Steve Tomlin Crafts

Midsummer Mowing

Posted on June 21, 2013 by stevetomlin

It’s gloriously sunny in Kendal and the longest day so no excuse for not going out to cut some grass. Actually, my excuse is that I’ve got a little job mowing a wildflower bank in one of the gardens here which is an absolute pleasure to do, especially since it’s just a short walk from home.

The owner contacted me last year after getting my details from the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and hoped I could cope with their bank which is too steep for the lawnmower and awkward with other tools but perfect for the scythe. Working on a slope like this I lowered both handgrips for more comfort and mowed at an angle to the gradient – you can see the direction from my windrows. Twenty minutes to mow and thirty-five to clear away the grass but why hurry when the work is this much fun?

Posted in Scytherspace | Tagged cumbria, garden, scythe, UK, wildflower | Leave a comment

The Mower

Posted on June 21, 2013 by stevetomlin

My friend Susan brought me back pictures of scythes from her recent visit to the newly revamped Tate Britain. Among them was The Mower by Sir Hamo Thornycroft. Made at the end of the 1800s it depicts a British labourer in his workng clothes with his English, straight-shafted scythe and whetstone carried on his belt. Trying to imagine myself working with his scythe (while Susan commented on the similarities of my and his hats) something didn’t seem quite right..

Take a look at the image from the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, where they have the life-size bronze and suddenly you see that the snath is actually curved slightly though in the opposite sense from most English snaths, ie with the top of it curving upwards. I’m still tryling to understand it and the positioning of the nibs as the lower one seems turned far too downwards but I wonder if it’s all artistic licence on Mr Thorncroft’s part. A trip to Liverpool may be in order..

Posted in Scytherspace, scythes | Tagged art, British, English, mower, scythe, snath | Leave a comment

Scything two orchards and more tussocks

Posted on June 20, 2013 by stevetomlin

I was back to Bradwell Community Orchard in Derbyshire last weekend with another beginners scythe course. I taught a group there last year and it was great to see Ellie, Andy and Sally again, mowing well but keen to have a refresher. I also enjoyed seeing how much the grass had improved after being cut last year, much less rank and thatching.

Also on the course were Sarah from Sheffield Wildlife Trust and Alex from Eastern Moors who are both interested to start using the scythe to manage areas for conservation. I’ve taught several people from different Wildlife Trust groups now, glad to see they are taking it on board. Everyone made great progress and we cleared about half the orchard. Jeremy lives just in the next village so took his scythe kit home by bike to use in his own orchard.

There were a few short showers but mostly only long enough to put your waterproofs on before it stopped again. At lunchtime we sat in the sun and Andy treated us to a reading of the poem from the ‘Notes on the use of the Austrian scythe’ booklet which comes with my beginners scythe kit.
Taxman by George MacKay Brown
Seven scythes leaned against the wall.
Beard upon golden beard
The last barley load
Swayed through the yard
The girls uncorked the ale.
Fiddle and feet moved together
Then between stubble and heather
A horseman rode.
After the course I went with Sally to her own patch of ground as she’d been struggling with cutting the coarse grass and tussocks there and had managed to bend a couple of the D-rings out of shape. Her tussocks weren’t as bad as at St Nicholas Fields so I was quickly able to show her how to deal with it with less energy or potential for damage to the scythe.

I was staying with my mate Robin Wood down the road in Edale. On Sunday we got a couple of scythe kits together and took them over to Edale Orchard. The grass there too is much sweeter than when I taught there last year and full of buttercups at the moment. A few more hours of pleasant mowing in good company, what a treat for my day off.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged Derbyshire, learn to, mowing, orchard, poem, scythe, scythe course, tussocks, UK, Wildlife Trust | Leave a comment

Tough grass no problem for St Nick's

Posted on June 14, 2013 by stevetomlin

A midweek course this week at St Nicholas Fields in York, a nature reserve and sustainability centre hidden in the city. Their centre manager Jonathan came and took part in last years Scythe Teachers’ course in Somerset but decided to call me in to train some of the other staff as well as keen locals.

