Why do people act like scythes are weapons as opposed to harvesting tools?

At your most badass while holding a scythe you look like a rather annoyed farmer who could not find a shotgun or pitchfork.

Me I personally blame those guys who decided to personify death as a skeleton in robes with a scythe.

Imagery. The scythe has connotations with Death. Thus a person using a scythe has connotations with death. It's a cheap way of making a character look dangerous and gothy.

I use a two-handed sword when I play Dark Knight in FFXI, whose main weapon is otherwise a giant scythe.

I agree, though. It doesn't seem like a very effective weapon. It's like... a large axe, but with a smaller area to hit people with.

Axes also have connotations with death. Executioners and vikings people.
Also, only the inner part of the scythe is bladed not the outer part, so you basically need to get it around your target.

Well would you like to be attacked by someone wielding one?

Because the scythe was used as a tool for reaping hay. The Grim reaper used it for reaping souls. It has connotations to harvesting, that's why they associate Death, I.E The harvester of souls,with it. It all makes perfect sense when you think about it. Also, a sharpened Scythe will cut you in half with one swing. You kind of have to "hook" it around your target, but once you do and pull towards yourself...It'll take awhile to get the bloodstains off your boots.

Souplex:
Axes also have connotations with death. Executioners and vikings people.
Also, only the inner part of the scythe is bladed not the outer part, so you basically need to get it around your target.

No I mean connotations with Death. Capital D.

Aries_Split:
Because the scythe was used as a tool for reaping hay. The Grim reaper used it for reaping souls. It has connotations to harvesting, that's why they associate Death, I.E The harvester of souls,with it. It all makes perfect sense when you think about it. Also, a sharpened Scythe will cut you in half with one swing. They are fairly suited for battle.

No. No they won't. They'll cut hay in half with a single swing. The shape of a scythe means swinging it 'at' someone is impossible, you'd need to move it past them then pull it towards you, no where near enough momentum to go through bone.

What about hitting someone with the pointy end? Seems like it'd pierce right through somebody.

TheGhostOfSin:
Well would you like to be attacked by someone wielding one?

Yes actually, I for one encourage natural slection. It is our duty to prevent Mike Judges masterpiece Idiocracy from becoming a reality. If some idiot wants to come at me with a unwieldy piece of wood with a piece of metal with the blade facing towards the wielder then they are basically asking me to shove it where the sun does not shine.

war scythes... can sut through full plate helmets...... OW!!!!

the scythe has been turned so it is an almost straight weapon instead of a horizontal bit.

So yes scythes are badass

Scythes have very thin blades that break if they are used to slice anything more durable than the grain they were designed for.
[quote=smallharmlesskitten post=18.70517.694223]war scythes... can sut through full plate helmets...... OW!!!!

Yet another case of people confusing scythes and battle axes. Scythes have thin blades that break if they are used on anything more durable than the grain they were made for harvesting.

Souplex:
Scythes have very thin blades that break if they are used to slice anything more durable than the grain they were designed for.
[quote=smallharmlesskitten post=18.70517.694223]war scythes... can sut through full plate helmets...... OW!!!!

Yet another case of people confusing scythes and battle axes. Scythes have thin blades that break if they are used on anything more durable than the grain they were made for harvesting.

I'll dig around for the reference, but I'm fairly sure they started forging Scythes for battle.

The scythe is large and requires two hands and probably a fair bit of skill to wield effectively. There's also the automatic association with the Grim Reaper that's already been stated fairly often.

Why don't we just call up mythbusters and ask them to test the death dealing capacities of the major melee weapons? They can't be that busy...

Souplex:
Why do people act like scythes are weapons as opposed to harvesting tools?

At your most badass while holding a scythe you look like a rather annoyed farmer who could not find a shotgun or pitchfork.

Me I personally blame those guys who decided to personify death as a skeleton in robes with a scythe.

The reason death has a scythe is due to his role as harvester of souls thus an allusion to the harvesting of grain which is something the average dark age peasant would have understood and the possibility of getting cut in half by an irate farmer is kind of scary... i guess

Bob the Average:

Souplex:
Why do people act like scythes are weapons as opposed to harvesting tools?

At your most badass while holding a scythe you look like a rather annoyed farmer who could not find a shotgun or pitchfork.

Me I personally blame those guys who decided to personify death as a skeleton in robes with a scythe.

The reason death has a scythe is due to his role as harvester of souls thus an allusion to the harvesting of grain which is something the average dark age peasant would have understood and the possibility of getting cut in half by an irate farmer is kind of scary... i guess

This is a paraphrased version of what I said several posts up. :/

I reckon you could still fuck a guy up with a scythe. It may not be the most effective weapon in the world, but neither is a crowbar until you beat a zombie senseless with it.

Small scythes and other farming implements were often converted into makeshift weapons by peasants when called up to fight for their feudal lord. Thats how a lot of polearms were developed. But the big ol' grim reaper type would have been impractical in the extreme.

HSIAMetalKing:
I reckon you could still fuck a guy up with a scythe. It may not be the most effective weapon in the world, but neither is a crowbar until you beat a zombie senseless with it.

Do not disparage the crowbar. IT is a light compact yet durable and effective bludgeoning weapon. Plus you might need to pry stuff open from time to time.

