Коса (оруђе)

За друге употребе, погледајте Коса (вишезначна одредница).

Коса

Коса је ручни пољопривредни алат за кошење траве и житарица. Коса је настала у античко доба и дуго је била најважнији алат за кошење. Током миленијума добила је најразличитије облике.

Коса за кошење траве

Коса за кошење траве се обликовала у складу са потребама. Косцу је потребна другачија коса на равној ливади, на стрмој падини и другачија за детелину него за високу траву са јаким стабљикама. Дужина косе је између 40 и 120 цм те је у извесном односу с углом што га чине коса и косиште (или косило зависно од краја) Што је дужа коса тим више мора бити угао затворен. У западној Србији и другим деловима Балкана користи се коса са краћим косилом које има два рукохвата док се у централној Србији користе косе са дужим косилом и једним рукохватом

Косидба

При кошењу већих површина редовно се организовала косидба, рад више косача, било на мобу (рад који се враћа у раду) или плаћено. На овај начин се економисало са радном снагом, али и свим осталим ресурсима, да би се посао завршио за дан или у што краћем времену, уколико је могуће.

Увођењем механизације је косидба постала непотребна, али су после извесног времена туристички предузетници почели организовати косидбе као догађаје туристичког карактера где се поред такмичења у брзини слагања откоса дешавају и друге, најчешће фолклорне представе.

У Србији је најпознатија „Косидба на Рајцу“, манифестација на којој се надмећу косачи из Србије, али и из других земаља. Читава манифестација обично траје два-три дана а сама косидба се одржава прве недеље после Петровдана и победник добија Златну косу као награду. Место одржавања је планинска област Рајац у општини Љиг.

Поред ове се одржавају и друге косидбе:

у Србији: „Косидба на Плавинцу“ код Смедерева, „Косидба на Маровцу“ код Медвеђе, „Крајишки откос“ код Земуна,

у Републици Српској: „Дани косидбе Балкана“ код Мркоњић Града, „Прва коса Грмеча“ у Смољани код Босанског Петровца, „Дани косидбе на Романији“ код Сокоца,

У Црној Гори: „Прва коса Црне Горе“ на Косаници код Пљеваља.

Употреба

Sharpening

The cutting edge of a tensioned scythe blade is maintained by occasional peening followed by frequent honing. Peening reforms the malleable edge by hammering. The purposes of this task is to create the desired edge profile, to locally work-harden the metal, and to remove minor nicks and dents. For mowing fine grass, the bevel angle may be peened extremely fine, while for coarser work a larger angle is created to give a more robust edge. Peening requires some skill and is done using a peening hammer and special anvils or by using a peening jig. Historically, a peening station was set up on the edge of the field during harvest, but now{ more likely back in the workshop.

In the example below, a short scythe blade, being used to clear brambles, is being sharpened. Before being taken to the forest, the blade is peened in the workshop: this reforms the malleable steel to create an edge profile that can then be honed. Peening is done only occasionally; how often depends on the hardness of the steel and the nature of the work. The Austrian blade shown is being used to cut tough-stemmed brambles and it is being peened about every thirty hours of work. Nicks and cuts to the blade edge can usually be worked out of the blade by peening and a new edge profile formed for honing.

A peening jig is being used here, but blades can be free-peened using various designs of peening anvils. The peening jig shown has two interchangeable caps that set different angles: a coarse angle is set first about 3 mm back from the edge, and the fine angle is then set on the edge, leaving an edge that lends itself to being easily honed. The blade is then honed using progressively finer honing stones and then taken to the field. In the field, the blade is honed using a fine, ovoid whetstone (or rubber), fine-grained for grass, coarser for cereal crops. Honing is performed the moment the mower senses that the edge has gone off; this may be every half hour or more depending on the conditions. The laminated honing stone shown here has two grades of stone and is carried into the field soaking in a water-filled holster on the belt. A burr is set up on the outside of the blade by stroking the blade on the inside; the burr is then taken off by gently stroking it on the outside. There are many opinions, regional traditions and variations on exactly how to do this; some eastern European countries even set up the burr on the inside.

• 
  A peening jig anvil. Note the two colour-coded caps.
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  Peening a scythe blade using the jig
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  A typical ovoid honing stone soaking in a water-filled sheath
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  Setting up a burr on the outside of the blade by honing on the inside
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  Taking the burr off the outside of the blade by honing on the outside
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  The finished blade
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  Image from a 1945 rye harvest, showing a very long blade being honed on the job. Setting up the burr
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  Removing the burr on the outside face, ready to mow again

The mowing action

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  1. Start of the stroke after stepping forward into the swathe. Mowing rye in 1945
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  2. Swinging left into the cut and deepening the swathe
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  3. Finish of the stroke and depositing on the windrow to the left

Историја

Neolithic rock engraving depicting scythes, Norway

Scythes may date back as far as око 5000 BC; they seem to have been used since Cucuteni–Trypillia settlements, becoming widespread with agricultural developments. Initially used mostly for mowing hay, it had replaced the sickle for reaping crops by the 16th century, as the scythe was better ergonomically and consequently more efficient. In about 1800 the grain cradle was sometimes added to the standard scythe when mowing grain; the cradle was an addition of light wooden fingers above the scythe blade which kept the grain stems aligned and the heads together to make the collection and threshing easier. In the developed world, the scythe has been largely replaced by the motorised lawn mower and combine harvester. However, the scythe remained in common use for many years after the introduction of machines because a side-mounted finger-bar mower – whether horse- or tractor-drawn – could not mow in front of itself, and scythes were still needed to open up a meadow by clearing the first swathe to give the mechanical mower room to start.

