I often get emails and questions from people asking if the scythe can cope with cutting grass in what they think are difficult situations. The answer’s pretty much always ‘yes’ so I thought nothing of it when I was invited to teach a day of bespoke tuition for Mike and Rachel who said that the mowing on their smallholding was “challenging”.
On the day we were joined by their friend Clive and the four of us spent the morning setting up the scythes and mowing their meadow in the sunshine with fabulous views of Ribblehead Viaduct, Ingleborough and Whernside.
Then, in the afternoon, came the challenge; some rocks in the lower part of the meadow which they wanted to clear around to benefit the soil but so they could appreciate the rocks themselves. What fun! I showed them how the scythe can be used in confined spaces and methods to clear right up to the rocks without damaging the blade or rocks.
My Learn to Scythe courses this year have been incredibly popular and booked up long in advance so, to try and accomodate the demand, I have organised an additional course on
This year I was again asked to peen for George and the practise was formally recognised by our governing body (ie Simon Fairlie) who not only acknowledged it’s acceptance at this years Scythe Festival but awarded Stuart Aylett with a medal 10 years after he was wrongly disqualified from the first scythe competition after it was discovered that Peter Vido had peened his blade for him.
Elegant and practical, this spoon is designed for cooking as well as serving. Carved from a crooked timber the shape makes best use of the trees natural form and strength. The slim handle has a hook to keep the handle safely up out of your food.
Wow, the 10th Somerset Scythe Festival brought the usual combination of good friends, sharp blades and petrol-free mowing to a sunny field in Somerset. The weather was hot, hot, hot and this year the competition was hotly contested as well.
When I teach people how to mow I show them a method of sharpening the scythe in the field by kneeling down and supporting the scythe on the ground. It’s much safer than to learn sharpening standing up and also has additional benefits which give better accuracy but is slightly trickier for left-handed students. On a recent day of individual scythe tuition, I took some photos of Jen demonstrating the method for left-handed mowers.
A distinctive and classically proportioned serving spoon.The bowl is particularly well-cranked to allow serving from a deep bowl or pan while the hook keeps the handle safely up out of your food.
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