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SO in Alot of shows, games and even war hammer in someplace i see people using scythes as weapons.
But are they plausible weapons to use(not today ofcourse)
The only way i can imagine would be grandiose displays to make it work and massive amounts of agility. Most of which can be accomplished with a simple dagger or longsword.
So do they fall under the same and chain axes? Rule of cool?

No, not at all. Scythes are horrible.

In Rurouni Kenshin, there's a girl ( ) who uses a scythe, and it apparently weighs like fifty pounds, with a WOODEN staff part. Needless to say, they snap the pole part in half, and she's ( )left totally disarmed. Imagine if the pole part was metal! No way anyone would be able to make a decent weapon out of a scythe.

Chain axes are just axes with a belt of teeth running along the edge. Axes are deadly weapons, and for a CSM, I don't see the chain axe as being a problem...

But axes function wiith the weight of the head propelling it. a chain makes no sense unless it goes ridiculousness amount of speed.

No, scythes are farming implements that stayed on the farm. They're logically terrible weapons in virtually every capacity. They do nothing that isn't better done with a spear, sword, or poleaxe.

chain axes are basically giant clubs wielded by science fiction supermen. Farming scythes as weapons are just the worst thing dungeons and dragons ever tried to make mainstream.

I think the only time they'd be a weapon is if they happened to be what was on hand when a village needed to fight. Like branches, chair legs, brooms etc.

Can you kill people with it? Yes, so it is a plausible weapon. Would you be better off with a sword/axe/dagger? I would think so. Weight and general unwieldiness would make it a cumbersome and awkward weapon to use, but if you're a peasant working the fields and get set upon by bandits, a scythe might be preferable to your fists, or a rock, or even a shovel.

I suppose if you've got the skill and strength, you could be pretty efficient at beheading people. I doubt a scythe would bite into armor much, or at least as much as a stout axe could.

You could probably kill someone with a pencil.

Necroshea wrote:Can you kill people with it? Yes, so it is a plausible weapon. Would you be better off with a sword/axe/dagger? I would think so. Weight and general unwieldiness would make it a cumbersome and awkward weapon to use, but if you're a peasant working the fields and get set upon by bandits, a scythe might be preferable to your fists, or a rock, or even a shovel.

I suppose if you've got the skill and strength, you could be pretty efficient at beheading people. I doubt a scythe would bite into armor much, or at least as much as a stout axe could.

It's incredibly unlikely they would let you behead them with your giant unwieldy blade that requires you to be two feet from them to use in that fashion. Remember, the cutting edge on a scythe is on the inside, meaning that you need a sweeping arc that comes in from behind their neck.

Scythes are designed and intended to cut grain stalks.

To define, I'm used to scythes being the really long hafted farm implement with long curved blade, and handles that facilitate using lever action to swing just above ground level.

A sickle is held in hand, with c-shaped blade, used to harvest plants at hand level.

(Wanted to define because it helps explain where I'm going)

So a scythe is optimized to minimize fatigue during the wheat harvest. Wheat can be tough, but cutting close to ground means it still needs strength to make the cut, but it is more about efficiency.

So, take that peasent who swings from sunup to sundown during the harvest. He's got the endurance to go all day, but with force to cut wheat... Not bone. Certainly not armor, and any over the head wild swing attack moves are silly. I think it could mess up horse legs, though, and would certainly work well to hamstring unarmored foes. Peasant vs peasant? Yeah, it could suck massively to be hit by one.

But, anything else? Not really feasible, IMHO.

A sickle, though, I could see as a much more effective weapon...

Sickles used in combat and sickle shaped weapons were very common in many parts of the world for a long time. The Japanese loved 'em.

Considering how long humans have been killing each other and how long scythes have been around, if they were practical weapons they would have been used more often by this point and we wouldn't need to have the conversation.

Ahtman wrote:Considering how long humans have been killing each other and how long scythes have been around, if they were practical weapons they would have been used more often by this point and we wouldn't need to have the conversation.

I know, but they are just so cool looking.... it is easy to imagine them as horrendous lethal weapons! Grim reaper does use one, after all!

It is plausible if you are a slasher going after horny teenagers.

Gymnogyps wrote:

Ahtman wrote:Considering how long humans have been killing each other and how long scythes have been around, if they were practical weapons they would have been used more often by this point and we wouldn't need to have the conversation.

I know, but they are just so cool looking.... it is easy to imagine them as horrendous lethal weapons! Grim reaper does use one, after all!

Actually, I believe in the original artworks he is depicted as using a sword.

