Author Archives: stevetomlin

Russian scythe competition

The scythe competition season is getting underway with the British competition due to take place at the Scythe Festival in Somerset on 15th June.
Meanwhile, for those of you looking for a bit more adventure, I’ve been contacted by Aleksandr Shatokhin with an invitation slightly further afield. Continue reading

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A week of courses

fan bird carving
I had a wonderful start to my summer of teaching with several different craft courses within the space of a week. Continue reading

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New wooden spoons for sale

wooden spoons
Over the winter and spring I’ve been working on a range of new designs for my wooden cooking and eating spoons and I’m pleased to be able to now have them for sale on my Wooden Spoons page. Continue reading

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Seeing is peening

When trying to freehand peen your scythe blade, one of the most important elements is getting the lighting right so you can see the hammer marks on the scythe. Being able to see where your blows are landing allows you … Continue reading

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How to make a wooden hay rake

wooden hay rakesWith the all the people wanting to learn to scythe and their increasing use for managing wildflower meadows or making hay, there’s a need for good quality wooden hay rakes for collecting and turning the grass. Last weekend I taught a group of students to make their own. Continue reading

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Welsh love spoons

spoon carving WalesAt the weekend I made a trip across the border to teach a spooncarving course at the Woodland Skills Centre for a group including Rod Waterfield, the Centre manager. Continue reading

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Beech Leaf Noyau

Three weeks gone by already? Thankfully my friend Barbara reminded me it’s time to get the beech leaves out of the gin and turn it into noyau. Continue reading

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Anna Karenina – just the scythes

Sit through 3hrs of frocks just to see some folk mowing a field for 1 minute? Not even if it’s your friends mowing in a Hollywood movie with the snaths you made yourself? Sorry, I always said I’d wait until … Continue reading

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May Whistles

May Day is here so why not use these simple instructions to make a May Whistle, a traditional Cornish craft and use it to Ring in the Summer? Continue reading

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Leatherworking workshop

hand stitching leather
It’s always great fun to learn new skills, especially when that includes learning about a new material so when my friend Ruth Pullan mentioned she was starting to teach courses in leatherwork including tradition hand stitching, I jumped at the chance to invite her to Cumbria. Continue reading

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