Scything....

[daddo]

Never used one, but I did use a weed chopper a lot when I was young. Never care to see one again!

[Herb G]

I actually own a scythe sharpening stone. Several as a matter of fact.
One has a wooden handle on it, the rest are plain stones.
Lehman's Amish store used to sell them. Scythes too.

[Bibliophile 13]

I've always wanted to try using a traditional scythe--a good, sharp one--but I never had the need or the opportunity.

The most obvious difference between the scythe and the tractor is about $5,000 to $10,000. I did my time on a riding lawnmower when I was a kid, and it was definitely the right tool for the couple acres of mowing we had to do. But if I wanted to clear half an acre of tall grass or weeds just a few times a year, then I think the scythe might be the right tool for the job.

[hbmcc]

Around here, "weeds" are short trees and scrub-shrub, and I recall not designed for a scythe. Tall grass is a slow poke in front of a lawn mower. Maybe, a scythe could poke faster.

Once the cover is right, and the blade is sharp, and your swing tuned up, the scythe looks good and may feel almost so. Until a rock pops up. Otherwise, it's poke, scoop, snick and fight that sweep grabbing your wrists, fingers, elbows and shoulders; not to mention the lower trunk hernias. 

Yup. They are a bucolic memory.

[MichaelMouse]

I've always wanted to try using a traditional scythe--a good, sharp one--but I never had the need or the opportunity.  

I would check on a brush hog if I owned a tractor.  Some places will rent you both.

[Herb G]

Never used one, but I did use a weed chopper a lot when I was young. Never care to see one again!

I've got 2 of those in my shed right now. They work, but hang up in the stringy weeds.
Pokeberries are no match for them.