German peasant with scythe from 850 AD

Early Medieval scythe blade from the Merovingian site Kerkhove-Kouter in Belgium (collection number: RAMS00393)

The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities of Sir William Smith argues that the scythe, known in Latin as the falx foenaria as opposed to the sickle, the falx messoria, was used by the ancient Romans. According to ancient Greek mythology, Gaia – the Greek goddess and mother of the Titans – gave a sickle made of the strongest metal to her youngest son Kronos, who is also the youngest of the Titans and god of the harvest, to seek vengeance against her husband Ouranos for torturing their eldest sons. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe. According to Jack Herer and Flesh of The Gods (Emboden, W. A. Jr., Praeger Press, New York, 1974), the ancient Scythians grew hemp and harvested it with a hand reaper that would be considered a scythe.

The Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in Sheffield, England, is a museum of a scythe-making works that was in operation from the end of the 18th century until the 1930s. This was part of the former scythe-making district of north Derbyshire, which extended into Eckington. Other English scythe-making districts include that around Belbroughton.

У националним културама

The scythe is still an indispensable tool for farmers in developing countries and in mountainous terrain.

In Romania, for example, in the highland landscape of the Transylvanian Apuseni mountains, scything is a very important annual activity, taking about 2–3 weeks to complete for a regular house. As scything is a tiring physical activity and is relatively difficult to learn, farmers help each other by forming teams. After each day's harvest, the farmers often celebrate by having a small feast where they dance, drink and eat, while being careful to keep in shape for the next day's hard work. In other parts of the Balkans, such as in Serbian towns, scything competitions are held where the winner takes away a small silver scythe. In small Serbian towns, scything is treasured as part of the local folklore, and the winners of friendly competitions are rewarded richly with food and drink, which they share with their competitors.

Among Basques scythe-mowing competitions are still a popular traditional sport, called segalaritza (from Spanish verb segar: to mow). Each contender competes to cut a defined section of grown grass before his rival does the same.

There is an international scything competition held at Goričko where people from Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania, or as far away as Asia enter to showcase their culturally unique method of reaping crops. In 2009, a Japanese man showcased a wooden reaping tool with a metal edge, which he used to show how rice was cut. He was impressed with the speed of the local reapers, but said such a large scythe would never work in Japan.

The Norwegian municipality of Hornindal has three scythe blades in its coat-of-arms.

In 2012, The Wall Street Journal reported some American homeowners were eschewing motorized lawn mowers in favor of scythes, citing the lack of noise as well as the health benefits of scythe reaping as exercise.

Галерија

• 
  Традиционална дрвена коса
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  Коришћење косе
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  Модерна коса позната у Европи
• 
  Откивање косе

Види још

• Варцарка, врста косе

Литература

• „Online Etymology Dictionary”. etymonline.com. 
• „Browse 1828 => Word SITHE :: Search the 1828 Noah Webster's Dictionary of the English Language”. 1828.mshaffer.com. 2012-06-03. Приступљено 2012-06-03. 
• „Browse 1913 => Word SITHE :: Search the 1913 Noah Webster's Dictionary of the English Language”. 1913.mshaffer.com. 2012-06-03. Архивирано из оригинала 2012-12-03. г. Приступљено 2012-06-03. 
• „How to Use a Scythe – Modern Homesteading – Mother Earth News”. мај 1981. CS1 одржавање: Формат датума (веза)
• Unger-Hamilton, Romana (јул 1985). „Microscopic Striations on Flint Sickle-Blades as an Indication of Plant Cultivation: Preliminary Results”. World Archaeology. 17 (1): 121—6. doi:10.1080/00438243.1985.9979955. CS1 одржавање: Формат датума (веза)
• Banning, E.B. (1998). „The Neolithic Period: Triumphs of Architecture, Agriculture, and Art”. Near Eastern Archaeology. 61 (4): 188—237. JSTOR 3210656. S2CID 164006022. doi:10.2307/3210656. 
• Heizer, Robert F. (1951). „The Sickle in Aboriginal Western North America”. American Antiquity. 16 (3): 247—252. JSTOR 276785. S2CID 161405622. doi:10.2307/276785. 
• Works, Martha A. (1987). „Aguaruna Agriculture in Eastern Peru”. Geographical Review. 77 (3): 343—358. JSTOR 214125. doi:10.2307/214125. 
• Bhattarai, Devendra; Singh, Suman Bahadur; Baral, Dharanidhar; Sah, Ram Bilakshan; Budhathoki, Shyam Sundar; Pokharel, Paras K. (2016-10-26). „Work-related injuries among farmers: a cross-sectional study from rural Nepal”. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology. 11 (1): 48. ISSN 1745-6673. PMC 5080695 . PMID 27800010. doi:10.1186/s12995-016-0137-2. 

Спољашње везе

• Scythe Network Архивирано 2009-06-07 на сајту Wayback Machine, a site dedicated to modern usage, with links to numerous equipment suppliers in North America.