an axe
A scythe would be terrible in close combat, for that matter most pole arms would be. War scythes were used because they were cheap and effective infantry weapons. The average peasant farmer had several scythes so as a lord trying to raise an army all you have to do is tell the peasants to modify their scythes and show up for battle, and boom you got longarm infantry just like that.
Actually if you stick the kitchen knife on the broomstick paralel to the stick you get THE SUPREME MELEE INFANTRY WEAPON: THE SPEAR! But yeah, shotgun is still more effective
@@heirofheart766 technically not, because it isn’t Japanese. It’s kind of like Avatar: the Last Airbender in that it’s very heavily inspired by anime, so much so that many people consider the difference to be insignificant. I don’t think it really matters what you call it, but some people get angry about it.
My grandfather always used to try and correct me saying "It's not a scythe, it's a scy". I always wondered if he was just batshit crazy or if he confused scythes with the type of dagger called "sai".
I had a huge scythe and the way the wood was bent and handles were adjustable, I got it from a yard sale for cheap and used the antique to cut long thick grass and various other small trees and such and you could swing it for a long time but cut a large area clean in one swipe. It was very cool actually.
I've seen a couple interesting takes on the notion of the scythe. Mine was partially pointing the tip of the scythe up a bit and taking the curve down a little, and then at the base of the blade where it meets the pole, have it go down a bit with a much smaller protruding blade pointing a bit down, also thickening the blade a bit(I hope my description was good enough), that way you provide a bit more viable edge to it, and provide a bit more option while keeping the more traditional scythe aesthetic which made the weapon so popular to begin with. That's only really a blade design, and would likely need more consideration for the rest of the weapon to get the best results.
Last I checked there is no record of scythes being actually used in the September campaign. There was a volunteer unit in Gdynia recorded as marching to enlist with scythes. From what I have gathered their scythes were replaced with rifles before they went into combat.
And in similar fashion to their ancestors during the partition, many used their scythe blades as bayonets. The scythe holds a special place in the heart of Poles. It is a symbol of our hardworking nature and unflinching willingness to fight for our freedom, even in the face of impossible odds.
In Britanny there are some reverse scythe, like with the blade up, that allows to cut stuff by just pushing it in front of you, this might be a good thing in combat
I think the scythe's effectiveness comes in disabling the enemy and killing them when they stumble or fall. it can hook arms and legs as he mentioned. More testing please! Scytheman vs Spearman swordsman vs Scytheman!
I was thinking the same. I've made some mock-ups and done some research into effective combat-scythe design....and what Skall made was pretty much the exact opposite of what would be used. Like you said, the curve was too acute, but also the blade was way too short. The idea with a combat scythe is to use the momentum of the metal blade and the range provided by the handle to out pace and strike at range. It is more suited to wide open areas over close quarter areas like the inside of a castle or home, which is probably why the right-angle scythe never took off.
@@clayxros576 I agree, but he designed it to be like the reaper's scythe, not a war scythe. He proved the reaper's scythe was pretty bad in comparison to a war scythe Effectiveness: reaper scythe
@@peregrine3400 Yeah true. But then I've seen versions of the Reaper's Scythe that is more like the War Scythe, so I cant really even agree with that since some design the Reaper to have a useful blade.
Pretty sure the nagamaki or the naginata were just swords on the end of long poles so not that outlandish to have a European version probably for the same reason to take out horses and such... good content keep it up man!!
I'm actualy considering eventualy turning my TTRPG character into a scythe wielder, mainly because he's a follower of the goddess of death, and was interested if it was an at all manageable weapon. And given the benefit of the doubt (because it's fantasy), bit longer and straighter blade, double edge (like you have) and significant amount of practise (to not backstab himself) it seems useable.
The angle of this grim reaper scythe replica is much larger than on the real utility scythe, on the real one the angle is almost the same as on that "sword" you showed, the scythes were more straight and only slightly curved, but they were very narrow at the end and this gave the impression of a larger angle than it actually was
It's worth noting that continental European scythes are the sort that are peened to maintain the bevel. Nordic, English, and American scythe blades follow a different design philosophy and use much harder steel, with many of them being of laminated construction. Those scythes are maintained by grinding, instead, which is done much less frequently than the continental European type. In America there are numerous accounts of escaped slaves using scythe blades as weapons, but this was done not by altering the blades, but simply by grasping them by the tang. The length of the tang on an American scythe blade is about equal to the span of the knuckles, so it was the right size for such a hold. It was awkward, but a more fearsome weapon than the butcher's knives they otherwise had access to. Those struck with a scythe blade in this manner were unlikely to recover.
there is an japanese traditional weapon called kusarigama which is basically a sickle with an chain and a ball attached to it, its a really exotic weapon and has its own martial arts which still exists and is called kusarigama-jitsu :)
Agricultural scythes also had a blade that was angled slightly off the haft. So besides the blade being mounted at a 90 degree angle, it was also angled slightly to one side, so the blade would be parallel to the ground during use
It's mostly and mainly a Chinese broadsword blade mounted on a battle staff instead of fitted with a handle and possibly a pommel end. To make it both good at slashing and stabbing.
Robert Agu being serious for a moment it really isn't as its constructed the same as a Japanese sword rather than the spring steel of a Chinese blade, they also still retain tsubas, the length varies as does the curve and flatness because they are made to order theres alot of scope with them and some were made out of old swords that were damaged, plus there's female and male versions of naginata
@@GreatSageSunWukong Yup. Naginata is close as thick as a tachi. Yet the blades were usualy more broad. Swords when salvaged (especially those nice ones) if came to the new owner - many times were in wrong size. Thats why lot of historical blades dont have a proper hamon at the point and tang appears to be too short or too thick - messing the balance and proportions of the whole construction. No wonder such steel ended up as a naginata blade. While I was reading about it I was amazed on how many swords became shorter not because breaking off the kissaki but simply to re-fit its size to the smaller owner.