The centre is a former landfill site which was capped with clay in 1993 and, as a result, their meadows are still establishing. Part of the land is dominated by large tussocks of tough grass which had been defeating the volunteers and making them wonder if they’d have to resort to mechanical means.
Although I was confident we could cut the tussocks, it’s not the place to start learning to scythe so after setting up we spent the morning with some more pleasant mowing in a lighter meadow. This gave folk the chance to learn and develop the easy ‘tai-chi’ style of mowing that I teach in some long but softer grasses. There were a couple of left-handers this time which gives me chance to develop my teaching too. If you’re cutting in a mowing team then everyone scythes right-handed but when sharpening it’s usually better to switch to your dominant hand. After I’d showed everyone the principles I worked more with Jennifer to see what worked best I’ll then refine these methods for use on future courses.

I saved the tussocks for the afternoon once everyone had got comfortable with the idea of slicing through the grass with the scythe. Trying to chop your way through such tough vegetation is only going to tire you out with the risk of damaging the scythe too whereas, with a simple adjustment to how you hold and use the scythe, they become much easier and a few people even said it was their favourite part of the day.

Although not officially on the course, I also sneaked in a very quick mowing lesson for Ivana who had organised the day and kindly hosted me in York the night before. A native Czech, she’d told me about her father scything and making hay when she was a child but had never been allowed to mow herself and was keen to try. My hunch that all those years of watching and absorbing the techniques paid off and she took to it like a natural.

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged beginners, course, learn, scythe, scythe course, tough grass, tussocks, workshop, Yorkshire | Leave a comment

Picard Peening Hammer update

Posted on June 13, 2013 by stevetomlin

Several people during the peening sessions I was teaching asked me about the Picard Peening hammer which I reviewed on the blog. I’m pleased to say that my friend Richard Brown ordered one from Vaughans and posted this picture of himself reflected in the polished face of his new hammer. Good to know they were true to their word and now provide the hammers ready to peen.

You can order the Picard hammer here http://scytherspace.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/picard-peening-hammer/, please mention my name when you do.

Posted in peening & sharpening, Scytherspace | Tagged hammer, peen, peening, scythe | Leave a comment

Scythe Champions 2013

Posted on June 11, 2013 by stevetomlin

After a 6 year reign by Simon Damant, the UK has a new Scythe Champion. On a beautiful day 28 competitors took part in the mowing finals at the Somerset Scythe Festival 2013. Simon made a time of 1:35 with a good quality finish but it wasn’t enough in the judges opinion to beat George Montague of Somerset who cleared his 5x5m plot in just 60 seconds, albeit with a lower quality.

In the women’s competition Andi Rickard once again held on to her crown for the 4th year running. Newcomer Jo Green of London took 2nd place and will surely be back next year to challenge Andi and is a name to watch out for in future.

I had my own particular reason to be extra pleased with George’s victory as he had asked me to peen his competition blade in readiness for the race and I spent an hour hammering the edge to go-faster sharpness. This is common practise in competitions on the continent and increasingly among mowers in the UK who seek out expert peening for the competitions. It’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to raising the cup myself.

Posted in peening & sharpening, scythe festivals & events, Scytherspace | Tagged 2013, competition, festival, peening, scythe, somerset, winner | Leave a comment

Wooden Spoons at the Hilton Hotel

Posted on June 11, 2013 by stevetomlin

At the beginning of the month I was invited to the Royal Warrantholders Annual Luncheon to receive my award as a Queen Elizabeth Craft Scholar and present my work in the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane in London. QEST is the charitable arm of the Royal Warrantholders Association so this is a chance for the members to meet this years scholars and see the fruits of their funding.

