Steve Tomlin Crafts

Grizedale 'Save Lakeland's Forests' Rally

Posted on January 30, 2011 by stevetomlin

Today I stood in the cold with hundreds of others to show my concern over the government’s plan to sell off our nationally-owned forests.
The lively crowd was made up of a broad cross-section of society and it was great to see how many mountain bikers had interrupted their ride to cycle over and show their support.
Tim Farron (Lib Dem, Westmorland and Lonsdale) and John Woodcock (Labour, Barrow and Furness) both promised their support before symbolically tearing up a copy of the Government’s Public Bodies Reform bill. I can only assume my own MP, Rory Stewart (Conservative, Penrith and the Borders) was busy cooking sunday dinner. I will be writing to let him know he was missed.
No campaign is complete without a celebrity spokesperson. Unfortunately our chosen man, tv-and-radio’s Stuart Maconie, was away – ironically, recording a show for radio 4 celebrating the British countryside. Nevertheless, as a well-known keen walker he sent a rousing letter of support and spoke of his fears of a loss of access to the land which would contradict the recent Countryside and Rights of Way Act. He finished with a quote from G. K. Chesterton’s ‘The Secret People’

But we are the people of England; and we have not spoken yet.
Smile at us, pay us, pass us. But do not quite forget.

Let’s hope someone’s listening now we have spoken.

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Wensleydale Header

Posted on January 25, 2011 by stevetomlin

Scytherspace has a new header! I’ve been looking for ages for a picture to replace the generic one supplied by wordpress and put in a request during the Scythe Association meeting. My search had taken me through the pages of Hay in Art which is well worth a look through and provided some wonderful photos for use another day.
The pic above is from Richard Brown who writes:

..taken in a SSSI hay meadow off Wensleydale where I collect seeds each year and take my scythe for a trip out to mow a 5 x 5m of Dales grassland (lovely grass).

Thanks Richard.

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The Scythe Association is born

Posted on January 17, 2011 by stevetomlin

At the weekend 11 of us gathered in Oxford to discuss setting up an association to represent and further the use of the scythe in Britain & Ireland. The idea has been around since last summer when Simon Fairlie, who runs the Scythe Shop, suggested there is huge scope for more people to be mowing than at present.
After 5 hours of productive work the Scythe Association (of Britain and Ireland) was born with the aims to represent and promote the use of the scythe and communiction between mowers, land owners and other interested parties. Initially, a website is planned to provided information on the scythe, training courses and the events and festivals around the country.
It was an invigorating weekend bringing back memories of the summer past and excitement for the season to come, just what is needed during the winter when the warmth of the sun seems at times a long way off. I’m proud to say I was there, now begins the work of turning it into a reality.
With diverse backgrounds and interests we represented an interesting group and the discussion flowed freely covering topics from scythe use and manufacture to thatching, beekeeping, Captain Swing (more about him another time) and arctic exploration. Included in this was a sampling of blueberries preserved in polar bear oil – not for the faint-hearted!

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Willow bow for harvesting cereals

Posted on January 12, 2011 by stevetomlin

To follow up from Chris’ post here’s a couple of photos I took last autumn which really show the benefits of using a bow when cutting cereals. These were taken during our demonstration at Old Hall Farm in Cumbria. My bow, based on old photographs, is in two planes curving up along the snath and then over the blade. The height of the bow in relation to the crop is crucial and it takes some time to master but the photos show how effective it is in rowing up the stems.

without the bow - what a mess!

with the bow - ready to be sheaved

In Norfolk, the reed cutters made a willow bow or ‘boyle’ in one plane with a ‘pricker’ added which catches the stems. You can see it in this film of Eric Edwards (see 2:40 for the scythe, bow and pricker) who adds “Whatever you cut with the scythe, it cuts very very clean; a lovely precision thing really to use.”

Posted in cereals, Scytherspace, tools | Tagged bow, cereal, scythe, wheat | Leave a comment

Perfecting reed-cutting techniques in Norfolk

Posted on January 8, 2011 by stevetomlin

In mid-December a few of us met to continue trials cutting reed with an Austrian scythe, and to help with the management of a local nature reserve. This was generously hosted by Richard Brown, who has a house just yards from The Saltings, a small nature reserve which he has been involved with on behalf of Heacham Parish Council.
Last year Richard and Simon Damant added a simple willow bow to the snath and timed the cutting of 25 square metres of reed bed at 3’45”. The bow was based on the traditional Norfolk bow, and similar of course to that used to harvest cereal crops. However Richard fitted an angle bracket into the ring clamp, which made the bow easy to lash to, and stay rigid in use.
Gemma Suggitt and I joined the team this year to help perfect the setup. Inspiration comes from Eric Edwards, legendary marshman at How Hill in Norfolk. I first met Eric in 1988 and tried, with little success at that time, to cut reed with his English scythe fitted with a bow, or ‘boyle’ as he called it. There is a recent YouTube video (search for ‘Eric Edwards reed cutter’) of Eric describing, amongst other marshman’s tools, the scythe with boyle, and a ‘pricker’ attached to the boyle to help gather the reed in bundles.
Richard realised that the way to attach this pricker is to make a split in the bow, into which the sharpened peg is inserted. Lashing with string holds the pricker and split bow secure. The junction of the upper nib and the snath acts as a lashing point, where the square section of the wood makes it very firm. On a home-made straight eastern European snath, lashing at this point interferes with the grip. A hole drilled through the snath a few inches below to receive the lashing cord keeps it out of the way, and this setup worked just as well as the manufactured snath.
In Richard’s film you can see how well the pricker holds a handful of cut reed upright throughout the mowing stroke. As with mowing cereals it is important to keep the reed ordered if it is going to be bundled and used. Even if it is not to be used it helps with the gathering process. It remains to be seen whether a suitably placed pricker would work also on a cereal crop.