Adding onto putting a double edge on the scythe, you could easily fix the blades outer edge not biting in enough by widening it. Custom forge it to make the blade and edge thicker either lengthening it too much. Then put the blade onto perhaps a halberd or glaive pole. Something longer to give it more balance. You could even shorten the blade to give more room for its weight.
i am here just to apriciate that probably polish kosynier (scytheman if you want to translate) in the picture. Also, i think that straighten scythe could be actually very good cutting weapon, thin blade with nice curve + a shitload of leverage, but still shor enough to be usefull PS. HOLY SHIT IS THIS SOME MUTHERF*CKING POLAND REFFERENCE?!
When you talked about the splitting maul being unwielding, I got Walking Tall flashbacks. Great video! Would be cool if you could have one that went quickly from a 90-degree angle to straight mode easily.
I own an old agricultural scythe (hollow metal haft, but curved like an old fashioned European scythe), it's pretty old and rusty but I restored the blade as best as I could and played around with it in my back yard. The blade is on the thin side and would be utterly useless against anything more substantial than basic clothing - Gambeson would stop it no problem, while mail or plate would probably break it. But against an unarmed opponent wearing normal clothing? It could absolutely do some damage. Strangely enough, holding it by the snathes actually provides you with some fantastic leverage for swipes and hooks, and if the blade had been replaced with a "fresh" one, especially one that was thicker and sharpened differently? It could probably be a very formidable weapon. All that said? If I was going into medieval combat I'd much rather have something actually built for warfare, a pike, sword, mace, or better yet, an arquebus would be more my speed.
I've had a chance to mess around with an old farming scythe my family used. It was in a rather poor condition, worn from use, a bit rusty, with dents and chips all over the blade, but still sharp enough to cut fresh grass and most likely badly hurt someone in casual clothes. It's not exactly a tool of war, but outside the battlefield, you don't want to mess with a scythe-wielder.
@@sofija1996 Well once the scythe user gets to a blacksmith an reattaches the blade in line with the shaft then he'd be formidable on a battlefield. Maybe not medieval, but once gunpowder came in and armor was largely abandoned, you better believe a scythe could cut through your average Napoleonic era uniform.
Excellent historical research! Having used cradle scythes (reproductions for late 19th century), cutting grass or grain is more difficult than you'd think!
Chrono Trigger reference - you made my day;) Cool, thanks & keep up the good work! Btw: about manuals for scythes: maybe the interest was less about attacking with them - but rather defending against them.
Not just the Poles, but the Slavs in general were not as well equipped as a lot of European peoples however; what we did have we used to the fullest potential. Not to mention our sheer determination and courage to fight off forces so much greater than our own (even if it took longer than originally thought). The only enemy we could not defeat were ourselves. The infighting kept us in a perpetual weaken state.
Really excited to see you reference Demmin's An Illustrated History of Arms and Armour at 7:50 . I own a copy and it is one of my favorite old books that I own. Many of the pieces he references in it were items he encountered at an Arms and Armour museum in Dresden, Germany, and some of what he describes may have been lost in the bombings of WWII. Oddly, however, my copy has a copyright date of 1877, instead of 1894 which you mention. I guess we have two different editions, I found the page you have scanned here in my copy and it is identical, page 427 in mine. Funnily enough that exact page is what brought me here looking for more info about war-scythes
place a 4-6 inch chunk of blade at the crook of where the steel and haft meet, turning the 90-degree corner into a curved edge. that way as you swing into a target if the main blade passes, the inner curve impacts and follows through.
The Reaper's scythe is supposed to be more symbolic than practical. It is supposed to represent him harvesting souls in the same way humans harvest wheat.
To quote from Terry Pratchetts Discworld Novel "Reaper Man":
“ALL THINGS THAT ARE, ARE OURS. BUT WE MUST CARE. FOR IF WE DO NOT CARE, WE DO NOT EXIST. IF WE DO NOT EXIST, THEN THERE IS NOTHING BUT BLIND OBLIVION. AND EVEN OBLIVION MUST END SOMEDAY. LORD, WILL YOU GRANT ME JUST A LITTLE TIME? FOR THE PROPER BALANCE OF THINGS. TO RETURN WHAT WAS GIVEN. FOR THE SAKE OF PRISONERS AND THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS.
Death took a step backwards.
It was impossible to read expression in Azrael's features.
Death glanced sideways at the servants.
LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN?”
mattbenz99 [Canadian Gambit] the grim reaper isn't that old, he makes perfect sense when you think about when he became popular, sure there's been many similar things before but the actual grim reaper as we call him appeared in the 1400s with the black death.
If you think about it, yes it makes sense, he is death itself a skeleton, he wears black funeral robes from that time and unlike Death before him whom shot down people with arrows, he uses a scythe to cut down the people on mass, this could be seen as the many many sick and dying at the time, withering away from the black death guaranteed to die, whole towns and villages gone in weeks, farming was most people's livelihood and I'm sure thats where the saying of being cut down in prime comes from amongst others, in those circumstances its makes sense not to see death in terms of war like many gods are based on but farming and blighted crops, man is the crop of god after all.
HARVESTER OF SORROW, sorry i had to let out some metallica there
Well, yeah, that's the origin of the imagery, but that doesn't change the ridiculous usage by reaper-ish characters in pop culture derived from a thorough misunderstanding of that, which is the point of/impetus for this video.
Which if you've seen a scythe cut though grass. It's absolutely horrific if you imagine that the grass is people. Especially by medieval standards.
The scythe is definitely a weapon. I was once attacked by two acres of tall grass and random overgrown weeds. Armed with my trusty scythe, I sliced them all. It was ugly.
Sounds like a lot of hard work.
H Abdul Hamid you powerful man, you have done it, my family died because of those bastards, and your comment gives me hope that, one day, I will avenge my family.
@@rando23232 May your scythe be BIG and sharp.
How did you survive?
@@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668 I pulled my chi together and channelled it to the blade of my scythe. The blade sprouted flames and it cut through anything.
