Nah, a scythe is not tedious. I mean, if you consider it a chore, sure, then it is. Everything is.

But once you got a proper rhythm and a smooth motion, it’s really a relaxing, meditative thing. Also great workout: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OeMxwt6MC3Y

Beats sitting on a screaming hell machine by a long stretch.

But here you’d also want to get a handmade fitted one, not the one from home depot. In Central Europe that’s not too hard, don’t know about US for example.

Manual lawnmowers only work for lawn though, anything high and/or weedy they can’t do.