OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Curios and Stories THE SCYTHESMEN - some thoughts

Hello ODK members,

I'm not a collector as many of you know. I don't have the money nor the space.
I'm more interested in all vintage mowers and the history of grass cutting.

I recently purchased an 1898 lithograph piece of art called The Mower [see below].
This piece made me ponder the contribution scythesmen made to the
inventions of both the reel and rotary mowers.

For one thing, prior to lawnmowers there were lawn mowers - men using scythes.
A scythe is a sickle with a long handle. The history of cutting lawn with scythes
dates back centuries - and it was the province of only the very wealthy at a time when
'the garden', 'the lawn' and 'landscaping' became status symbols.

The invention of the reel mower, with Budding's patent in the 19th century, and the
invention of the rotary mower in the early parts of the 20th century, enabled the new
middle classes and then the working classes to enjoy 'the garden' and 'the lawn'.

My final point is that the rotary mower is, essentially, a rotating scythe.
Hence, the first powered rotary in the UK was named the Rotoscythe.

The lawnmower - in its reel and rotary variants - is not an original design.
The reel mower was developed from textile industry machinery.

The rotary mower owes its heritage to the scythe used for cutting lawn,
and this use for the scythe was borrowed from agriculture.

The scythe has been used as a symbol of life - and festivals are held around the world
celebrating new crops as givers of life. In contrast, the scythe has also been used as
a symbol of death - as in the Grim Reaper.

Without getting too carried away, I just wanted to point out that modern and vintage mowers
have a heritage in noble ideas.



All very thought provoking.
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JACK

THE SCYTHESMEN - Continued

I think the traditional understanding was that there are two types of cutting -
- a scissor action via a reel and fixed bedknife.
- a cutting/slash action via a moving blade.

Lawn mowing involves a certain 'grooming' for aesthetic reasons.
The obvious thing is to consider a scythe as a slasher - an agricultural
tool not capable of being a true lawn mower. Historically, that view is not true.

Scythes used for Grooming
Scythes used in grass cutting were a different species altogether.
In Australia's Quarter Acre by Peter Timms there is a good description
of scythes used for genuine grooming:

"The lawn as we know it�an area of mown grass maintained primarily
for its aesthetic benefits�came into being with the advent of the
so-called English natural garden in the 18th century, with
Lancelot �Capability� Brown bringing it to its most flamboyant expression.
Brown�s vast expanses demanded a phenomenal amount of work.
The scythers had to be up before dawn, sharpening their blades so as to
be out before the dew dispersed, because scything gives the best result
when grass is damp. They could adjust the height of the cut with great
accuracy by either adding leather pads to the soles of their boots or
removing them. As they slashed, the residue was removed to one side
with hay rakes. Then came sweepers with besoms (twig brooms) to
gather the windrows into piles so that women with baskets, following
behind, could gather the clippings to be put into a cart. Between cuttings,
the grass had to be rolled, weeded and poled (to remove worm-castings
and animal droppings). Therefore, like the elaborate parterres of the
French formal garden, the English aristocrats� sweeping parklands
announced�although admittedly with far more subtlety and �lan�that a
lot of people depended upon them for a living."

This was a complicated lawn mower [leather pads for height adjustment!].
You ended up with a nice groomed lawn - but the cost was enormous, and
only available to the very wealthy who could afford it.

Here is a YouTube video of a scythe in action:-

[video][/video]

It is my view that the invention of the reel and then the rotary lawn mowers led
to the democratisation of the lawn - working class people could finally
turn their grass into lawn as mowers became cheaper and more widely available.

The rest is history.
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JACK