I’ve just bought another two man crosscut saw, this one is 6ft long and looks like it has Champion teeth. I love the reason for selling:
One rare vintage two man cross cut saw about 6foot long
could be resharpened and used again or used for display
i bought it to turn into a shower curtain rail but my partner said big fat NO…. and its been sat in shed ever since collection only
A friend picked it up for me so I don’t know what condition it’s in. It was a bargain so I’m happy whatever.
It’s unusual to see old pictures of women mowing so this great photo merits it’s own post. Note that she’s holding the snath by the shaft it’s made for someone taller than her and there’s no cradle or bow on the scythe so the girl gathering will be tidying the sheaves as she collects.
Woman mowing wheat with a scythe in Hesslar, Germany, August 1, 1946.
Photo: Walter Sanders, from http://www.toseftaonline.org/blog/
Pictures of a couple more birch bark boxes that I finished during the holidays. These have bases and lids carved from green willow which is a lovely wood to work with, it was in just the right state and carved really easily and crisply.
After the first box I made I sat and thought about the different stages; what was difficult, what took the most time, what would I like to improve of the design and final product? Asking these questions was really useful and, along with looking at pictures of lots of other bark work, these latest two boxes were much quicker to make and turned out better too. With any new craft, it’s not until you make a few more items that you start to learn the techniques and what are the most important aspects of how to make them.
These latest two boxes are for sale, to order please use the order form.
The first box has a rebated lid and handle inspired by the spoons of Fritiof Runhall. It is 80x90mm, £28 +£5 p&p.
This box has an alternative design of interlocking tabs, 72x95mm, £25 + £5 p&p
Eight months after the fire and I’m still getting my tool kit back together. It’s interesting to see which have been the first to be repaired and which have waited longer. Partly this is down to what I’ve been making this year.
My Gransfors carving axe was top of the list for repair and it’s the one thing I really felt lost without it, the weight and shape of it just suits my and my carving so it got rehandled and sharpened before anything else. The sheath is made from oak bark tanned leather from J & FJ Baker of Devon.
I do much more carving these days than turning so my pole-lathe tools were further down the list and I’ve just finished handling and sharpening them up over the xmas break . The handles are simply carved from hazel in the round. They’ll never be hit with a mallet so don’t need to be strong. I find the texture of a carved surface gives me better grip and the different patterns make it easier to pick up the right tool from a rack.
Still a few more things to do, particularly my chisels which will have ash handles turned to fit the original ferrules – hence needing the turning tools. Make a tool to make a tool..
A quick post to share a picture I found from the trip Christiane and I made to Gyimes in Transylvania this summer for a Haymaking Festival. One morning we got up early and walked up the hill to where our host Attila grazed his cows and we all tried our hand at milking and watched the cheese being made. All this fitted in with learning about the traditional management of the meadows and their importance for the small-scale farming that took place in the region.
What caught my eye though was this amazing stool made from a softwood tree. I don’t know if it’s a traditional design or something that a sharp-eyed forester spotted while cutting firewood. Either way, I think it’s genius.
I’m in Austria this week and have just attended the Sensenverein Osterreich (Austrian Scythe Association) end of year dinner which Christiane Lechner and I were invited to by Walter Blumauer.
The association has 220 members of which 31 turned out to enjoy the dinner and hear reports by chairman Hansjörg Rinner and treasurer Walter Blumauer. This year 19 courses were run with the members also attending and demonstrating at 14 other events. An interesting development is that the running of the scythe shop has been handed over to Silvanus, a company which deals principally with forestry equipment. This will be in conjunction with the association, who advise on products and take a commission from sales. This year 500 scythes were sold.
Hansjörg also unveiled the new peening jig which has been developed along with the Schroeckenfux scythe works. Although the current peening jig is a good tool for shaping the scythe blade edge it has some shortcomings and this new model will shortly replace it. We were lucky enough to be sitting at the same table as Adolf Staufer and Hubert Weingartner who both worked their whole lives in scythe production and are hugely knowledgeable. I enjoyed watching how they both examined the new jig and discussed it’s design with Adolf. I hope to get my hands on one to try out and review.
