End of season peening & sharpening workshop

Posted on November 6, 2010 by stevetomlin

On Sunday I ran a peening and sharpening workshop for members of the NW mowing group at Haybridge Nature Reserve in response to a request from one of the members and my own observations at our recents meetings. It’s also a good way to finish off the mowing season and put the scythe away sharp and ready for next spring.
Peening is the process of reshaping the bevel of the scythe blade by hammering out the edge to thin it and create the desired bevel. This is the first stage of sharpening, akin to grinding a chisel but with the advantage of not wearing away the blade. It’s a skilled process requiring good technique and practise to avoid poor results or even damage to the blade. When the time for peening the blade comes around some weeks after a beginners mowing course, a refresher day is useful to remind you of the methods. It’s also a comfort to have someone guide you through your first few peening sessions as it is easy to develop bad techniques and the act of “hitting my treasured blade with a hammer” can be a bit daunting.
The day started with a discussion of the benefits of peening, assessing the scythe’s edge and gauging when peening would be necessary. We then looked at cleaning the blade and setting up a peening station and the two methods: the peening jig and freehand peening with a hammer and anvil; the jig being a simpler method but having more limitations than the skilled freehand technique.
Everyone was soon set up with their own station looking out over the reserve to the glorious autumn colours of woodland opposite. Then the noise begins; 8 people all hammering metal, each working to a consistent rhythm but nicely out of time with each other so that the overall effect is some kind of experimental techno dance track. I worked my way round the group making minor adjustments to angles and technique, answering questions and observing progress. Once peening was complete I took the group through the process of using a progression of whetstones to sharpen the newly formed edge. I had noticed that this was being neglected leading to a steady deterioration in people’s mowing efficiency and the belief that their peening attempts were only making things worse. By the end of the day the most common comment was “My scythe is sharper now than it’s ever been since I bought it.”  and everyone went home with more confidence to continue the process of practicing and learning.
Thanks to Keith and Helen at Haybridge for providing such a picturesque venue and those who attended.
 

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Steambent Sculpture

Posted on October 23, 2010 by stevetomlin

steam-bent sculptureThis week I’ve been working with Charlie Whinney on a steam-bent sculpture. I do some steam-bending for making chairs and hayforks but Charlie takes it to a new level,  working with large pieces of wood and bending them in new and creative ways. This sculpture is for a hotel in Washington, USA where it will hang from the ceiling of the lobby.  Three of the pieces are designed to rotate so that the sculpture is constantly changing and, no matter how many times you pass by, it will always look different.
Charlie and I come from different areas of the woodworking world which is one of the reasons it’s so fun to work together. He uses sawn timber and power tools to make sculpture where I produce practical items from green logs using hand tools. Our common meeting point is a fascination with the potential of wood, a keen interest in design and the possibility of learning from each other.  With traditional craft there is often little experimentation and new ideas come slowly. At Witherslack, ideas bounce back and forth constantly during the day and some of them might even bear fruit one day.  It’s an exciting environment to work in and a great source of inspiration for us both.

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Apple Day 2010

Posted on October 18, 2010 by stevetomlin

Inspired by our meeting in the orchard at Sprint Mill, I organised a stand at this year’s Apple Day at Acorn Bank near Penrith. One of the organisers, Sara Braithwaite, told me that over the years the event has grown into more than just apples and, sure enough there was all the workings of a country fair when I arrived. I had a simple stand; just myself, a scythe with a selection of blades, hayfork, rake, peening anvil and some information on the current UK scythe ‘scene’ and my mowing workshops. Everything was organised a bit last minute so there wasn’t a great selection of grass but in the end there was only time for two short demonstrations in between talking to people.
It’s always interesting to meet people at these events, listen to their stories and hopefully answer their questions. The stand attracted a range of folk from those who have a scythe and wanted advice on how to improve their technique or sharpness, total beginners keen to put away the strimmer to those with memories of their fathers mowing in the fields.
As much as the scythes there was lots of interest in the other tools, particularly my Austrian rake. Whereas most rakes you see have the tines perpendicular to the handle, this one has them set back at about 50º towards the handle. As soon as you start to use it, it makes sense. The angled tines slide over the ground as you work rather than catching and chattering. I have it as an example of good design to use as the basis for my own rakes. I was especially pleased that it got the seal of approval from Miss Kathloon Peart from Bishop Auckland. As well as explaining her preferred shape for the tine points she described how, aged 3, she’s been thrilled to receive a hayrake for xmas and had been making hay ever since on the family farm. A gentleman doesn’t ask but I should think that adds up to almost half a century of experience and I’m hoping she’ll join us next summer to pass on some of her haymaking knowledge.