I'm confused as to why a scythe would be an innappropriate weapon for the grim REAPER. Reaping is the verb that usually refers to harvesting crops. It was later that it came to mean killing.

Ever heard, you Reap what you sow?

The Scythe is actually quite an effective weapon, it's not so much a stabbing weapon as a slashing weapon. It's merit is that it is meant to loop behind the opponent, this would be particularly effective against knights as their armor is meant to protect mainly from frontal assualts. A scythe gets past the shield and then the sharp tip can punch through the armor more readily than most weapons available to the peasantry.

If you're leading a peasant revolt using a scythe is probably going to be more effective than using a pitchfork. And since melee weapons aren't in much use today it's not like ANYONE has a shotgun, much less the farmer.

The whole death imagery is pretty deeply ingrained into western culture. People respond to it more than most weapons.

Decoy Doctorpus:

Aries_Split:
Because the scythe was used as a tool for reaping hay. The Grim reaper used it for reaping souls. It has connotations to harvesting, that's why they associate Death, I.E The harvester of souls,with it. It all makes perfect sense when you think about it. Also, a sharpened Scythe will cut you in half with one swing. They are fairly suited for battle.

No. No they won't. They'll cut hay in half with a single swing. The shape of a scythe means swinging it 'at' someone is impossible, you'd need to move it past them then pull it towards you, no where near enough momentum to go through bone.

If you have the blade twisted away from you, as it should be, you're using your hips' natural energy... which is used in every martial art to deliver finishing blows. The blade is angled out as it travels too. You don't pull it towards you, just move side-to-side, and if you must, tug a little as you do.

Conversely, they were pretty poorly made, as noted earlier. Even if "war scythes" were developed, it would only be to give serfs-turned-men-at-arms something they were already familiar with and pump up their morale with their fancy new tool, and only too late would they find out it was just as crappy as their scythe back home.

Just like the Russians giving citizen hordes SMGs during WW2. The rapid fire kept them happy long enough that they died for the cause and took a couple baddies down too.

A scythe can be an effective weapon, in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing. Ever heard of hashijutsu? That's fighting. With chopsticks. That doesn't seem like the best weapon to me, but hey, apparently some people think different. And I know it is mostly defensive, but most people would still prefer a shield for that.

Excelcior:
A scythe can be an effective weapon, in the hands of someone who knows what he's doing. Ever heard of hashijutsu? That's fighting. With chopsticks. That doesn't seem like the best weapon to me, but hey, apparently some people think different. And I know it is mostly defensive, but most people would still prefer a shield for that.

...Chopsticks...?
Want!

I've never heard of "war scythes" outside D&D. I suppose that if you sharpened the other edge, it could cause some damage... but you'd have to modify it pretty heavily for it to be as effective as other melee weapons. I'm also not crazy about the fact that you'd have to get it around your opponent and pull towards yourself to cut anything. That seems like it would leave you wide open for attacks before you even get a chance to hit him.

I've heard of a war scythe been used in war. Seems logical for an army to use whatever they can in a time of need.

The flail was a tool not unlike the scythe before its use in war.

Knight Templar:
I've heard of a war scythe been used in war. Seems logical for an army to use whatever they can in a time of need.

The fail was a tool not unlike the scythe before its use in war.

Your absolutely right. Just not in the way you expected.

Decoy Doctorpus:

Aries_Split:
Because the scythe was used as a tool for reaping hay. The Grim reaper used it for reaping souls. It has connotations to harvesting, that's why they associate Death, I.E The harvester of souls,with it. It all makes perfect sense when you think about it. Also, a sharpened Scythe will cut you in half with one swing. They are fairly suited for battle.

No. No they won't. They'll cut hay in half with a single swing. The shape of a scythe means swinging it 'at' someone is impossible, you'd need to move it past them then pull it towards you, no where near enough momentum to go through bone.

Technically couldn't you grip it high on the shaft with one hand, low with the other, and pull it past you, cutting an enemy to your side? You would have to be slightly past them.

Sure it's inefficient, but it should work, right?

If you have an extra long blade wich curves around a lot like a right angle becoming a quarter of a circle then they are a cool weapon.

Other than that I do get the point that they are pretty crap.

Lots of real weapons started as farming implements

look at the Kama.

Trust me, it's a real weapon, even though it's basically a tiny scythe (or a straighter sickle)

If you bring a scythe to a shotgun fight, you deserve your buckshot in the chest, but I'm pretty sure a scythe would have a half decent match against a pitchfork.

Very dramatic, lots of swooshes. not very practical.

then again, since when does practicality have anything to do with videogame weapons?
Cloud's sword from ff7 would be impossible to lift unless it was made out of spray painted balsa wood. Same goes for Azeroth's hammer form soul caliber and prettymuch any of the higher level weapons in WoW. And don't even get me started on the unfathomable inadiquacies of pretty much any female characters armor in any Japanese game ever made. sheesh.

compared to most of the stuff out there, a scyth wouldn't be half bad. especially if you had a black robe to go with it.

psst

it's Asteroth

Azeroth is warcraft's primary world

but ya.

Scythes are just a coward's sickle.

Anyone who says you cannot be badass while wielding a scythe clearly never played Soul Calibur III.

You could make a war scythe. Twist the blade up by 90 degrees and hey presto, you have a simple halberd.