Steve Tomlin Crafts

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

Harvest scythe team & ancient wheats

Posted on August 31, 2015 by stevetomlin

You can barely look in the media these days without seeing a scythe somewhere. On BBC1 Countryfile last night my mate John Letts of Lammas Fayre Flour was talking about his ancient wheat crop while Simon Fairlie, Gill Barron and Rafael harvested the crop by scythe. Watch it here on iPlayer

If you’ve never understood the staggered formation of a scythe team or the beauty of working together in this way, check out this screenshot.

Posted in cereals, Scytherspace | Tagged Countryfile, harvest, scythe, wheat | Leave a comment

Learn to Scythe book feedback

Posted on August 27, 2015 by stevetomlin

I’m really pleased that my ‘Learn to Scythe’ book has already been getting lots of positive feedback this summer.
The book is now included as part of my scythe kit, meaning you’re equipped with simple, clear instructions if you’re learning to use an Austrian scythe on your own. For students of my Learn to Scythe courses the book makes a brilliant practical reference to support what you learn during the workshop.
Buy your copy from my website here
We text White text White text White text White text White text White text White

Very satisfying is the great response I’ve had from scythe teachers around the world:

“The best book out there to help you use a scythe, whether you are starting from scratch or looking for a refresher after a course”
Phil Batten – scythe teacher, Wales
“A fantastic mower’s field guide. Thanks for writing a simple, get-up-and-mow manual”
Tony Robbie – Bladerunners, Australia

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged Austrian, book, learn scything, learn to scythe, review, scythe feedback | Leave a comment

More than spoons at Spoonfest 2015

Posted on August 10, 2015 by stevetomlin

My trip to Edale for Spoonfest 2015 was extended to a whole fortnight this year. I spent the actual weekend busy with teaching spoon carving to beginners and improvers with not much time for photos. Here are some of my highlights, which you may have missed.
The reason for my long stay was a course on ash splint basketry which I organised with April Stone Dahl from Wisconsin. On saturday afternoon April gave a talk and demonstration of pounding, splitting and weaving ash splint to a packed hall. There’ll be more on ash splint and the course in upcoming blog posts.

The Spoonfest scything is gradually becoming a regular event. Jarrod & April from the US and Jan Harm ter Brugge from the Netherlands wanted to learn to scythe using my Continental scythes. English leather worker Ruth Pullan came to try out some longer blades while Fritiof Runhall from Sweden mowed with a Swedish-style foraged scythe which he simply cut from the hedge on the way to Edale Orchard. A great way to relax after the festival and pass on the skills.

Finally, it’s always a treat to catch up with Nigel Leach to discuss ideas and see his latest designs. This year I managed to convince him to give a talk and demonstration of the beautiful spoon drawings he uses to design his distinctive work.

Posted in scythe festivals & events, spoon carving, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged 2015, scythe, spoonfest | Leave a comment

Are you strong enough to learn to scythe?

Posted on July 19, 2015 by stevetomlin

The Poldark circus was brilliant for promoting the idea of scything to a huge audience and I’m glad that ‘Poldark’ is now the refrence I most often hear when people see me with my scythe rather than ‘Death’ but I have had a few emails from potential students asking if they will be fit or strong enough to learn to scythe. After all, Poldark is a big man and was out of breath so surely it must be hard work?

The answer is, of course you are strong enough. Using a scythe is work and can feel difficult at the start since you’re learning new skills but the scythe is very light and the weight of the blade is carried on the ground while you work. If the grass gets heavier, you simply cut less with each slice, keeping the work easy so that you can carry on.
Here’s a few photos from recent courses; I have taught people of all shapes, sizes and ages; with dodgy knees or bad backs and even a blind man – all of them found the scythe to be relaxing, gentle and addictive!

Technique is actually far more important than strength and on my courses I’ll show you how to use your leg muscles and a movement with tai-chi elements to move the scythe for more efficient mowing as well as how to set up the scythe correctly so it’s all comfortable, meaning you can relax while you work. The nicest mowers I know seem to dance through the meadow while the grass falls out of their way and I often tell students that I’m training them to still be scything when they’re in their 80’s, I hope I will be.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged course, Poldark, scythe, tai-chi | Leave a comment

Learn to Scythe for Wildlife Trust

Posted on July 17, 2015 by stevetomlin

Another mowing day at Bell Sykes farm teaching Kim and Rebecca from the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside. I’ve taught wardens and volunteers from various Wildlife Trust offices around the country and it’s always great when officers from new areas want to learn how to scythe and start using it with volunteers in their conservation work. Kim and Rebecca work on urban sites so that will be even more exciting, we need more scythes in our cities and towns!

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged conservation, course, lancashire, learn, Manchester, Merseyside, scythe, volunteers | Leave a comment

Learn to scythe at Bell Sykes

Posted on July 10, 2015 by stevetomlin

Two glorious days at Bell Sykes farm, Slaidburn teaching a Learn to Scythe course for the Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust.

Bell Sykes is the Coronation Meadow for Lancashire and has just the most beautiful meadows with around 90 recorded species which are a delight to scythe and perfect for learning to mow.

Two days means we had time to relax, talk about seed propogation and meadow management and enjoy a guided walk. Really interesting to see was the contrast between these two fields; a change in management and the addition of seed through spreading green hay is the difference between either side of the wall.

The extra day also gave us more time to practise mowing and practical session on peening the scythe blade which is really valuable for beginners to gain confidence in learning to peen and maintain their scythe.

Thanks to Peter & Linda for fantastic hospitality and my students who made a brilliant team and got the meadow finished for haymaking.
I will be teaching a one-day Learn to Scythe course at Bell Sykes on Thursday 16th July, contact the Forest of Bowland AONB office on 01200 448000 or email sarah.robinson@lancashire.gov.uk

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Coronation Meadow, course, lancashire, learn scything, learn to scythe | Leave a comment

Scythers & Haymakers wanted!

Posted on July 5, 2015 by stevetomlin

My friend Bill Lloyd is looking for people to help mow and make hay on land at Millerbeck County Wildlife Site, Newby Bridge in Cumbria.
With two week-long sessions planned, this is a brilliant opportunity to practise your skills or stretch your scything if you’ve only ever mown in your garden. This isn’t a Learn to Scythe course but you will be bound to learn lots from working with other people. I’ll be there for part of both weeks, hoping to see some familiar faces from the courses I’ve run over the years.
Please contact Bill directly on 01539824008 or will@georgelloyd.com

Posted in scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged cumbria, hay making, scythe | Leave a comment