<P> The blades of sickle models intended primarily for the cutting of grass are sometimes "cranked", meaning they are off - set downwards from the handle, which makes it easier to keep the blade closer to the ground . Sickles used for reaping do not benefit by this feature because cereals are usually not cut as close to the ground surface . Instead, what distinguishes this latter group is their often (though not always) serrated edges . </P> <P> A blade which is used regularly to cut the silica - rich stems of cereal crops acquires a characteristic sickle - gloss, or wear pattern . </P> <P> Like other farming tools, the sickle can be used as an improvised bladed weapon . Examples include the Japanese kusarigama and kama, the Chinese chicken sickles, and the makraka of the Zande people of north central Africa . Paulus Hector Mair, the author of a German Renaissance combat manual also has a chapter about fighting with sickles . It is particularly prevalent in the martial arts of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines . In Indonesia, the native sickle known as celurit or clurit is commonly associated with the Madurese people, used for both fighting and as a domestic tool . </P> <Ul> <Li> The sickle is used as part of the well known symbol of the hammer and sickle, which was the symbol of the former Soviet Union . It is the symbol of Communism or Revolutionary Socialism . The sickle represents the agricultural working class or peasantry in this symbol . </Li> <Li> The emblem of the Grim Reaper, who is sometimes portrayed as carrying a sickle rather than the more traditional scythe . </Li> <Li> Tacitus reports that golden sickles were used in Druidic rituals . </Li> <Li> Paulus Hector Mair's Manuscript Dresd. C 93 includes a section regarding the martial application of the sickle . </Li> <Li> Three (or two) entwined sickles were the heraldic badge of the medieval Hungerford family . See also Hungerford knot . </Li> </Ul>

Can a sickle be used as a weapon