Steve Tomlin Crafts

Somerset Scythe Festival 2017 Championships

Posted on June 14, 2017 by stevetomlin

I’m just home after an extended trip to the Somerset Scythe Festival 2017 which is always one of the highlights of the summer. I’ll publish a few posts with various photos from the weekend but first, here are this years champions.
The competition has become increasingly open in the last few years which adds to the excitement of the day. A lot can depend on which plot you draw and tactics play an important part these days. 2017 was undeniably the year for George Montague who mowed his 5x5m plot in an incredible 40 seconds. Second place went to Kevin Austin, who raised the cup last year, with an impressive time of 1 min. It’s always great to see the cameraderie in the men’s competition is as strong as their drive to win.

Andi Rickard took the women’s cup and, in the process, 3rd place overall with an amazing performance. Beth Tilston, pictured here mowing while Kevin watches, took second place with Ruth Pullan moving up into third place. I’ve now lost count of how many times Andi’s won, who will ever beat her?

This year the Quality Cup was taken by Richard Brown who, as well as being an excellent scythesman, is a very knowledgeable botanist and works for Emorsgate wildflower seed company. He has been racing in the scythe competition for over a decade now and was justifiably pleased with his award

You’ll have noticed that there are barely any photos of the champions in action. Make sure you’re here for the next post is all I’ll say.i

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged 2017, Austrian scythe, competition, scythe festival, somerset, UK | Leave a comment

Scything at St John's Church

Posted on June 8, 2017 by stevetomlin

Today I have been teaching a group of volunteers at St John’s Church at Sharow near Ripon in North Yorkshire. The Church has been developing it’s site, including an award winning conservation area in the grounds. The scythes and training will enable them to manage the land independently and without damaging the gravestones.
Beth arrived to join us just as the rest of the group had finished setting up their scythes. This gave us the opportunity to consolidate their learning by having them act as instructors and we help her through the setting up process together.

At the start of the day I overheard Emma and Rose commenting that they were glad to see another woman on the course. The Austrian scythe is equally suited to both men and women of all ages; technique is far more important than strength.

Everyone had their own slightly different style but were soon cutting neat swathes through the grass and working well together as a team. The video below shows the group mowing after just 30mins of practise.
I can come and teach your group to scythe at your own venue. For details and costs, please read the Group Scythe Workshops Information sheet (pdf) or email me stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian scythe, church, churchyard, grave stones, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

Scything at Beamish Museum

Posted on June 5, 2017 by stevetomlin

The Austrian scythe is a thoroughly modern tool but it was great fun to be asked to teach a Learn to Scythe course for some of the staff at Beamish Museum in County Durham this weekend.
The weather was hot and sunny and the course coincided with the museum’s Georgian Fair so our novice scything team got plenty of onlookers and made a great addition to the other activities going on.

I really enjoyed the cameraderie and joking among the staff which would surely have been the case among a real scything gang of the era.

Haymaking season was well-known as a time when men and women would have chance to meet and spend time together in the fields to gossip and court. Our season, even though it was only one day long, was no exception.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian scythes, Beamish museum, Durham | Leave a comment

Scything while the sun shines

Posted on May 30, 2017 by stevetomlin

On Friday, the hottest day of 2017 so far, I was teaching a group how to scythe in Derbyshire. The course was organised by Derbyshire Eco-centre as part of their programme of events but hosted by Gus & Fash on their beautiful smallholding nearby.
We used the shade of the barns while we set up the Austrian scythes to fit each person and adjusted the blade to work as efficiently as possible. Then we did some preparatory practise and the students learned how to sharpen the scythe by two different, safe methods.

We were scything on a slope but that is no problem for the scythe and we also cleared nettles as well as mowing the lush new grass while enjoying the sounds of the birds and views over the countryside.

My next Learn to scythe course on 2nd June is fully booked but you can still get on a place for the course on 22nd July at Sedbergh, Cumbria. Simply email me stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com to book your place.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged 2017, Austrian scythe, course, Derbyshire, scythe | Leave a comment

Gorgeous American style windsor chair

Posted on May 28, 2017 by stevetomlin

A big part of what makes handmade items so special is the relationship you have with it. That might be because you’ve met the maker (online or in real life), know where the materials have come from, received it to mark an occasion or simply through the patina that comes with years of use.
My good friend Robin Duckmanton has only been making windsor chairs for a few years but already he is making some of the most stunning work I’ve seen in the UK. Last year he asked if I would trade one of my ash splint pack baskets for a chair and I jumped at the offer. At the time, I didn’t know what he would be making but knew it would be special and, as you can see in these photos, it is.