How to defend yourself from the farmgirl's father after he finds out you've been fooling aroundwith his daughters. - The manuals
😁👍
Ok, now it makes sense
I know this is a joke, but it would actually kind of make sense.
how to defend yourself when you are wheat
after you've been PLOWING his daughters*
Fun fact, many Poles who fought under Napoleon turned scythe blades into bayonets. Napoleon actually prohibited their use because he felt that they were too gruesome. They had a tendency to remove limbs and bowels when used in that capacity.
where did you read this?
Really hope thats true cause its badass.
@@Justin-pe9cl it's not
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosynierzy
@@wiedzminzamosc I'll bet you're fun at parties.
If medieval weaponry and Jackie Chan movies tought me anything -> EVERYTHING is a weapon.
Especially farming tools.
Was waiting for this.
Nothing beats the leaf rake in combat, not even the nuke.
Jackie Chan taught me that if a man want no trouble, you leave him damn well alone
@@Kaefer1973 Don't forget the ladder. Jackie used it in one of his films and showed that it could be lethal, even if if is crude.
@@cadethumann8605 The ladder is a double edged leaf rake though, he squashed his fingers just as his enemies, the leaf rake is reliable.
Use salt and pepper to defend against a scythe, because seasons dont fear the reaper
Bravo!
Nice
Oooooooohhh booooooyyy.
I dig it.
Love your reference
Well... least till they cock back and swing it at you anyways
Imagine a switch scythe, a double edged scythe with a mechanism to shift the handles and switch the blade upright.
One moment you're harvesting crops, the next you're writing legend.
Yes it's an amazing thought, but you have to be extra careful with the switch mecanism, because it could be a weaker point and it can also break and hurt the wielder.
Irvine Spiegel I do like the idea of a scythe with a hinged blade... That's if someone manages to figure out a mechanism to make the blade unfold/fold at the pull of a trigger without making it too bulky or fragile.
gherman?
That would be actually pretty easy to do
the mechanism may be two fragile, bulky, and can be pretty unreliable because you have to clean it
So what you're saying is the scythe fighting manual is essentially a Renaissance-era shitpost?
Ye olde trolle.
90% of Renaissance era manuals are shitposts tbh
I firmly believe it was real. The focus was to train the nobles to defend form scythe attacks. Not to actually train them to attack.
More like a set defense manual in this manner.
@@godzilla660 "10 tips for fighting giant snails"
@@alyenendrovtsorokean7406 it seems kinda counter productive to provide the peasants with a trainig manual lol
_"Tonight... _*_Gehrman joins the hunt."_*
Fear not the dark and let the feast, begin -Lautrec of Old Yharnam (DS3:Prepare to Ashes of the Old Iron king)
@@dronoid4659 godzilla had a stroke reading this and fucking died
Ah, so you are a man of culture, I see
Yesss
bloodborne best souls game
You see, the problem with your scythe is it is not also a high impact sniper rifle.
Schwarzer Ritter nor is he a magic user if you know who the other scythe wielder is
@@idontthinktheysawthatcomin6792 Maka from Soul Eater? Although Maka does not use magic.
Schwarzer Ritter nope, it’s Magus from Chrono Trigger
Rwby
@Schwarzer Ritter Aye, I see that you're a fellow man of culture.
A Polish Warscythe? I prefer Warsaws.
Lol I'll be here all week folks... Or at least the next time Skall uploads.
Lmao
Skisłem xD
sorry, thats covered by the small arms pact.
BRUHHH
Germans: "Interesting."
I love how you can tell exactly the date of the video only by looking at the density of Skalls beard
I really appreciate the heavy usage of pictures, drawings, and texts to support whatever you're talking about. Really makes it a lot easier to follow you.
Not sure if the emojis in your title are the way to go, and even that effective, though. Anyhoo, I really love these kinds of videos, reminds of the one where you compared silver and iron, one of my favourite videos of yours
Edit: Not sure if I played a part in it, but appreciate the title change!
Yes, more academic approach is always welcome in the sea of mediocre media and low quality representation.
Speaking of ridiculously big and dangerous pieces of metal that can cause brutal damage despite being way too slow for combat...
Sharpened bulldozer duel!
There was a TV show in the 80ies, Dempsey & Makepeace, and in one episode, Depsey actually using a digger to fight another digger.
*Marvin Heemeyer intensifies*
*ROAD ROLLER DA!*
Accidentally disliked your comment so i liked it insted, hope you dont mind.
killdozer
"Practically a longsword at the end of a staff"
My brain: ....
Still my brain: .... hey, remember the sword staff?
i do
Two drunk knights argue and fight in a barnyard
The only possible scenario for that expensive manuscript's scythe duel
Maybe it's considered as an emergency weapon, i.e. you get assaulted in the countryside without any other weapon (dagger, knife, sword, rapier...) and have to defend yourself with the first sharp thing you can grab. Or maybe the author was just curious if he could come up with a fighting technique for a scythe and documented his findings.
Damn right bro. Improvised drunk dueling sounds like a huge emergency to me (as if fighting sober wasn't dangerous enough). That book's more useful than it seems.
To be fair, two drunk knights arguing and starting a fight in a barnyard sounds like a fairly reasonable/common scenario. :)
Your farm is being raided by some stupid vikings, drunk bandits or some assholes' cut-throats. You give the rapier or whatever you own to your oldest son. You give your wife and daughters knives and hide them. And you take your shovel/woodcutting axe or better yet your scythe which you know how to use effectively giving you an element of suprise since the raiders will mock and underestimate your capabilities. Especially when they have never fought against someone using the scythe effectively before.
Then you proudly say
"Wypierdalać"
And you fuck them up.
For real, can we get a legit, choreographed version of this? That would be so dope. Jackie Chan would be involved...
Something about a Scythe Infantry sounds like the most Polish thing I've ever heard.
But did the Scythians use Pole-arms?