Scythe teachers in Austria all go through a training and assessment programme run by the Sensenverein. This is quite a testing process with teachers expected to have a high skill level and be able so set up and use the huge number of different snath-blade combinations which exist in Austria. This year 7 new teachers were trained, mostly from Germany and South Tirol. During my brief conversation with Hansjörg Rinner we talked about teaching mowing and he expressed his interest in me being the first englishman to take this training.
Erwin Zachl
Over the winter, when there’s not doing so much scything I’ve been organising the NW Scythe group (“The Gang” as Edward calls us) in coppicing some neglected hazel at Haybridge Nature Reserve. When you’re cutting in amongst the stems, a pruning saw is the thing to have and I’m a big fan of the Silky Oyakata saw which I’ve been using for years but suddenly couldn’t find. I had a spare blade for it though so decided to make this fixed handle from, fittingly, a piece of hazel. The original has turned up again but this is still a handy tool and a much cheaper way to get a top quality pruning saw.
At the other end of the scale, I’ve been cleaning up and refurbishing my two-man crosscut saws. I bought a couple recently and have been waiting for an opportunity to try them out which came when Ian & I started taking down a dead eucalyptus in his garden. This saw is 4ft6in long with ‘champion’ teeth – a combination of wide almond-shaped cutting teeth and rakers to clear the sawdust which was designed particularly for hard timbers. Either working together or singly with one of the handles removed, it’s a brilliant tool; the long cutting stroke and weight of the blade make a good strong action that cuts efficiently through the logs – more fun than a chainsaw.
The pictures from this years mowing fortnight in the Czech Republic are now online here. Great memories for me of the week that Christiane and I spent there, mowing and making hay with the other volunteers in a special conservation area with breathtaking scenery. Read the full post about the our mowing week at the 31st Kosení in Czech Republic.
Here’s a small selection:
A few more new kitchenware designs and ladles photographed and online now. To order, please send an email or use my order form.
This is a special spoon for me anyway, you can read why here and my own version is from plum which I carved in the Czech Republic. These first half dozen were carved in the Brantwood Studio, home of John Ruskin.
Cherry 8½” long £14
Wooden spreader are popular in Scandinavia, where folk use a lot more wood in their homes. These spreaders fit nicely into the hand and make a great job of putting butter, jam or whatever you fancy on your morning toast.
Cherry 7″ long approx. £5
A dramatic long serving spoon carved from a naturally curved cherry branch. Lots of deep coloured heartwood in the bowl and on the underside of the handle. All the ladles and servers are one-offs and this one sold within 2 days of me putting it up online – order quick when you see something you like!
13½” long £26 Sold
Another ladle carved from a curved branch but this time a big one giving a wide bowl and a strong sweep. This ladle was much admired by Fritiof Runhall, the swedish carver who taught the spooncarving masterclass I attended in October.
10″ long 2¾” wide £38
When I was living out in the sticks of North Devon, peening my scythe was never a problem. The nearest neighbours lived over a mile away and I could hammer away to my heart’s content. Now I live in a terraced house on the edge of town and I’ve got to be a bit more aware of how much everyone else will want to hear the repetitive sound of hammer on steel.
During the summer, Christiane and I were looking for a way for us both to peen together; partly just because we enjoy working together and also so we could work more quickly through the pile of blades we were preparing for a course.
After a bit of thought, we took a walk through the woods behind where I live, found a fallen tree and fitted the peening anvils into the trunk. Very solid and stable, the tree made a perfect base for peening and it was a lovely setting to be in among the woods with the light coming through the leaves. A few dog walkers came over to investigate so we also got a chance to spread the word about the scythe renaissance as well.
