Rust! restoring and protecting scythe blades

 International Peening Day on the first weekend in April each year is a great opportunity to get out scythe blades from hibernation and get them cleaned and peened ready for the new season. There are inevitably occasions where rust forms and it needs removing to restore the blade.  This ranges from light surface rust blooms when Read more about Rust! restoring and protecting scythe blades[…]

Whetstone Testing

Assessing and comparing whetstone quality has become very important recently as the supply and availability of different whetstones is ever changing. This particularly for natural stones as their quarries struggle to remain viable. To be able to objectively compare the different alternative stones I decided that I first needed to devise a series of bench Read more about Whetstone Testing[…]

Blade Peening Services

International Peening Day at the start of this month aimed to highlight the importance of blade peening and scythe maintenance to get the best from your scythe. Some time ago, Michelle of Scythe Cymru put out a request for more experienced practitioners to offer a blade peening service; recognising that peening is a practical barrier Read more about Blade Peening Services[…]

Opportunities to prepare for the coming mowing season and have your scythe questions answered!

Opportunities for scythe-folk around the country to meet up face to face are still somewhat limited by the pandemic. But please don’t despair, things are looking better for the summer! In anticipation of this we have organised two spring events that can still run and connect people remotely via the wonders of internet technology. International Read more about Opportunities to prepare for the coming mowing season and have your scythe questions answered![…]

A Welsh Whetstone Holiday in Snowdonia

There is something particularly satisfying about the feel and action of a good natural stone which a coarse synthetic cannot match. Simon Fairlies’ article in Windrow 9 (Feb 2015) highlighted the endangered status of quality natural whetstones, particularly two favourite stones the Bregenzer and Rozsutec.  I also enjoyed reading the reports by Dutchman Henk Bos Read more about A Welsh Whetstone Holiday in Snowdonia[…]

Spring Peening and Restoration

Spring is a time to bring scythe blades out of hibernation.  Time to check that the oil we coated the steel with when we put them into storage in the Autumn is still protecting them (of course we all did this).  Time to re-clean our blades and check for any damage that needs repairing and peen to restore Read more about Spring Peening and Restoration[…]

International Scythe Peening Day April 2014

Clean before you peen! This annual spring Peening day is a prompt for SABI members to renew their relationship with their scythes and mowing.  Peening is a mysterious and elusive art, and can lead to some fairly obsessive and compulsive behaviour! To celebrate this and promote peening day I have put together a 53 second promotional video. Read more about International Scythe Peening Day April 2014[…]

One-to-One Scythe Tuition at Somerset Scythe Festival

Christiane Lechner and Steve Tomlin will be running a small number of one-to-one workshops in mowing and peening at this year’s Somerset Scythe Festival on 16-17 June 2012 at Thorney Lakes, Muchelney. You can learn to improve your scything with individual attention and detailed tuition or and learn to peen the blade under expert supervision. Read more about One-to-One Scythe Tuition at Somerset Scythe Festival[…]