Steve Tomlin Crafts

Scythe Peening Day 2016

Posted on March 31, 2016 by stevetomlin

I sold my first beginners scythe kit of the season today to Nick who has a 3 acre wildflower meadow near Ingleton in Yorkshire. Like the first wildflowers germinating and snow on the Cumbrian hills this is a sure sign that spring is here which can only mean one thing: it’s time to get your scythe ready and join in with International Peening Day on Sunday 3rd April 2016!
As always, Peening Day is a reminder to get your scythe out of it’s winter home to oil, clean and, most of all, sharpen it before the grass starts growing in earnest. Peening is the process of hammering the edge of the blade to reshape it before sharpening. It’s a special skill almost solely used for Austrian and other Continental style scythes.
Because (almost) every scyther in the world will be peening on that day it means that it’s easy to get together as a group and learn with someone more experienced there to help out although you’re just as involved if you’re peening alone.
This year the North West England event will be at Broadrake in Yorkshire – it’s free but please contact them directly to let them know you’re coming.
Will you be peening on International Peening Day? Let me know in the comments. If you do, please send me photos, whether you’re peening alone or with friends and if you’re posting on social media use the hashtags #LearntoScythe #PeeningDay

Posted in peening & sharpening, Scytherspace | Tagged 2016, IPD, peen, peening, scythe, sharpen | Leave a comment

Scythe Improvers' Course at Scythe Fair

Posted on March 27, 2016 by stevetomlin

I am once again pleased to be part of the Scythe Improvers’ course at the Scythe Festival 2016 in Somerset. This will be two days of expert tuition to hone your skills and take your mowing and peening to a new level. Stay on for the Festival itself on 12th June to see the British scything competition, or even enter yourself!
To book, email Simon at scythes@myphone.coop tel 01297 561359

Why Struggle?
Learn how to get your blades sharper and to scythe expertly
at the
IMPROVERS’ COURSE
at the
West Country Scythe Fair

Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June 2016
for
• 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.

Over two days, you will get personal attention from three of the most experienced teachers in the UK:
Christiane Laganda, scythe and yoga teacher from Austria;
Phil Batten master peener and scythe competition winner from Scythe Cymru;
and Steve Tomlin author of the definitive scythe manual Learn to Scythe.

The course covers: correct set up of the tool; your mowing stance and style; sharpening, peening and repairing blades; teaching and organizing volunteers and novices.

The venue is at Thorney Lakes. Muchelney, near Langport http://www.thorneylakes.co.uk/
The cost is £125 for individuals, £150 for organizations, £80 concession for unwaged. Meals are provided. Camping on site is available. Includes live Gypsy Jazz from the Gaulois Brothers on Saturday evening.

Nicole Clough of Bucks Berks and Oxon Wildlife Trust who did this course two years ago writes:
I came away with a far deeper understanding of the scythe and my technique, as well as the tools and course structure to teach others in a safe and efficient manner. It has revolutionised our team at BBOWT, and we now use scythes for a great many of our tasks. As a result our management is more wildlife sensitive and volunteer friendly. A number of my colleagues have now also done the course, with more booked on in the future. This has enabled us to train in the region of 50 staff and volunteers across our three counties in just 2 years. Great for wildlife, great for people.

To book, email Simon at scythes@myphone.coop tel 01297 561359

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

Bowl carving workshop in Edinburgh

Posted on March 5, 2016 by stevetomlin

Teaching people to use tools and seeing them increase their confidence and skill is the highlight of running craft courses, whether people are learning spoon carving or scything.
Last weekend I spent two fantastic days teaching a bowl carving course at New Caledonian Woodlands in Edinburgh, Scotland for one of their re-skilling workshops.