Posted in cereals, Scytherspace | Tagged bow, Eric Edwards, pricker, reed, video | Leave a comment

Garden Sculpture

Posted on December 11, 2010 by stevetomlin

Another week of steam bending and finishing for a wooden sculpture which has been commissioned for a private garden in London. Working with Charlie Whinney, six lengths of high-quality ash board have been curled and twisted into an organic ribbon which swoops in and out of a wall. The bending process is an exciting time; watching and maintaining water levels in steamers, wrestling the wood into shape against it’s natural tension and grabbing yet another clamp or screw to hold it in place. While we were working Nick and Cathy Stanley, from Witherslack Estate where the workshop is based, called in with their family and were treated to an impromptu display of this performance.
All went well which is due to a combination of careful planning, experience of working with the material and an understanding of what is possible. Then comes the much longer process of dealing with any splits, carving wedges to support the ends and give the impression of the wood diving into the wall, and of course sanding and finishing the piece.
We’ll be going down to install the piece in the new year and get chance to see it in situ.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged ash, sculpture, steam bending | Leave a comment

Peening bench/ station

Posted on November 22, 2010 by stevetomlin

At the peening workshop, I discussed the importance of having a good peening station for your work.
For consistent, accurate peening everything needs to be stable and solid with the force of the hammer blows being transmitted down to the ground. If you, the blade or the anvil are unsteady the whole process becomes a problem. Either set a good block of wood on the ground and bed it in well or, preferably, set it into the ground about 18″ so it’s not going anywhere. A more portable option is a peening bench which is held steady by the user’s weight. Whichever you choose, set the height so that the blade can be supported by your legs when it’s on the anvil.
I have been travelling to Austria to learn about mowing and this year had peening instruction from two experts
Here is the peening bench of Gerhard Wagner who was Chief Engineer at the Schroeckenfux scythe factory in Austria. Note how the anvil is turned so the scythe edge is aligned with his hammering arm. Also that the seat is comfortable; an important consideration if you’re going to be peening the blade regularly.

Adolf Staufer, who worked his whole life at the Pieslinger scythe factory before it closed, has a bench simply made from sawn softwood. See how he narrowed the top so the scythe tang doesn’t foul on the block. Adolf has two anvils here, one for peening and one for making repairs – more on that in another post.

Finally, an old peening bench similar to Gerhard’s. This design is very commonly seen in museums.

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Restored hewing axe

Posted on November 19, 2010 by stevetomlin

The last time I was visiting my girlfriend in Austria we found a hewing axe blade rusting away outside in a chopping block. It was in a pretty sorry state with no handle, rust and some horrendous dents and nicks in the blade. The owner told us he used it for splitting kindling and cutting bones and had no idea what it’s real purpose was. My enthusiasm must have won him over because in the end he said I could have it if I thought it would actually be any use to me.
It took few hours with the angle grinder to take away the nicks then files and whetstones to shape and sharpen the edge. The ash handle fits into a tapering sockets in the head and is offset from the line of the blade. This allows the user to work along the side of a beam without grazing their knuckles as they work.
I find a special sort of pride in rescuing and restoring old tools for use. There’s a feeling that I am honouring the work not only of the original toolmaker but all the craftspeople who used that tool until the time when it was discarded. Tools are important, they deserve respect.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, tools | Tagged hewing axe, restoring | Leave a comment

Plasma Cutting

Posted on November 19, 2010 by stevetomlin

I’m a hand tool worker and get a lot of pleasure and inspiration from working directly with simple tools and the material, there is a beauty and elegance in the traditional tools that were created by our predecessors to accomplish tasks effectively and efficiently. I strongly believe that using hand tools is a real and practical way of working today rather than some kind of anachronistic olde-worlde novelty.

I’ve done a bit of metal working in this way, mostly making specialist blades for tools and knives. I use a jewellers saw or hacksaw for cutting followed by hand filing to shape. It’s an enjoyable but time-consuming process which all adds to the personal value of the finished blade.

This week I was working in another world of metal work, cutting pictures in to steel sheets with a plasma cutter which shoots a jet of electric fire through the metal under air pressure. It’s incredibly easy and fast which for this project, where there were 30 pieces to make, is important but at the same time takes away some of the satisfaction and specialness of the product.

Posted in SteveTomlinCrafts, tools | Tagged hand tools, plasma cutter, sculpture, steel | Leave a comment