Using regular scythes in my day to day work. I could definitely see ways they could be used as weapons. Especially some of the bulkier kinds like shrub blades, or the finnish style blades.
From having worked a lot with scythes (especially heavy ones) one should not underestimate their prowess when just making blunt hits, and for tripping your opponent
Skall: "unrealistic fantasy thing"
also Skall: **swings around fantasy scythe**
I don't see the connection
@@gurmyigoll3535 Same. He made his point its not a effective weapon
Lindybeige: SCYTHES ARE NOT BATTLEFIELD WEAPONS
Skall: Okay but how do you *make* them into...
Lindybeige just lacks the open mind.
what kill is the intent, the blade is a mere tool to archieve it, with that in mind even a pebble is a weapon if used with intent..
You straighten the blade. If its too thin you add a reinforcing rip. Congratulations, you now have an uversized billhook.
When the manual was made, If you trained in the use of the sythe as a weapon, and you had the opportunity to choose which weapons were used in a duel, you would probably have a huge advantage over your opponent
Eh, combating it, you’d probably treat it as though it was a normal pole arm.
@@Specter_1125 Yeah, but the opponent would have to use a scythe as well, as per dueling rules.
@@ZeroPlayerGame Perhaps the idea is you may gain an advantage by having familiarity and training with the scythe that your opponent lacks
Like how an inexperience karateka might even the odds against a stronger opponent by fighting them in a Southpaw stance-its not a particularly overwhelming advantage but it is noticeable in how it effects their timing and technique execution
The scythe is the quintessential exotic weapon ? Monster Hunter has a bagpipe hammer. What is more exotic than subduing your foe with your crushing bardic might ?
And playing the sounds of god
Doot intensifies
I like you
"Quintessential exotic weapon" means "well-known, frequently referenced exotic weapon." Not "most exotic exotic weapon." So while a bagpipe hammer is maybe *more* exotic, it's not more *quintessentially exotic.*
@@delphicdescant Technically speaking, the word quintessentially means "used to emphasize the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class". That definition exclude neither the scythe (most well known) or the bagpipe hammer (the stronger representation of the exotic weapon).
Scythe just isn’t a weapon. The grim reaper only has it because it’s a harvesting tool
Exactly, Death's *real* weapon is a pommel in the shape of a skull
he's harvesting your soul
Ya OK bud, 1v1 my Zasalamel on Clock Tower, you'll be singin' Wielka Polska Melodia Bitew Rolnik-Wojownik in no time.
@@danielclark-hughes692 cause death, as with everyone and everything in existence, knows that ending them rightly is the only way to end them!
but it COULD be a weapon. at that point its a matter of should it be done
Sythes in fantasy: good reach, amazing cleave, used by the most agile masters.
Sythes in reality: can't do jack shit other than cut your lawn.
I mean he did demonstrate they can make for functional warpicks in a way, just not against heavily armored targets. Not great for slashing though, not without a great deal of modifications to alter the curve.
you won't be laughing when the uprising of the grass comes down upon us
@@Draeckon You know... actually probably someone sitting and cutting grass with this for 2 decades can do a lot of damage with it... I mean how many techniques we aren't seeing just for a lack of practice ? In my lifetime shooting side of bow switched twice. In fact shooting on outside was waay more natural way of shooting for me.. So ..
It works in media, because in games, for example, your weapon can go through enemies or walls. Such a stupid illogical thing, that I wish would stay in games forever
It's kinda sad that a shovel is technically a more practical weapon than a scythe
When you were showing the sword and showing how it could be used to cut, all I could think is that if it’s attached to a long pole, you’re going to have a lot of leverage and power in that swing. Which you pointed out a few moments later.
They're extremely effective in Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, so it has to be true!
Totally Accurate man, totally accurate.
Hey I remember you from prods channel
Poland had whole formation named after the scythe. My ancestor was one of the most famous ones.
oh? what's your last name?
Maybe Wojciech Bartos Głowacki? The guy who took Russian canon and stop it from firing with his hat?
@@lucianoconfetti7101 oh that would be very rare find
Who was it?
@@mambaramba look at ur username
1min after upload, without bell, beat this!
25 mins not subscribed. Beat this! (I'm subbed now)
Ive got a girlfriend
The last use of scythe as a war weapon, in combat, was just at the start of the WW 2, when Germany invaded Poland.
On polish coast, in "Pomorze" Army, whole battalion armed with scythes was used in combat. They replace scythes with rifles taken from dead German soldiers.
The reason of this is because was so many volunteers want join the Polish Army, that there was not enough of rifles in armories to arm all of them.
sources please.
@@gerwantofrivera3725 Cholera mialem gdzies zrodla ale nie pamietam gdzie. IrytujacyHistoryk zrobil o tym film to polecam obejrzec
@@afsdsdhsgjf yeah, I found the video you are talking about: ruclips.net/video/48D42708kus/видео.html
Now, it was not a battalion but a "group of men with the strength (numbers) of a company" who came to a military post as volunteers. And yes they did arrive with "war scythes" (kosy postawione na sztorc) but as soon as they arrived they were outfitted with guns. So no, the scythes were not used as war weapons.
Further more that statement, although it is much more probable than your, has no sources so it has to be taken at face value.
@@afsdsdhsgjf ih nie jest jakimś wybitnym źródłem wiedzy historycznej bo rzadko źródła daje
Not the last use. Cretan paramilitia did the same in ww 2. And who knows who else did.
Scythes are decent weapons, if you are a farmer and the alterntive is fighting barehanded, lol.
Making the phrase “Don’t fear the reaper” all too literal.
Using foundation computers for commenting on RUclips videos is prohibited, bright...
a useless nonce scp079 has breached containment
@@themrrandomname1251 welp, guess you better get in the femur breaker
a useless nonce no u
@@le-furioso ALSO THATS 106
079 IS THE LIVING AI
Skallagrim fans: "But does it have a pommel?"
R.W.B.Y. fans: "But is it also a gun?"
