These are Thatcher's Shear Hooks, hand made by one of, if not the only, blacksmith making traditional tools for Thatchers in the UK. They were made by Simon Grant-Jones who works in the small English Dorset village of Sutton Poyntz. I have tremendous respect for people like Simon who helps to protect the traditional skills that we rely on for a more sustainable future. Simon's smithy is in his back garden where his forge, with flames that light up the darkness, stands beside the anvil that sits in an old tree stump.

Here is a film made about Simon's work which satisfyingly begins with the sound of the quenching trough as Simon plunges his work in to water to cool. Simon told me about his work making thatching hooks and how is work helps maintain traditional, sustainable methods. The thatching hook is a perfect example because without it Thatchers resort to petrol hedge trimmers to do the work of the hook. Simon's tools are developed with the Thatcher Rod Miller based on the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset.