Author Archives: stevetomlin

Learn to scythe feedback from Nottingham

Posted on July 5, 2019 by stevetomlin

Some lovely feedback from Kevin Tone, Wellbeing Team Co-ordinator at the Wells Rd Centre, Nottingham. Hi Steve We all agreed that it’s the best couple of days training we have had, we loved it and are completely hooked! We spent … Continue reading →

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The Power of Peening

Posted on July 3, 2019 by stevetomlin

Peening is a process of cold-forging and used with an Austrian scythe to thin the blade at the edge so that the bevel angle is finer. It’s a maintenance task that lots of people don’t enjoy or are nervous of … Continue reading →

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Scything for mental health

Posted on June 30, 2019 by stevetomlin

Being outdoors, physical activity, group work and seeing the results of your efforts are all hugely beneficial to your mental health and scything with others fits the bill perfectly. So I’m incredibly pleased to have been invited to teach a … Continue reading →

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Scything Miss Whalley’s Field in Lancaster

Posted on June 27, 2019 by stevetomlin

The scythe is a brilliant tool for volunteers and I’ve taught groups involved in managing community orchards, meadows, allotments and conservation sites across the UK. Scything is safe, quiet and allows everyone to work at their own pace. Last week … Continue reading →

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Fan bird carving in Wales

Posted on June 12, 2019 by stevetomlin

Some photos from a course on how to carve wooden fan birds that I taught recently at the Woodland Skills Centre in North Wales. Fan birds are a tricky craft to get right but I have been developing my special … Continue reading →

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Fan bird carving student

Posted on May 28, 2019 by stevetomlin

David came on my fan bird carving course earlier this year. He’d previously done some spoon carving but wanted to learn to carve fan birds to expand his skills after seeing me demonstrate fan bird carving at Elvaston Wood Festival … Continue reading →

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How to carve a fan bird instructions

Posted on May 21, 2019 by stevetomlin

As much as I wish you all could, I realise that not everyone can get to one of my courses to learn how to carve fan birds. So, to help spread the craft wider, I’ve created a downloadable pdf on … Continue reading →

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Gentleman Jack scything

Posted on May 19, 2019 by stevetomlin

Gentleman Jack is the latest BBC period drama and set not far from me in Halifax, West Yorkshire. Last summer I was hired to go to Shibden Hall and train the extras for an outdoor scene. It’s always fascinating to … Continue reading →

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Fan bird carving course in Derbyshire

Posted on May 15, 2019 by stevetomlin

Fan birds are a little known craft in the UK. Each one is made from a single piece of wood with the wings folded out from the solid wood. People often think that they’re incredibly fiddly and too difficult to … Continue reading →

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Spoon carving workshop in Derbyshire

Posted on May 13, 2019 by stevetomlin

I’ve just spent a fabulous weekend at Greenwood Days on the Derbyshire/ Leicestershire border. On Saturday I was teaching a group of beginners how to carve wooden spoons. Starting from fresh green birch wood logs, they learned to axe out … Continue reading →

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