Intellectuals : "but is it a gun that fires pommels? "
Can probably modify and modernize one to do all kinds of things these days
badfoody you mean a scythe-per rifle? 😏
@@badfoody Well Maria's weapon is a DOUBLE scythe but she's not the main character. Ruby is mc because of her silver eye powers.
@@Numbie. dues ex Machina powers
In Poland we had many uprising, most of them relay on peasant and scythe.
Vikings! Chaaaarrrrge
Germans! Chaaaarrrrge!
Russians! Chaaaarrrrge!
Hungarians? Chaaaarrrrge!!!
Germans again! Chaaaarrrrge
Tartars! Chaaaarrrrge
Cumans! Charrrrge!
Xenu! Chaaaarrrrge
Fucking Germans again...
@@sawerdg5352 Well, they use scythe not because they were so effective but they just have no other weapons
@@sawerdg5352 you meant Rzeczpospolita...
@@sawerdg5352 i am not from Poland actually. I am also very curious about why Poland has become a common name for the Commonwealth of Poland and GDL
@@sawerdg5352 It took me a moment to realize you weren't making a bad joke about polearms relying on peasants.
I knew a girl her dad chopped off his neighbor's arm with a scythe.
They are still friends today
I'd be too impressed to be angry, if I'm being honest.
A liar and a dipshit all in once
@Phericles Very Nice choice of a pfp
@pifnbnd thanks, IMHO ATLA is one of the Greatest Masterpieces of TV shows in the 21th century
As you noticed, there are lots of variations (as for the cropping tool). As my dad said, it is because the scythe is relatively cheap and can be actually customized: each single reaper can have a few scythes that are to his own use and specific lenght/angle/weight/blahblah ratios for (as you mentioned) different types of grain and terrain. Yes, I am from Poland and we still have folks who don't use lawnmowers... like my dad ;)
So regarding the fact that some peasants could have had up to five scythes each, we indeed have a very wide variety (regarding grip modifications, numbers and shapes of snaths, shapes of shafts).
Oh, by the way, these guys have done some quite cool study on a few techniques that were possible to use in a mano-a-mano scythe combat ruclips.net/video/SoeNwEjpTE4/видео.html
And Racławice is pronounced more like [ratswavitseh].
As for the weapon training and writing "manuals", well it could have come to not the ones who used it (people who couldn't read) but the ones who prepared a group for battle. Therefore we can imagine some troop training by "'webels" or "hauptmanns" passing knowledge among each other. But that is just my presumption.
And sorry to bring it up to you, but you were using the scythe wrong on the zombie head. It is not your fault actually. Your scythe is just not right, it should be a lot less curved, as in the one that is used for cutting grass or your falx. And as in some Miyagi or Chinese training, you should first try to cut grass with it to "feel the flow" or just to use it in the correct manner. It is not easy but after you would cut a morgue of wheat, you would probably be capable of cutting people's hair if necessary (if they would agree to lie face down as you say "this will take just a few seconds" gripping a harvest tool...).
Hitting the zombie head with the point of your pretty weapon is just... weird, you should be handling something you could actually aim at the opponent ;)
Not Polish, Canadian here, and I have to say, there is nothing better to cut long grass on uneven terrain than a good, sharp scythe. My Grandpa would sharpen my Dad's scythe so good that it could go through the tall grass like it wasn't even there. We would cut the 2-3 foot tall grass once a year in the summer - probably my favourite job at home.
Skallagrim really helps me with my investigation into "fantasy" weapons. I'm a fantasy writer myself and I love to have characters with badass crazy weapons but I also want to add the touch of realism to it as to "why" their using it. Not just say "magic" but just go a bit deeper. Skallagrim's videos like this help!
I have been doing some digging at the etymology of many bladed and hooked polearm weapons, you know the usual (Glaive, Guisarme, Fauchard, Guandao, Sovnya, Naginata etc)
and i found something very interesting, the origin of the names for many of these weapons roughly translate to "scythe/sickle" or in some cases refer to a crescent blade
Guisarme: "origin is likely Germanic from Old High German "getīsarn", literally "weeding iron"
Fauchard: French, from Old French fausart, fauchart, from faus, faux sickle, scythe (from Latin falx) + -ard, -art -ard
Naginata: roughly translated means "mowing down blade"reaping blade"
Glaive: likely a French/Welsh? translation from guisarme or the latin "gladius" word for sword.
Guandao: yanyuedao (偃月刀; lit. "reclining moon blade" (as in a sickle/scythe)
Sovnya: sadly i cant find a solid origin of the name/meaning but it is safe to assume it translates to scythe/sickle or reaping/mowing blade
But where is The Kosa?
@@HanSolo__ No idea, what "The Kosa" is, but in Romanian a scythe is called "coasa", it sounds very similar.
Kosynier kościuszkowski in the thumbnail
Let's gather some upvotes for Skall to try say it out loud!
Skall plz do it XD
Im with you guys.
Could you imagine watching a two man scythe fight omg and your ones would be worth sharpening the topside of the blade for slashing and push cutting
It would be fine ... they're only dangerous to corn
@@krookedvulture what about to the Cornish
@@mikeoxsmal8022 😅 👏👏👏
I remember my brother's character in Everquest had an awesome scythe. I played his character once and almost died to the first low level monster I encountered because I didn't realize you couldn't actually attack with it, it was only for stats.
I cannot describe how much this helps
I've been a little toubled as to what to give my mascot character (in my pfp) as his weapon
keep up the hard work on these videos, they're quality
Fun fact, the original depiction of the grim reaper had both a scythe and a sword, which he used was based on how noble you were in life but did so to sever the bond between body and soul, rather than outright weaponry.
Also weapon scythes in fiction generally have curved shafts so the swinging momentum eventually made the blade strike with the edge.
The Fencing Master heard about Polish scythes, but never saw the actual weapon... And the legend of Polish obtuseness began...
>Ra-kla-Wi-Ce
XDDD
Amazing pronunciation
Kurde xD
@@Zajciiw XD
O nie
Kto raz spotkał Głowackiego już przed nim nie ucieknie
I mean, you could include something that would help those silly englishmen.
