"Ha! You're fighting a duel with a scythe? Really?"
- —An amused Vlad von Carstein mocks Otto Glott, one of the Glottkin Champions of Nurgle, during a duel.[2a]
Various kinds of scythes as rendered for Total War: Warhammer.
A scythe is a large, agricultural tool with a long wooden haft and a curved, single-edged blade used to cut wheat and other grain. It is used to cut down or reap edible grains before they undergo the process of threshing.[1a]
A typical scythe consists of a shaft about 67 to 70 inches long called a "snaith," "snath," "snathe" or "sned," traditionally made of wood. Simple snaiths are straight with offset handles, others have an "S" curve or are steam-bent in three dimensions to place the handles in an ergonomic configuration but close to the shaft. The snaith has either one or two short handles at right angles to it, usually one near the upper end and always another roughly in the middle. The handles are usually adjustable to suit the user.
A curved, steel blade usually between 24 and 35 inches long attaches at the lower end at 90°, or less, to the snaith. Scythes almost always have the blade projecting from the left side of the snaith when in use, with the cutting edge towards the user, known as the "mower"; left-handed scythes are made but cannot be used together with right-handed scythes as the left-handed mower would be mowing grain in the opposite direction and could not mow in a team with other workers.
A scythe can be used as a special improvised weapon, requiring two hands to wield.[1a]