It’s great to read that 40 local councils have signed up to No Mow May 2024 to leave some of their verges and parks to grow and increase biodiversity. Is your local council one of them?
May Day is a traditional time of year to make a simple wooden whistle from the hedgerow. While the sap is rising, you can slip the bark off a stick as a tube then carve the airway and cavity. It’s a fun project to do with kids and all you need is a knife.
Here’s some excellent instructions on how to make a May Whistle from my friend Anna Casserley
Whatever size your meadow or garden is, No Mow May is a worthwhile project to try and see what plants grow. Obviously, the timing will depend on where you are in the world and the species you already have but the basic principle of letting the vegetation grow for a month can bring delightful results. An increase in species and flowers attract pollinators and other insects which then can bring birds to your site.
Of course, once you have a meadow, you’ll need more than a lawnmower. A scythe is the perfect tool for cutting the long wildflowers and grasses when it’s time. Lightweight, quiet and efficient, scything is an easy method to mow a meadow. My Learn to Scythe courses run throughout the summer and will teach you everything you need to use and maintain an Austrian scythe. Places book quickly so secure your spot now via Eventbrite: Learn to Scythe
This weekend I’ll be attempting to complete The Fellsman, a 61mile navigational event with 11000ft of climbing across the Yorkshire Dales. It’ll be the furthest I’ve ever run and I’m hoping to complete in 24hrs, meaning I’ll be spending a full night outdoors trying to find my way using map and compass.
There’s a substantial mandatory kit list to carry, mostly for safety. It also includes a spoon, for eating at the various checkpoints en route so, naturally, I thought I’d make my own. This is some lovely silver birch from the same tree as we used during the workshop the other week. The hole means I can tie it to my pack so it doesn’t get lost.
I’m excited and nervous, wish me luck!
While I was in Derbyshire the other week, I had some spare time to carve, using some beautiful, fresh cherry wood. After splitting the log and marking out a pattern, I carve using an axe to create the shape. As with when I teach spoon carving, the axe is used to get as close to the final shape as possible.
Then I use a straight knife to refine and smooth the shape along with a hook knife to hollow the bowl. This is the stage where I am assessing the shape, balancing the elements and adding facets for decoration. The colours in the wood are so gorgeous that it doesn’t need anything more.
The spoon looks great already but, after a few days of drying, I apply a light coat of pure, cold-pressed linseed oil which protects the wood and makes the grain pop.
There are more photos of the cherry eating spoon in my etsy shop where it’s available to buy.
If you’d like to learn to carve your own spoons, join me on one of my workshops, dates and more details on Eventbrite: Craft Workshops
I’ve been making my own wooden hay rakes for a few years now but I’m still learning about the craft and intrested in examples from other regions. My friend Christiane brought me one from Austria and sent me the link to a video of Josef Frauenschuh making them in his workshop in Flachgrau. It’s an uncommon design, the tines (teeth) are not only angled back significantly but also arranged in a very slight ^ shape. He uses a few more machines than I do and a mix of lime for the stail (rake handle), beech for the head and ash tines to make a lovely product.
A second day in Cumbria with two of the estate team learning how to peen Austrian scythes with the peening jig.
Lewis and Lee already maintain a lot of the other tools for the team so they were chosen to learn to peen the scythes. There was plenty to practise on and we covered how to repair damage to the blade as well as peening for optimal sharpness and mowing.
Today, I’ve been back to CGP Publishing to teach a Learn to Scythe course in Cumbria. I came and taught a scything workshop for them a few years ago but, with their team expanding, they decided another course was in order.
The weather couldn’t dampen our spirits and the team are used to being outdoors in all weathers so we got to work practising scything in the rain. I was really pleased to see that they’d picked up very few bad habits since the first workshop and even managed to pass on the basics to the others.
Visit my Learn to Scythe courses page for the 2024 dates or contact me stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com to arrange a private workshop for your group.
My first spoon carving course of 2024 was a lovely day working with a terrific group of beginners.
Using fresh silver birch we learned to split billets and carve spoon blanks using axes. Then it was onto knife work, refining and smoothing the shape.
The bowl was the hollowed using a curved hook knife, following the outer shape of the spoon to create a smooth form.
The finished spoons were all brilliant, each with a unique style created by its maker. Several folk then bought carving tools from me which is fantastic as it means they caught the bug and want to continue this new hobby at home.
All my spoon carving courses are suitable for beginners or those with experience looking to develop their skills. Visit Eventbrite for dates and venues: Spoon Carving Courses
I can also teach a private carving course for you and your friends, email stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com for more info.
An axe is a fabulous tool to work with for carving green wood spoons. It can work quickly, efficiently and accurately to create a spoon blank for finishing with knife work.
During my spoon carving courses, we spend time carving with axes so participants build up their confidence and skills.
All my spoon carving courses are suitable for beginners or those with experience looking to develop their skills. Visit Eventbrite for dates and venues Spoon Carving Courses
I can also teach a private carving course for you and your friends, email stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com for more info.
