What are sickles?

A sickle is a handheld agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting ripened cereal grains. The sickle is one of the oldest tools used by humans, dating back to the Neolithic era. Sickles were originally made of flint or obsidian, but later models were made of bronze and iron. The sickle has been largely replaced by the scythe in modern agriculture, but it is still used in some parts of the world.

Sickles are also used in surgery to remove tissue, and in podiatry to remove calluses and corns.