The group were a good mix of abilities with some complete beginners, some with more experience of green wood working and my friend Rolf of Created Woodcrafts who has now been on all my courses! Everyone rose to the challenge and it was very fulfilling for me to be able to teach the skills and then watch them being developed. It’s amazing how even a few hours tuition can make a huge difference in how people use new tools.
Axes, adzes, knives, spokeshaves and gouges were all put to good use with each student creating unique and distinctive bowls while experimenting with shapes and techniques.

A terrific weekend where I also learned a lot as well as enjoying the lively atmosphere and good company.

Posted in carved bowls, greenwood courses, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged bowl carving, course, green wood, Scotland, workshop | Leave a comment

Learn to Scythe courses 2016

Posted on February 20, 2016 by stevetomlin

Dates are now set for my Learn to Scythe courses in 2016:
27th May & 16th July at Brigflatts nr Sedbergh, Cumbria – £80
Please email me stevetomlin8[at]gmail.com to book.
If you’re not already aware, the Austrian scythe is the ideal way to manage your land, whether it’s a meadow, orchard, allotment or garden. The scythe will cut and control grass, nettles, brambles, bracken, rushes, thistles and a whole lot more besides. It is quiet, relaxing, sustainable and fun – the students on my courses have to be forced to stop mowing at the end of the day!
My one-day Learn to Scythe course is a fully comprehensive training day for beginners or improvers. Scythe kits are provided which are also available to but on the day. During the course you will learn:

setting up the scythe to fit your body
ergonomic mowing technique
sharpening in the field
peening the edge
care and maintenance of your scythe.

I have been teaching since 2010 and have almost 15 years of mowing experience which combine to give you expert tuition in a fun, relaxed and safe atmosphere. Take a look at my blog to read about previous Learn to Scythe courses.
These dates have already begun to book to subscribers of my newsletter so if you would like to learn to scythe, don’t delay.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged 2016, Austrian, beginner, course, cumbria, learn scything, scythe | Leave a comment

Romanian rake maker video

Posted on February 14, 2016 by stevetomlin

Following the news of Viktor-basci’s death, this video has been uploaded to Youtube. It captures his craft and personality brilliantly, showing the tools and methods he used to make wooden hay rakes and scythe snaths by hand.

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace, wooden rakes | Tagged rake making, transylvania, video, wooden rakes | Leave a comment

Remembering Uncle Viktor

Posted on February 13, 2016 by stevetomlin

I received some sad news from Transylvania this week that Victor-basci (Uncle Viktor), the rake and scythe snath maker for the area around Gyimes, has died.
I visited the area in 2011 to take part in a Haymaking Festival organised by Attila Sárig and the Pogány-havas Microregional Association to promote the region and it’s wonderful landscape, traditions and biodiversity.
During the week of scything and hay making, the visit to Viktor-basci was a real highlight, visiting another woodworker and seeing his methods of working. Despite the language barrier, he entertained and informed and clearly enjoyed having visitors come and see how he worked. As the festival has gained attention, more people from the UK scythe scene have taken part and there are now rakes and scythes made by Viktor-basci around the country.
Read more about our visit on my blog here and the rest of the hay making festival here.
One element of the festival is to highlight how fragile these landscapes and cultures are as farming methods change and people leave the land to pursue opportunities in the towns. For me, Viktor’s passing is a clear reminder just how fragile some of those elements are and that skills and crafts can be lost almost overnight. I know Attila had been learning some of the rake and snath making from Viktor ad hope that he or someone else in the community will be able to carry on the craft and provide these beautiful and important tools for the future.
This years Haymaking Festival will run from 7-14 August 2016 and is highly recommended. Find out more at http://www.treasuresoftransylvania.org/haymeadow-biodiversity/hay-making-festival

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace, wooden rakes | Tagged hay making, scythe, transylvania, wooden rakes | Leave a comment