The scythe is also more of a play on the concept of reaping souls as wheat. The concept of the grim reaper as we know him is actually kind of contemporary.

ShumaGorath wrote:The scythe is also more of a play on the concept of reaping souls as wheat. The concept of the grim reaper as we know him is actually kind of contemporary.

Indeed, and while he is often shown carrying one, he is rarely shown using it as a weapon. Castlevania being the exception, of course.

Most people who use a scythe as a weapon probably don't have access to a sword/spear. Just a thought

Joey wrote:Most people who use a scythe as a weapon probably don't have access to a sword/spear. Just a thought

They have access to a farmers axe. They'll use that instead.

Yes if you are fighting an army of scarecrows

It's not, it's a farming tool.

The main advantage of the scythe is that the average weapon user isn't much trained to defend against it. It's not an ideal weapon

In mediaeval times every able bodied man was required to be armed for "keeping the peace". Even peasants were equipped with some light weapons such as bows, spears and cheap swords or heavy knives. There is no way a scythe would be used as a weapon except in very desperate conditions. You would be better off with a pitchfork.

Melissia wrote:The main advantage of the scythe is that the average weapon user isn't much trained to defend against it. It's not an ideal weapon

Scythes are little more than ineffective halberds, I'm sure if you're formally trained in that sort of thing you will be able to counter a scythe user.

You lot will be sorry when genetically modified wheat rises up to take over the world.

Samus_aran115 wrote:No, not at all. Scythes are horrible.

In Rurouni Kenshin, there's a girl ( ) who uses a scythe, and it apparently weighs like fifty pounds, with a WOODEN staff part. Needless to say, they snap the pole part in half, and she's ( )left totally disarmed. Imagine if the pole part was metal! No way anyone would be able to make a decent weapon out of a scythe.

Chain axes are just axes with a belt of teeth running along the edge. Axes are deadly weapons, and for a CSM, I don't see the chain axe as being a problem...

Did you just use an anime to prove your point? Really? Not even a quick google search? Wow.


You can kill someone with one yes, but so can a rock, and people dont consider rocks to be very dangerous either. Ive personally handled one before, goofing around at a friends house, and they are rather unwieldy TBH. Thye are really made to just sweep grains and grass out on the farm. It doesnt really segway well into a good weapon. Nothing like an axe thats for sure.

ShumaGorath wrote:No, scythes are farming implements that stayed on the farm. They're logically terrible weapons in virtually every capacity. They do nothing that isn't better done with a spear, sword, or poleaxe.

chain axes are basically giant clubs wielded by science fiction supermen. Farming scythes as weapons are just the worst thing dungeons and dragons ever tried to make mainstream.

Full on scythes yes, Short hand scythes are not as bad however.

Frazzled wrote:

ShumaGorath wrote:No, scythes are farming implements that stayed on the farm. They're logically terrible weapons in virtually every capacity. They do nothing that isn't better done with a spear, sword, or poleaxe.

chain axes are basically giant clubs wielded by science fiction supermen. Farming scythes as weapons are just the worst thing dungeons and dragons ever tried to make mainstream.

Full on scythes yes, Short hand scythes are not as bad however.

A "short hand scythe" is a sickle, sickles have been used worldwide as weapons for a while.

I always read the rules for scythes with vague amusement. A slash hook or sickle is an alright weapon, if not that good, but a scythe is a tool. A hammer is better weapon.

I m surprised that this thread has so many responses and not one of them has pointed out that Scythes have been used in military action on several occasions.
Is it a preferred weapon: no.
But to quickly arm a force, particularly one in rebellion straightening the blade of a scythe and mounting it on a straight haft is a time honored tradition. More inventive groups would come up with even better adaptations like straightening and then hooking the end.
So as a plausible weapon history gives it a profound yes. As a primary arm for combatants whose profession is war, a profound no.
If you wander your way over to Home Depot where the shovels are you'll find tha many farm implements are much better suited as weapons that scythes with no adaptations. Pole axes, pitch forks, axes, mauls, etc.

its not an effective weapon as folks have already said up top

i have seen firsthand however the type of damage a scythe can do

My uncle manages a sugarcane plantation and has folks with full sized and hand scythes cutting down sugarcane for hours on end

hard, dangerous work made even more dangerous by the sheer monotony of it

swipe... swipe...swipe all day long

I was 12 years old when i visited the plantation. I was sitting inside the truck waiting for the cane to be loaded on (and was happily nibbling on a cane) when everyone heard a blood curdling scream from one of the workers

apparently one of the workers kinda "tuned out" and didnt know that another guy was in the way of his scythe.

swipe.

cut a foot clean through just right above the ankle