The Scythe

A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for moving and reaping grass or crops.
It consists of a long (about 170cm) wooden shaft called a snath with a perpendicular handle at one end and another roughly in the middle. The handle at the end of the snath could be omitted but the handle in the middle of the snath is a must, as it is used to control the position of the blade.
A long blade (roughly 60-80 cm, approx. 26"-30") with a slight curve perpendicular to the snath is mounted at the other end. A scythe is used by holding the handles such that the blade is approximately parallel to the ground (with the heel nearly touching the ground) and, on completing the length of the acres in question by walking in a straight line, one performs the very last cut by rotating one's torso from side to side, as the arms maintain the blade's constant position over the ground.
In a field full of many workers, it is considered dangerous to raise the scythe up in the air (for the prospect of a down swing, like a golf club), just as driving a hockey stick up in the air, with an up swing, is dangerous. Keeping the scythe down, on the other hand, makes things safer for one and all.

Scythe user
From the book The Clip Art Book, 1980
compiled by Gerard Quinn