Scythe courses in Caithness, Scotland

Posted on October 8, 2015 by stevetomlin

I’ve just got back from a fantastic trip to the far north of the mainland, teaching a Learn to Scythe course in Scotland for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust at two sites in Caithness. The Trust has been establishing wildflower meadows to encourage the bees and wanted to learn how to manage the meadow through scything. During our work at Newtonhill near Wick we found an old nest of the moss carder bee.
I was a little bit nervous that there would be little grass to cut or terrible weather to contend with but the wildflower bee meadows were excellent, the sun shone beautifully and I had a great time teaching mowing and how to sharpen and peen a scythe to some lovely volunteers from the area.
Thanks to everyone who took part and made me feel so welcome.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian scythe, bumblebee, Caithness, conservation, learn to scythe, meadow, Scotland | Leave a comment

Scythe apprentice

Posted on September 24, 2015 by stevetomlin

Today I did the aftermath cut on the garden wildflower bank which I cut. This year the grass was really short but this cut will help make the sward is clean next year and reduces the soil fertility to encourage wild flowers.
I took my friend Sue with me who I taught to scythe a few weeks ago and wanted to learn how to scythe on a slope. This isn’t a very steep slope but it’s enough to learn on and the garden situation meant there was the extra challenge of producing a neat cut on short grass.

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged bank, garden, scythe, slope, wildflower | Leave a comment

A weekend of scything

Posted on September 6, 2015 by stevetomlin

What a fantastic weekend to be teaching people how to scythe, the weather felt like summer at last and I had two lovely groups who’d come to Cumbria from across England and Scotland for my Learn to Scythe courses at Sprint Mill.

With most of the fields cut for hay several weeks ago, we were using the scythes to mow some of the headlands and edges that the tractor had left in order to tidy the fields and make those areas into hay by hand. This is a great use for the scythe and mean the students were contributing to the running of the smallholding as well as learning new skills.

The session on sharpening the scythe was slightly upstaged by the goats who insisted on hanging out with us!

The orchard grass we mowed on friday was being turned and Edward gave us a demonstration of the hand hay baler so we got to see the complete process of making hay.

A terrific couple of days mowing in good company and a huge sense of satisfaction at 15 new mowers heading out to manage their land quietly and efficiently with the scythe.

Posted in hay making, scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian, course, hand baler, hay, learn scything, scythe, workshop | Leave a comment

Making wooden hay rakes video – North West England

Posted on September 2, 2015 by stevetomlin

In a couple of weeks I’ll be at the Beamish Show of Agriculture, making and selling wooden hay rakes. Here’s a lovely video on the making of wooden hay rakes, from the Sam Hanna Collection, look out for the oak swill basket being used to hold the tines.

Film No. 5250
Title: OLD ENGLISH CRAFTS; MAKING HAY RAKES LANCASHIRE TYPE
Producer: Sam Hanna
Date: *1966-67/70
colour , sound (sep), 10 min. 20 sec:

Filmed in 1966 the film is for me as much about the shift to mechanisation as about hay rake making. The commentator explains that “as a hand craft, rake making belongs to the past” and “the machine takes out the laborious task of using hand tools.” I’m sure they did make a lot more rakes per day but it’s surely ironic that “hay rake making as a hand craft was killed by mechanisation and revived by the use of mechanised tools.” I wonder how many other men were put out of an income and how the few now running that machinery felt in the day to day work. It’s summed up in another classic line:

“..the hand brace and bit has been substituted by a boring machine.”

I make similar rakes, as well as the southern split-stail version. They’re terrible to send through the post so I sell them on my Learn to Scythe courses and at fairs around the country. As a result I don’t sell many but I’m glad to be keeping some of the craft alive and making a few by hand, rainy days.
alive and making a few by hand, rainy days.

“You come away from the great factory saddened, as if the chief end of man were to make pails; but, in the case of the country man who makes a few by hand, rainy days, the relative importance of human life and of pails is preserved.”

–Thoreau: The Journal October 19th, 1858

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, wooden rakes | Tagged hay, rake, traditional, video, wooden | Leave a comment