how to use hasiya

J

jamaljahda

Joined
Mar 4, 2009
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616
I know traditionally that this blade is used for harvesting crops but I have also seen that women use it daily in the kitchen. I just don't see how. Could anyone who has one tell how this would be used on a modern daily basis. I want to purchase one for my wife as an introductory gift. How does one cut up vegetables and meat with this on a cutting board I could see if the curve was in the opposite direction but Im probably just ignorant, that is why I am asking for help. If you have pics of use, even better.
 
Ha I don't know what there saying but she was not in a good mood and dude was very close to finding out how upset she was. I know see how use in the SD route it would be good. Good vid. Thanks.
 
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I was using my hasiya today. It sees use as a gardening and landscaping tool. I was using that while Red Flower used an asiatic sickle similar to the Kama used in karate kata, except sharp. I use the hasiya like a sickle. Its long handle and blade make for long sweeping cuts and the upturn at the end keeps the vegetation from sliding off. One can also grab hold of a mass of vegetation and slice it off with the hook. For tall weeds, One can lop them off at the base without bending over too much. The hook on the hasiya can be used to rake vegetation into a pile and then carry it away.

The hasiya would not be my first choice for food preparation. If I had to use it I would not use a cutting board. I might try hanging a carcass and then using the curved blade to cut the meat away from the bone. But there are really better tools for that job. I would only use the hasiya as a last resort. Agricultural use is really where it shines.
 
Nice picture Howard :thumbup:. I'm told in today's Nepal the Hasiya (Nepali Sickle), the Billhook, and the axe are the most used tools. Some reasons for this is their usefulness and restrictions on carrying the Kukri inside city limits :grumpy:.
There were some treads put out by Yangdu on the Nepali Sickle. Anyway here are some photos of it:
nepal-Farmer-Himalaya-rice-Sharpening.jpgnepal-Farmer-Himalaya-rice-11.jpgHISickle.jpg
Above: First picture shows how to sharpen the tool; Last picture on the right is from kronckew.
Hasiyas in Nepal have a wide range of sizes and shapes. They are carried and used differently too.
 
Any idea what that is she is cutting, some sort of wild onion or something? Appears to be something useful as she's collecting it, it looks like. Just curious. I love real pictures like that, the real thing as it were.
 
Bawanna said:
Any idea what that is she is cutting, some sort of wild onion or something? Appears to be something useful as she's collecting it, it looks like. Just curious. I love real pictures like that, the real thing as it were.
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This women is a Nepali subsistence farmer and she is cutting rice stocks.

nepal_rice_harvest.jpgNepal Food.jpgNepalese_Food.jpg
Rice is the most important crop, the second is corn, and others are wheat, millet, barley, and coffee.

The economy there is dominated by agriculture which is a hard life.The farmers and peasants live on plots of land cultivated in difficult conditions. Nepal used to export rice but now it has a food shortage.
 
sweetcostarica said:
This women is a Nepali subsistence farmer and she is cutting rice stocks.

View attachment 357321View attachment 357319View attachment 357320
Rice is the most important crop, the second is corn, and others are wheat, millet, barley, and coffee.

The economy there is dominated by agriculture which is a hard life.The farmers and peasants live on plots of land cultivated in difficult conditions. Nepal used to export rice but now it has a food shortage.
Click to expand...

While we're on this topic, I now have a Nepalese coworker, and I just don't know what to feed the guy. I mean, he asks for his meal near close when we're pretty slow so I could make him whatever, but he doesn't speak english well and only seems to want eggs, hot peppers, and pasta. I mean, he'll eat almost anything I make him so long as I'm feeding him and not the other night cooks, but I have no idea what he wants and trying to be creative seems more like a punishment. Dude won't even eat rice. He seems to be okay with eating chicken meat, but dislikes it, and won't touch pork or beef. I mean, he's polite and all and will attempt to eat just about anything, but seems to like very little and is incapable of giving feedback we can understand.
 
What to cook for your Nepalese coworker is a good mystery. Nepal has many ethnic groups from all over that region including a Nepali group known as Mixed peoples. Religion could play a part in this too.
My answer: It is best to get advice from Yangdu, Karda, or a person who is from Nepal or lived there and can speak English. This is a good puzzle but one that can be solved.
 
sweetcostarica said:
What to cook for your Nepalese coworker is a good mystery. Nepal has many ethnic groups from all over that region including a Nepali group known as Mixed peoples. Religion could play a part in this too.
My answer: It is best to get advice from Yangdu, Karda, or a person who is from Nepal or lived there and can speak English. This is a good puzzle but one that can be solved.
Click to expand...

Based on my limited experience with this board, should I assume they will eventually catch attention of this thread and me waiting is less intrusive than sending a private message or email to solve someone else's potential dietary problems? I don't want to be a bother with non-steel related questions.

He seems to be getting by alright, but if we have the time and resources it seems his hard work should be rewarded. Anyways, any suggestions people may have would be appreciated, even if it's just specific questions I could ask him, or condiments/sauces that could be made to make things more palatable for him.
 
I think an email to Yangdu would be quickest but I for one would be curious to her answers.

I feel kind of dumb that I didn't even know what rice looks like unless it's in a box. I need to get out more I think.
 
Bawanna said:
I think an email to Yangdu would be quickest but I for one would be curious to her answers.

I feel kind of dumb that I didn't even know what rice looks like unless it's in a box. I need to get out more I think.
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You're invoking my need to teach others how to feed themselves healthier and more delicious meals... To wrap things up before I start to ramble, there are so many varieties of potato but rarely does anyone get uppity about what method, technique, or degree of doneness your potato needs to be out. The same cannot be said about rice. I've been cooking for a long time and I still feel the need to google water to rice ratio whenever I get ahold of a new strain. Usually when I cook rice the hmong ladies tell me it's overdone and the filipinos tell me it's underdone.

Yeah I think I'll email Yangdu and see if I can't get a crash-course in Nepalese food. Or at least some insight into what he might be more interested in. Aside from fresh fish, we can make almost anything. Actually sometimes we can make him fresh fish, but he doesn't seem to like salmon.
 
Cook them curries. Lamb curry will make them extra productive.
That looks like my usual lunch SCR!

Back to OP, it's like using a scythe.

The inside of the blade's curve is sharp, so that the user can either draw or swing it against the base of the crop, catching the stems in the curve and slicing them at the same time. The material to be cut may be held in a bunch in the other hand (for example when reaping), held in place by a wooden stick, or left free. When held in a bunch, the sickle action is typically towards the user (left to right for a right-handed user), but when used free the sickle is usually swung the opposite way. Other colloquial/regional names for principally the same tool are: grasshook, swap hook, rip-hook, slash-hook, reaping hook, brishing hook or bagging hook.

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.

A blade which is used regularly to cut the silica-rich stems of cereal crops acquires a characteristic sickle-gloss, or wear pattern.-Wikipedia
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abdelhazred said:
...there are so many varieties of potato but rarely does anyone get uppity about what method, technique, or degree of doneness your potato needs to be out. The same cannot be said about rice. I've been cooking for a long time and I still feel the need to google water to rice ratio whenever I get ahold of a new strain. Usually when I cook rice the hmong ladies tell me it's overdone and the filipinos tell me it's underdone...
Click to expand...

Your customers are not hungry enough. Hike them 2000' elevation gain up a ravine, and then 2000' back down, and then give them some dal bhat. They'll love it.
 
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