"Ratsuavice", for example.
@@falfires more like Ratswavitse, or even Ratswaveetse (though it looks terrible)
Has to be the best video on this subject. I love how you combine practical tests and personal opinion with historical background from multiple eras.
10:37 lmao love the idea of a lord telling his knights to train with scythes just in case there's a peasant uprising and the knights going "Yo it could be better but this is lowkey kinda neat!"
The scythes used in Polish uprisings weren't intended to be durable weapons. If successful, it only needed to be used once. After that they would just grab fallen enemy's musket with bayonet.
Not quite true. There was a manual for scythemen and pikemen created around 1794. Scythemen were to be used as shock troops and there were recruited from populace not accustomed to firearms. There was neither reason nor time to retrain them as range troops.
Absolutely wrong I'm afraid, Scythmen were regular troops used since medieval times. Served as shock troops until the end of the January uprising. Their weapons were regular agricultural scythes converted by village blacksmiths the Polish term for this conversion is "Na sztorc.". They would serve as Scythmen until the end of the campaign.
Sejfudin Halarewicz
'Scythmen were regular troops'.
How did you come up with that fantasy?
Also, in January Uprising, there was no regular troops on Polish side at all, let alone any 'units of scythman'.
PobortzaPl
I wasn't talking about retraining troops. I was talking about grabbing usable weapon during battle.
Scythes are paper thin on the edge and it takes little effort to break it.
Anything that takes little effort to break will not make durable weapon.
@@paulbenedict1289
8:00
"tell that to the reaper." I love it!
I can't help imagining a scythe with a Monster Hunter-style mechanism for actuating the blade, folding it out from a reaper-style scythe to a Polish-style polearm mid-combat
Also, it's overlooked by the people in it's own "FNDM", but Ruby Rose's scythe from RWBY actually folds out to resemble a war scythe during some of her attacks. Well, it used to at least..
Nioh 2- Switch glaive
Sebastian Riz dual katana mater race.
@@nightrain1121 honestly every weapon type is good but Hatchets are OP as fuck
I always liked how in RWBY Ruby got around the lack of cutting power from pulling the scythe by using a gun's extreme recoil to provide the power instead of her own strength.
It shows how she knows how to use Crescent Rose. She knew she wouldn't have the physical strength needed to make it cut through grimm, but by using the rifle portion she can cut through no problem. And in it also gives her a good platform to shoot from that's much more stable than just holding the portable version of it.
And she uses it in the exact way he said it would have to be used which is kinda fun
In Bretagne (France) there’s a myth about the reaper “assistant” named ankou and it’s almost like the reaper but he has a scythe (like a peasant scythe) but the blade is mounted upside down. I wonder if this design wouldn’t be more effective than the “classic” design...
This was exactly what I was thinking. Were you to essentially make it a sort of slashing polearm that utilized the same technique you would typically use a scythe for. I'd love to see how effective that would be.
A sickle on the end of a pole arm is probably a great weapon, it'd probably be a great hook-like weapon with a strong piercing end.
War picks had to be baned in polish sejms (the first congres-like gatherings of nobility), too many "congresmen" didn't make it thru the meetings . :D
@@romanstaniszewski1030 If you want to be anti-semite, at least do it openly. You coward.
A scyth isnt a pick...
@@FrikInCasualMode shut up tiny hat
Tell that to Lyrian Scythemen, they've literally helped me win against Nilfgaard only with their scythes
Yeah, and they are based on Polish Kosynierzy
When people look at the scythe as a weapon they don't think about this so thank you for bringing it up
I'd be interested in seeing what you could do with the "weaponized sythe" you show. A polearm with forward curved vertical blade... As opposed to this, which seems to be an impractical fantasy weapon appropriate for heavy metal albums.
well, in Poland there was an entire group of militarized farmers that used the scythe-turned-spear thing in a few uprisings
apparently worked quite well, like normal spears do
Exotic weapons require exotic technique for exotic results. If everybody could do it... well it wouldn't be exotic now would it?
Exotic weapon? It’s a farming tool.
@@JM-dy4ty thus exotic as a weapon
@@SL-gz9gq no. Not at all.
My granddad had an old scythe hanging in his workshop when I was growing up it was a cool piece
"How often are you attacked by someone with a scythe, while you are also using a scythe?"
Yeah, keep laughing... I never asked for this life....
-_-
I like the mix of history, weapon analysis, marketing of products, and occasional relative sport introduction. Good Channel.
I was talking about hypothetical situations with a friend and they were convinced that a Scythe would be the best weapon for a close range combat situation and when I countered with "no just use a shotgun" they got legit angry trying to convince me that a glorified kitchen knife on the end of a broomstick would be more effective than a normal sword or an axe
A scythe would be terrible in close combat, for that matter most pole arms would be. War scythes were used because they were cheap and effective infantry weapons. The average peasant farmer had several scythes so as a lord trying to raise an army all you have to do is tell the peasants to modify their scythes and show up for battle, and boom you got longarm infantry just like that.
Actually if you stick the kitchen knife on the broomstick paralel to the stick you get THE SUPREME MELEE INFANTRY WEAPON: THE SPEAR!
But yeah, shotgun is still more effective
@@bioemiliano I just had a flashback to the cosmic knife throwing spear that was in fallout new vegas that thing was great
Gladius is best close range weapon
Scattergun and pistol also work
*Showing RWBY as an Anime example
Well that will spark a weeb war almost as great as the best girl war...
Which waifu war?
Velvet best girl
is rwby even a real anime
@@heirofheart766 technically not, because it isn’t Japanese. It’s kind of like Avatar: the Last Airbender in that it’s very heavily inspired by anime, so much so that many people consider the difference to be insignificant. I don’t think it really matters what you call it, but some people get angry about it.
Huh well...
There are things more worth to be angry at...
