Flail

For other uses, seeFlail (disambiguation).

Aflailis anagriculturaltool used forthreshing,the process of separatinggrainsfrom theirhusks.

It is usually made from two or more large sticks attached by a short chain; one stick is held and swung, causing the other (the swipple) to strike a pile of grain, loosening the husks. The precise dimensions and shape of flails were determined by generations of farmers to suit the particular grain they were harvesting. For example, flails used by farmers inQuebecto processwheatwere generally made from two pieces of wood, the handle being about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long by 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, and the second stick being about 1 m (3.3 ft) long by about 3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter, with a slight taper towards the end. Flails for other grains, such asriceorspelt,would have had different dimensions.

Flails have generally fallen into disuse in many nations because of the availability of technologies such ascombine harvestersthat require much less manual labour. But in many places, such asMinnesota,wild ricecan only be harvested legally using manual means, specifically through the use of acanoeand a flail that is made of smooth, round wood no more than 30 inches long.

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  An example of a grain flail
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  Flail being used for threshing
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  Flails used in Britain
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  French peasants threshing with flails c. 1270.
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  Two flails pictured in the coat of arms ofTeuva

Non-agricultural uses

Main article:Flail (weapon)

As with most agricultural tools, flails were often used as weapons by farmers lacking better weapons. The flail is proposed as one of the origins of the two-piece baton known in theOkinawan kobudōweapon system as thenunchaku.The first recorded use of a flail as a weapon was at thesiege of Damietta in 1218during theFifth Crusade,asdepicted in the chronicle by Matthew Paris;tradition has it the man was the Frisian Hayo of Wolvega who bashed the standard bearer of theMuslimdefenders with it and captured the flag. Flails were also used as weapons by farmers under the leadership ofJan Žižkaduring the 15th-centuryHussite Warsin Bohemia.

Inancient Egypttheflail was a symbolassociated with the pharaoh, symbolizing the monarch's ability to provide for the people.

See also

• Gohei
• Ōnusa
• Ricing stick

External links

• Antique Farm Tools
• Agriculture in Victorian Times
• Picture of one kind of rice flail