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Film of reaping demonstration

Posted on October 6, 2010 by stevetomlin

Memories are perhaps fading of the wonderful weekend at Bouth in Cumbria (see Ian’s entry below of 21st September). So here’s a short video of part of it – the Sunday afternoon at Old Hall Farm open day. It features use of the cradle and bow attachments on the scythe.

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Mowing the Orchard at Sprint Mill

Posted on September 27, 2010 by stevetomlin

Yesterday a small group of the North-West mowers met up at Sprint Mill, just north of Kendal. Edward and Romola, our hosts, have been working their unique smallholding together almost entirely by hand for nearly 20 years. Deeply connected to the land, they are committed to making the most of the natural resources and developing it and its place in the community.
Sally, Ian and I were greeted with fresh coffee and cake before heading off with Edward and Romola to the orchard for our day’s work. A combination of wet weather and an enormous job-list meant the long grass in this corner had been neglected and was now lying bent over in all sorts of directions between the apple, damson and cob trees.
Mowing grass in this condition is a challenge and requires more thinking than a clean upright sward. The best approach is with the grass laying away from you so the scythe can reach underneath, cutting it cleanly rather than brushing over the top of it. Easier said than done, this can result in a meandering dance through the sward as you and your scythe search for the best route. In the Vido family’s addendum to “The Scythe Book” by David Tresemer, Faye Vido puts it thus:
“Creating a path with this tool, awareness becomes the key concept… considering the land, judging the lean, reflecting on the plants, examining the edge, musing over angles, noticing the stubble, contemplating movement, meditating on the breath…”
Awareness, judgement, musing, meditation are all present but, for the beginner, also a certain amount of frustration.  It’s a brilliant learning experience and one I try to encourage people to see as fun. As the day went on we all got used to seeing the lay and adjusting our style from short trimming cuts to wider sweeping swaths in response to the grass. There’s a satisfaction in this work, knowing that you and the scythe are working together not just between yourselves but with the grass as well.
Hidden amongst the sward were numerous damson suckers thrown up by the mature trees. Edward and Romola use these to plant up their hedgerows which are full of fruit and berries. A motor mower would simply take these out indiscriminately but a careful scythe user can easily spot them and trim the grass around to leave them intact.
On a beautiful autumn day with good company it’s hard to think of a better way to spend your time. Edward’s comment that “it’s wonderful to pause and listen to the sounds of the scythes and people chatting away as they work” summed it all up.

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Sheaf Fork

Posted on September 21, 2010 by stevetomlin

Sheaf fork

Sheaf fork


I would deny being a tool geek but I do like old tools, know a bit about them and am constantly amazed by the ingenuity of folk  who worked by hand in designing efficient tools for specific jobs.
This is a sheaf fork.  Once your wheat is cut and lying beautifully straight in it’s windrows then making sheaves is just a matter of scooping it up with the fork so it collects in front of the two little fingers.  Job done, all you need is a band to tie it up.
Simple, effective &  brilliant. Where can I get one?

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Excellent Scything at the September Hay Bridge Event

Posted on September 21, 2010 by stevetomlin

mowing the orchard


At least 15 enthusiastic scythers enjoyed an excellent weekend of scything at Hay Bridge Nature Reserve. Many thanks to Paul for getting it together, Keith and Helen for hosting us (beer and barbeque particularly appreciated) and Steve for giving impromptu lessons in filing out snags in blades.
The Reserve provided varied scything (flat creeping grass, tussocks, bracken, and briars), obstacle avoidance (stones, wire fences, adders) and chances to improve techniques for cutting on slopes. The pub (White Hart at Bouth) provided good food and beer on Friday night for a hilarious “ice-breaking” session. The weekend also coincided with an open day at the old Victorian farm (Old Hall Farm, Bouth) and on Sunday afternoon a group of our scythers went down and experimented with scything wheat (including sheafing and stooking) using Steve’s cradles – with apologies for the breakages Steve!
Hopefully the first of many good weekends!

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FAO cradle in action

Posted on September 18, 2010 by stevetomlin

FAO cradle
One thing with mowing is that it’s really difficult to take a photo of yourself so more thanks to the Webster family for the pictures they took during their vintage weekend in August.
Here’s the FAO cradle in action, showing how it pushes the wheat over into a row as it’s cut.  Yes, I am wearing lederhosen. Austrian dress for an Austrian scythe – sometimes you’ve got to make the effort.

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Cradle trials for harvesting wheat

Posted on September 4, 2010 by stevetomlin

Clear blue skies, old tractors and a field full of wheat greeted me for my mowing demonstration over the bank holiday weekend.
Margaret & Andrew Webster, with their family and David White had done a fantastic job of putting together the event, held in  Aughton in Lancashire.  I’m not really a tractor fan and know pretty much nothing about that world but I couldn’t have hoped to spend the weekend with a friendlier group of folk. Various machines looking more or less like tractors as we know them took to the field ploughing, harrowing, ditching or simply cruising at an awesome 2mph.  All of them were working, most of them were immaculate and a lot of them sounded better than my peugeot.