The favourite weapon of Poles: a sword on a pole /Ba Dum Tsss/
My grandfather always used to try and correct me saying "It's not a scythe, it's a scy". I always wondered if he was just batshit crazy or if he confused scythes with the type of dagger called "sai".
I had a huge scythe and the way the wood was bent and handles were adjustable, I got it from a yard sale for cheap and used the antique to cut long thick grass and various other small trees and such and you could swing it for a long time but cut a large area clean in one swipe. It was very cool actually.
I've seen a couple interesting takes on the notion of the scythe. Mine was partially pointing the tip of the scythe up a bit and taking the curve down a little, and then at the base of the blade where it meets the pole, have it go down a bit with a much smaller protruding blade pointing a bit down, also thickening the blade a bit(I hope my description was good enough), that way you provide a bit more viable edge to it, and provide a bit more option while keeping the more traditional scythe aesthetic which made the weapon so popular to begin with. That's only really a blade design, and would likely need more consideration for the rest of the weapon to get the best results.
I love this channel keep up the good work
War scythes were used by auxiliary units in Poland even in early World War II. Of course, it was due to lack of weapons for volonteers and guards.
Last I checked there is no record of scythes being actually used in the September campaign. There was a volunteer unit in Gdynia recorded as marching to enlist with scythes. From what I have gathered their scythes were replaced with rifles before they went into combat.
And in similar fashion to their ancestors during the partition, many used their scythe blades as bayonets.
The scythe holds a special place in the heart of Poles. It is a symbol of our hardworking nature and unflinching willingness to fight for our freedom, even in the face of impossible odds.
In Britanny there are some reverse scythe, like with the blade up, that allows to cut stuff by just pushing it in front of you, this might be a good thing in combat
I think the scythe's effectiveness comes in disabling the enemy and killing them when they stumble or fall. it can hook arms and legs as he mentioned. More testing please! Scytheman vs Spearman swordsman vs Scytheman!
The scythe is kinda curved down too much for my taste
I was thinking the same. I've made some mock-ups and done some research into effective combat-scythe design....and what Skall made was pretty much the exact opposite of what would be used. Like you said, the curve was too acute, but also the blade was way too short. The idea with a combat scythe is to use the momentum of the metal blade and the range provided by the handle to out pace and strike at range. It is more suited to wide open areas over close quarter areas like the inside of a castle or home, which is probably why the right-angle scythe never took off.
@@clayxros576 I agree, but he designed it to be like the reaper's scythe, not a war scythe. He proved the reaper's scythe was pretty bad in comparison to a war scythe
Effectiveness: reaper scythe
@@peregrine3400
Yeah true. But then I've seen versions of the Reaper's Scythe that is more like the War Scythe, so I cant really even agree with that since some design the Reaper to have a useful blade.
Wait what! I thought this was a sexual innuendo.
@@joynelbonetdelgado4952 I think it may well have been, and it got turned into a historical discussion because this is a Skallagrim video. xD
@Skallagrim to your question at 0:00 I think shadiversity made a video about it. (Or a similar one (at least something with a scythe))
Yes, that was why he asked that. Everyone else already talked about scythes :P
Pretty sure the nagamaki or the naginata were just swords on the end of long poles so not that outlandish to have a European version probably for the same reason to take out horses and such... good content keep it up man!!
I'm actualy considering eventualy turning my TTRPG character into a scythe wielder, mainly because he's a follower of the goddess of death, and was interested if it was an at all manageable weapon. And given the benefit of the doubt (because it's fantasy), bit longer and straighter blade, double edge (like you have) and significant amount of practise (to not backstab himself) it seems useable.
The angle of this grim reaper scythe replica is much larger than on the real utility scythe, on the real one the angle is almost the same as on that "sword" you showed, the scythes were more straight and only slightly curved, but they were very narrow at the end and this gave the impression of a larger angle than it actually was
"A tang with a nob that fits into a hole in the snath" and that's how you get a regular old plumbus
we would not hesitate to challenge you and your plumbus with our regular...plumber 😐
It's worth noting that continental European scythes are the sort that are peened to maintain the bevel. Nordic, English, and American scythe blades follow a different design philosophy and use much harder steel, with many of them being of laminated construction. Those scythes are maintained by grinding, instead, which is done much less frequently than the continental European type. In America there are numerous accounts of escaped slaves using scythe blades as weapons, but this was done not by altering the blades, but simply by grasping them by the tang. The length of the tang on an American scythe blade is about equal to the span of the knuckles, so it was the right size for such a hold. It was awkward, but a more fearsome weapon than the butcher's knives they otherwise had access to. Those struck with a scythe blade in this manner were unlikely to recover.
So I'm assuming you just show up when anyone mentions scythes? Haha. As always, great to hear what you have to say.
i love when Skall gets sponsored
there is an japanese traditional weapon called kusarigama which is basically a sickle with an chain and a ball attached to it, its a really exotic weapon and has its own martial arts which still exists and is called kusarigama-jitsu :)
Great video! Thank you for mentioning Poland :)
Agricultural scythes also had a blade that was angled slightly off the haft. So besides the blade being mounted at a 90 degree angle, it was also angled slightly to one side, so the blade would be parallel to the ground during use
When the Blue Oyster Cult vibes are growing strong within me. "Don't Fear The Reaper"
Funny, I get a recommendation for shadiversity's scythe video the other day then this pops up...
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm🤔🤷♂️
It's all a huge conspiracy
@@holycow666 tell him to hurry the hell up
the Illuminati is watching you.
Someone at google likes scythes.
I just realised, a naginata is just a warscythe with the other side of the blade sharpened
Sam Jones no its not its a stick mounted wakizashi
more like katana on a pole
It's mostly and mainly a Chinese broadsword blade mounted on a battle staff instead of fitted with a handle and possibly a pommel end. To make it both good at slashing and stabbing.