It was a long day but lots of fun and brilliant for me to meet the other scholars and see their work which covers a huge range of different crafts. The standard of work is extremely high and everyone there is passionate about what they do. Follow the link to find out more about this years QEST scholars.
After setting up our displays and receiving our certificates from the President, Jenifer Emery we sat down to a fantastic luncheon in the Hilton’s ballroom. The lamb was delicious and we were well look-after by our friendly and knowledgeable wine waiter!
I had the extra pleasure of being seated next to Jenny Connolly whose family generously sponsored my scholarship as part of a trust set up in memory of their son Adam, also a talented woodworker.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, Uncategorized | Tagged green wood, London, QEST, spoon | 3 Comments

Spoon Carving in Scotland

Posted on May 31, 2013 by stevetomlin

I’m teaching loads of courses at the moment (woodworking or scything) which is getting me out and about around the area. Over the bank holiday I went up to Dalbeattie at the request of Gavin Phillips to teach spoon carving at his Shed Therapy centre.
Lots of fun and laughter, particularly as I decided to let the group give names for the different knife techniques I was teaching to make them more memorable. Some of the names were very inventive!

Cecilia came along with her mum who came in to see what we were up to and ended up with a knife in her hand. She’d arrived just as we were learning the ‘tit push’ (more usually ‘chest expander’) cut which is one of the more difficult grasps to learn but she did a fine job with it before heading back outside to the sunshine.

We progressed through axe techniques, straight knife grips and hollowing with the hook tool before we got on to carving spoons on sunday afternoon. There was still enough time for us to talk about sharpening and look at tool edges and the effects of different sharpening methods under the microscope.

It was a glorious weekend and a lovely way to spend it with good company; the scenery on the drive home made me wish I’d brought my running shoes.

Posted in greenwood courses, spoon carving, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged course, green wood, greenwoodwork course, learn, Scotland | 3 Comments

100 Scythe Students!

Posted on May 31, 2013 by stevetomlin

Yesterday the 100th person learned to scythe with me. Counting the people I’ve taught at the Somerset and Cumbrian Scythe Festivals and while abroad it’s a lot more than that but now 100 people are mowing after coming on one of my scythe courses. This course was for a group at Grinton in the North Yorkshire Moors who want to look after their churchyard, I’ll write more about it once I’ve all the photos. Since they booked as a group I can’t say which of them is the 100th but I’m sure they’ll be happy to share the glory.

What I’m most proud of is that, in all those hours of training I’ve only ever had one student cut themselves. Safety is a priority for me on courses and I’ve developed a set of methods and systems for beginners to use so they are safe when working with and handling the scythe. I’m very precise in my teaching to ensure you learn those methods during the course and they become habit. The single accident happened when a student decided not to follow my method for sharpening the scythe and promptly nicked his finger. Fortunately it only needed a plaster and he quickly returned to working in the way I’d shown. It was a good lesson for me and the other students that day that my method is effective. I’m a bit disappointed to have had even that tiny mishap but students since then say it sounds much more plausible and impressive to have used only one plaster and they might not have believed if I’d said none!

Posted in scythe courses, Scytherspace | Tagged beginner, course, learn scything, learn to mow, learn to scythe, scythe, scythe course | Leave a comment

Have scythes, will travel

Posted on May 28, 2013 by stevetomlin

As the spring finally arrives and the grass suddenly starts to grow many people get the idea that they’d like to learn to scythe, and quite right too. Lightweight, efficient, quiet and fun I’ve extolled the virtues of the scythe here often enough.
Perhaps you’re thinking that Cumbria is a long way to go for a course to learn scything and, what you’d prefer is for a gang of mowers to turn up and help you cut your own meadow while you learn at the same time. Brilliant idea, I can help.
Throughout the summer as well as my own scythe courses here in Cumbria I teach people to scythe for groups and organisations around the country. They organise the students, either from their regular volunteer list or by advertising the course locally and I come to provide the tuition and kits for the course. As students aren’t paying to travel or for accomodation in Cumbria (though the Lake District is a lovely place to visit, even without any mowing) it often works out to be a very good deal for you all. In addition I can tailor the course to the mowing conditions of your own land and you get the work done!
This year I’m off to York, Bradwell in the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales and Aberdeen to name a few; I’ve put the full list up on my events page. As you can see, there’s not many dates left so if you are interested in some scythe training for your group please email me to discuss it.
To get an idea of what’s involved you can read about the courses I ran for groups at Bradwell, Edale, and Forres last year.

Posted in Scytherspace, Uncategorized | Tagged course, learn, mowing, Scotland, scythe, scything, Steve Tomlin, Yorkshire | Leave a comment