Category Archives: peening & sharpening

Peening a scythe blade

Posted on July 25, 2025 by stevetomlin

Learning how to peen a scythe can feel like a daunting task. Reshaping the edge of the blade by hammering it into shape with a peening jig can feel very technical and difficult and there’s often a fear of damaging … Continue reading →

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Scythe peening course 2025

Posted on April 9, 2025 by stevetomlin

A glorious, sunny day for International Peening Day 2025. I was at Hazel Brow Farm in Swaledale, Yorkshire to teach a group how to peen their scythes. Peening is part of my Learn to Scythe courses as a demonstration while … Continue reading →

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Scythe peening workshop 2025

Posted on March 17, 2025 by stevetomlin

This April I will be in Swaledale, Yorkshire running a scythe peening workshop for Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. This is aimed at those who have already attended a Learn to Scythe workshop and, ideally, have your own scythe. Spend a … Continue reading →

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Learning to peen a scythe with the jig

Posted on April 20, 2024 by stevetomlin

A second day in Cumbria with two of the estate team learning how to peen Austrian scythes with the peening jig. Lewis and Lee already maintain a lot of the other tools for the team so they were chosen to … Continue reading →

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Scythe peening in the Guardian

Posted on April 14, 2023 by stevetomlin

A fantastic article in the Guardian this week about peening scythe blades. We’ve been promoting the use of the scythe in the UK for 18 years now and I love how it has gone from a very niche activity to … Continue reading →

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Scythe peening workshop 2022

Posted on September 10, 2022 by stevetomlin

If you’ve had your scythe for a few months (or longer) now, it’s probably time to peen the blade. This can be a daunting prospect the first few times you do it but is an important part of scythe maintenance … Continue reading →

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Honing your scythe in the field

Posted on August 2, 2022 by stevetomlin

I’ve been teaching people how to hone their scythe blade while kneeling for many years. This method is much safer than standing and allows you to work more accurately and effectively. This week, I was demonstrating and came up with … Continue reading →

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International Peening Day 2022

Posted on April 1, 2022 by stevetomlin

Can you believe it’s the 10th anniversary of International Peening Day already? Although I’m still waiting for someone to make an official range of merch, it’s been brilliant to watch the idea take off since I started it in 2012. … Continue reading →

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National Meadow Day 2021 scythe training

Posted on July 5, 2021 by stevetomlin

I spent National Meadow Day 2021 in south Cumbria teaching a group some peening and scything improvers skills during a course organised by Arnside & Silverdale AONB and Plantlife. Several of the group had previously attended my Learn to Scythe … Continue reading →

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Using the jig to peen a scythe

Posted on July 16, 2017 by stevetomlin


Photos and video from a Sunday afternoon peening. Continue reading →

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