Robert Agu being serious for a moment it really isn't as its constructed the same as a Japanese sword rather than the spring steel of a Chinese blade, they also still retain tsubas, the length varies as does the curve and flatness because they are made to order theres alot of scope with them and some were made out of old swords that were damaged, plus there's female and male versions of naginata
@@GreatSageSunWukong Yup. Naginata is close as thick as a tachi. Yet the blades were usualy more broad.
Swords when salvaged (especially those nice ones) if came to the new owner - many times were in wrong size. Thats why lot of historical blades dont have a proper hamon at the point and tang appears to be too short or too thick - messing the balance and proportions of the whole construction. No wonder such steel ended up as a naginata blade. While I was reading about it I was amazed on how many swords became shorter not because breaking off the kissaki but simply to re-fit its size to the smaller owner.
Adding onto putting a double edge on the scythe, you could easily fix the blades outer edge not biting in enough by widening it. Custom forge it to make the blade and edge thicker either lengthening it too much. Then put the blade onto perhaps a halberd or glaive pole. Something longer to give it more balance. You could even shorten the blade to give more room for its weight.
The way they use scythes to cut grass may apply to a physical attack where you swing with cutting edge outward to the target
Hand scythes were also used as weapons by ninjas disguised as farners, since it was fast and would not make anyone suspicious about it.
Demeter, the goddess of the harvest in Greek Mythology uses a scythe as a weapon
i am here just to apriciate that probably polish kosynier (scytheman if you want to translate) in the picture. Also, i think that straighten scythe could be actually very good cutting weapon, thin blade with nice curve + a shitload of leverage, but still shor enough to be usefull
PS. HOLY SHIT IS THIS SOME MUTHERF*CKING POLAND REFFERENCE?!
I've seen it too
I think scytheman would be a better translation.
actually i totally agree
When you talked about the splitting maul being unwielding, I got Walking Tall flashbacks. Great video!
Would be cool if you could have one that went quickly from a 90-degree angle to straight mode easily.
The blade of a scyth is also usually at a tilt to the shaft so when you swing it, it's parallel to the ground at the bottom of the swing.
Any plans on using a Maqcuahuitl type weapon? Come on, they're awesome and educational
Awesome and educational, just like deadliest warrior. (Where I learned of the Maqcuahuitl)
I own an old agricultural scythe (hollow metal haft, but curved like an old fashioned European scythe), it's pretty old and rusty but I restored the blade as best as I could and played around with it in my back yard. The blade is on the thin side and would be utterly useless against anything more substantial than basic clothing - Gambeson would stop it no problem, while mail or plate would probably break it. But against an unarmed opponent wearing normal clothing? It could absolutely do some damage. Strangely enough, holding it by the snathes actually provides you with some fantastic leverage for swipes and hooks, and if the blade had been replaced with a "fresh" one, especially one that was thicker and sharpened differently? It could probably be a very formidable weapon.
All that said? If I was going into medieval combat I'd much rather have something actually built for warfare, a pike, sword, mace, or better yet, an arquebus would be more my speed.
I've had a chance to mess around with an old farming scythe my family used. It was in a rather poor condition, worn from use, a bit rusty, with dents and chips all over the blade, but still sharp enough to cut fresh grass and most likely badly hurt someone in casual clothes. It's not exactly a tool of war, but outside the battlefield, you don't want to mess with a scythe-wielder.
cain sword and shield for me, though I should try an axe when I find a HEMA group.
@@sofija1996 Well once the scythe user gets to a blacksmith an reattaches the blade in line with the shaft then he'd be formidable on a battlefield. Maybe not medieval, but once gunpowder came in and armor was largely abandoned, you better believe a scythe could cut through your average Napoleonic era uniform.
tried to use agricultural sickl as a weapon. well its realy badass
Though dual-wielding a sickle with a hammer makes the user starve.
it makes (almost made) the owner
Oh! Got the joke' isn't funny , at all
It is called a falx and it was used by the dacians...
Excellent historical research! Having used cradle scythes (reproductions for late 19th century), cutting grass or grain is more difficult than you'd think!
Chrono Trigger reference - you made my day;) Cool, thanks & keep up the good work!
Btw: about manuals for scythes: maybe the interest was less about attacking with them - but rather defending against them.
Mentions Anime
Shows a picture from RWBY
No Skall! What have you done!? Oh no! I can already hear them coming!
"RWBY ISN'T ANIME!!! REEEEEEEE!!!"
Don't complain about that^^ RWBY is great - anime or not :)
Well.. Better ready our pommels to fend them EWBY fans away.
@@KamenRider1 preparing the "PommelPult" as we speak. It's like a catapult, but it launches Pommels instead of prostitutes. Lol
Just curious what determines if its anime or not? Not a hardcore weeb myself so I dont know.
@@Michael-pd8ez If it ain't Japanese it ain't anime.
I thought scythes could be used for both as a tool and weapon
Almost anything can be a weapon. When he swung at the Zombie head I was thinking if he was cutting an ankle or a pull cut to trip or hook.
They’re an improvised weapon at best
Not just the Poles, but the Slavs in general were not as well equipped as a lot of European peoples however; what we did have we used to the fullest potential. Not to mention our sheer determination and courage to fight off forces so much greater than our own (even if it took longer than originally thought). The only enemy we could not defeat were ourselves. The infighting kept us in a perpetual weaken state.
Really excited to see you reference Demmin's An Illustrated History of Arms and Armour at 7:50 . I own a copy and it is one of my favorite old books that I own. Many of the pieces he references in it were items he encountered at an Arms and Armour museum in Dresden, Germany, and some of what he describes may have been lost in the bombings of WWII. Oddly, however, my copy has a copyright date of 1877, instead of 1894 which you mention. I guess we have two different editions, I found the page you have scanned here in my copy and it is identical, page 427 in mine. Funnily enough that exact page is what brought me here looking for more info about war-scythes
place a 4-6 inch chunk of blade at the crook of where the steel and haft meet, turning the 90-degree corner into a curved edge. that way as you swing into a target if the main blade passes, the inner curve impacts and follows through.