Category Archives: tools

rakes, forks, whetstone sheaths and all the other tools and paraphenalia for cutting and harvesting

Ransome’s lawn mower

Posted on February 5, 2012 by

Here is the sentence you thought you’d never read on scytherspace: I’ve got myself a lawn mower. This though, is no ordinary mower, it’s a Ransome’s Ajax push mower from the 1960′s with 12″ wide cutters, solid wood rollers and … Continue reading →

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FAO Scythe Cradle photos

Posted on May 23, 2011 by

As promised, here are the photos of the FAO cradle from their ‘Small Farm Implements’ publication of 1953. In the introduction, the authors (our Mr Hopfen again along with Dr E. Biesalski) make an insightful point which, for me, is … Continue reading →

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Going Straight!

Posted on May 15, 2011 by

With reference to Steve’s note (April 9th) on the Pembrokeshire snath in the Museum of English Rural Life, those interested in snath variations can study this page from an old catalogue. I came across this on the internet. It’s a … Continue reading →

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Pembrokeshire Snath

Posted on April 9, 2011 by

A couple of weeks ago I went to London to install a sculptural staircase bannister as part of my day job as a woodworker.  While I was in the south-east I took a side trip to Reading and spent a … Continue reading →

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It changed the world!

Posted on March 19, 2011 by

You can keep your satellite-guided combine harvesters and robotic milking parlours, according to “1001 Inventions that changed the world” edited by Jack Challoner “The scythe is often ranked among the world’s most significant advances in agricultural implements of the past … Continue reading →

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Willow bow for harvesting cereals

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

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, … Continue reading →

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Sheaf Fork

Posted on September 21, 2010 by

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 … Continue reading →

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Mowing wheat at vintage weekend

Posted on August 24, 2010 by

This week I’m getting ready to mow wheat in Lancashire as part of Whitey’s Working Weekend.  The hosts, Margaret & Andrew Webster, came to the Cumbria Scythe Festival with their family to see if they could find someone with a … Continue reading →

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Rake making with Brian

Posted on August 9, 2010 by

Once your grass is cut you need to do something with it.   Hopefully that means enough warm dry weather to make sweet-smelling hay for the winter but at the least cleaning it from the meadow so as not to … Continue reading →

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