Robin works completely by hand so all of the turning is done on a pole lathe and the seat is carved using an adze, travisher and, most importantly, huge amounts of skill and time. It’s statuesque, elegant and yet strong and every bit as comfortable as it is beautiful.

Rob says there’ll be a website soon but in the meantime you can follow his work on instagram: @redwoodchairs

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged American, painted, UK, windsor chair | Leave a comment

Splitting wood with a froe

Posted on May 25, 2017 by stevetomlin

One of my favourite things to carve and a great project for learning carving techniques is a butter spreader. Popular in Scandinavia, they are much less well known in the UK than they ought to be.
The key to making them easily is to split the wood only just bigger than the finished article so you’re not having to carve away too much and you make the most of the timber. A special splitting tool called a froe is useful to have but you can split timber successfully just with an axe and mallet.
This sycamore, on a recent spoon carving course in Wales, just wanted to be spreaders and split beautifully into a dozen perfect blanks.

Posted in spoon carving, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged carving, froe, greenwood, spreader, sycamore | Leave a comment

Spoon carving workshop in Wales

Posted on May 22, 2017 by stevetomlin

My craft course season is well underway for 2017 and this weekend I had a brilliant time teaching eight lovely people how to carve wooden spoons at the Woodland Skills Centre.
As always, we start out with freshly-cut, greenwood logs – birch and sycamore this time – and craft them into fabulous cooking and eating spoons with a cheeky butter spreader thrown in too for knife practise.
On a two day course like this there’s lots of time for beginners to develop the skills and try out more challenging carving techniques as well as learning how to sharpen the hook knives and axes. Thanks all, I had a brilliant time and look forward to seeing your future spoons.

Posted in greenwood courses, spoon carving, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged 2017, course, Wales, workshop | Leave a comment

Prize winning ash splint basket

Posted on May 17, 2017 by stevetomlin

I spent last weekend at the Bodgers’ Ball, the annual event of the Green Woodworkers Association in the UK. I entered one of my ash splint pack baskets into the competition and was very pleased to be awarded first place, thanks to everyone who voted for it.

Posted in baskets, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged 2017, ash splint, basket, bodgers ball, UK | 3 Comments

Scything Handbook review in The Allotment magazine

Posted on May 10, 2017 by stevetomlin

The current issue of the Allotment and Leisure Gardener magazine has a review of The Scything Handbook by Ian Miller.
It’s great that scything is getting this kind of coverage but a shame that the reviewer has been told that this is the “first new book on scything for 35 years”. My own Learn to Scythe book was published in 2015 with both Filbert Press and Ian Miller being aware of it, scything is a small world!
There is a more in-depth review of the Scything Handbook in this issue of Windrow magazine in which my own book gets several very favourable mentions:

Tomlin’s ‘Learn to Scythe’ is a more concise guide, with lots of colour photographs, and a more modern feel
If your sole aim in reading a book about scything is to learn the skills however, then I suggest Tomlin for a clear and concise manual.

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged Allotmen and Leisure Gardener, book, magazine, review, Scything Handbook | Leave a comment

Somerset Scythe Festival Courses 2017

Posted on May 8, 2017 by stevetomlin

The 13th West of England Scythe Fair will take place on Sunday 11 June 2017

I will be one of the teachers leading a two day masterclass at the fair on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 June. This course is aimed at:

mowers with some experience who want to develop their skills
team leaders managing volunteers or staff
people who want to teach scythe use to others.

The cost is £125 for individuals, £150 for organizations, £90 concession for unwaged. Meals are provided. Camping on site is available.
There is also a beginner’s course on Saturday 10 June.
For more information or to book, please contact Simon on 01297 561359 or scythes@myphone.coop www.thescytheshop.co.uk/courses.html

Posted in scythe courses, scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged 2017, improvers, masterclass, scythe, scythe festival, somerset | Leave a comment