Bow cradle

Bow cradle


My involvement was to mow their wheat by scythe as part of ‘Harvesting through the ages’.  I was shown the two 1-acre blocks and told I could experiment and play as much as I wanted.  First off, I worked with a scythe fitted with a simple willow bow, a peasant’s cradle that I’ve seen in many old photos.  The wheat was easy to cut and not as heavy as I expected with the bonus of making a satisfying sound as it was cut.  The bow certainly did it’s job of pushing the stems over into a row though they often got caught in the web which made them messy.
Straight snath scythe with FAO cradle

FAO cradle


On Monday I switched to the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) cradle, a model that was designed for use in the developing world after WWII.  More difficult to make, it works basically on the same principle, pushing the stems over as you cut. The wire mesh prevented the stems getting tangled and improved things a lot.  I’d build this onto an Eastern-Europe style scythe with a straight shaft and single handgrip, another first for me.  Once I found my rhythm I could happily cut a 4ft swath, tipping my right hand at the end of each stroke to drop the wheat into a row. With the sun beating down I felt like I was really harvesting.
Plenty of people wanted to stop me for a chat and provide an opportunity for a rest.  Lots of them could remember their father using a scythe to cut around the edge of a wheat field to make space for the reaper but none had actually done it themselves.  About a dozen chaps showed me how to use the wheat itself to tie up a sheaf, in two different ways. At least they would have done if it hadn’t been so short and we’d been cutting it green when it’s not so brittle.  Their memories were all interesting, I never tired of hearing them.
It was a great weekend and a fantastic opportunity to learn.  Many thanks to the Webster’s for inviting me and their hospitality.

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The Cumbrian Scything Challenge!

Posted on September 1, 2010 by stevetomlin

The first Cumbrian Scythe Festival back in July was probably held on the wettest weekend of the year, but it still managed to attract nearly twenty people for Saturday’s beginners’ scything course. Quite apart from imparting the joys of mowing to each of them in turn, it was also a great place to bring together people from the region (and in some cases beyond) who were interested in rural crafts. Many of those who arrived were farmers, smallholders and rural craftspeople, from woodworkers to wallers. Most of them have now caught the scythe bug. As you do.
We’ve now come up with a way of scratching this itch, at least for now. One of our pupils at the festival is also a volunteer at the Haybridge Nature Reserve, in south Cumbria. Haybridge is 200 acres of beautiful land, much of it grass, bracken and scrub, and its manager is keen for it to be managed in traditional ways, and without fossil fuels as far as possible.
Which is where we come in. A small group of us have been mowing grass and bracken at Haybridge over the last month, and now we’re opening the reserve up for a weekend to other mowers.
There are several fields, meadows and clearings that need mowing. The ground is a mixture of grass, bracken, rushes, wild flowers and the odd molehill. There are slopes, tussocks, hummocks, flat grasslands, wildflower meadows, wet bits, dry bits, saplings to avoid, verges to trim … It is, in other words, a multi-dimensional mowing challenge, which will give you a chance to practice cutting pretty much everything you could ever want to cut!
The Great Cumbrian Scything Challenge will take place on the weekend of 11th and 12th September. It’ll be a relaxed affair: just turn up, bring your scythe and muck in. There will be camping available on the reserve on both the Friday and the Saturday nights. There are toilets, running water and a shower. You can come for the weekend, or for a day, or for a few hours: as you like.
Please note that this is not a teaching weekend. It’s an opportunity for mowers who already know the basics to come and get some good mowing time in. You’ll need to bring your own scythe and kit, and know how to use them. That said, you don’t have to be any kind of expert: just willing to come and have a go.
On the Friday evening, if enough people are around, we will traipse to the local (excellent) pub to sample the wares. On the Saturday night, weather permitting, we’ll have a barbecue, with charcoal made in the reserve. We’ll all have to provide our own food for this, and you’ll also need to bring any other meals you want or need as there is no food provision on site. Those of us who are coming can exchange food plans via email soon, and we can bring camping stoves to cook if we like. There is tea, coffee and water on site.
What to bring:
Tent and sleeping gear.
Food, including something to barbecue.
Any drinks you want in addition to tea, coffee and water.
Your scythe and scythe kit (a ditch blade is recommended).
Some good boots.
Where to come:
Hay Bridge Nature Reserve is in Bouth, south Cumbria. The website is here.
The nearest train station is Grange-over-Sands. Lifts from the station might be possible, depending on when you’re coming. For any more information, contact me on paul@paulkingsnorth.net
See you there!

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