Hof der dingen - Hammer and anvil

Wouldn’t this make an interesting question for a pub quiz: “What do you call a hammer and anvil used to sharpen a scythe – used for cutting grass or grain by hand in the local dialect of West Flanders”? The answer is: ‘boeeëte’. We’ll help you out with the pronunciation: bee-ye-tuh. 

They used the hammer to make the scythe blade as thin as possible so it could be sharpened efficiently. This process is called haren in Dutch. 

A scythe is an important tool in agriculture, specifically in the region of the Westhoek. It’s used to harvest sugar beets and to mow grass that grows in ditches and along roadside verges. There are even scythes that measure up to four metres in length, allowing workers to mow the canal beds from the riverbank. 

It was Norbert Roothaert who gave us this scythe – a family heirloom. 

“I still live in my grandparents’ house, De Moeren. My grandfather had a summer job on a local farm. He harvested beets, mowed. During summer, my grandfather often helped out a local farmer: planting and harvesting sugar beets, weeding – he did it all. This was done – as they say around these parts – in enterprise, meaning on a contract basis. In winter, he worked for the Polder clearing canals and ditches. These days, not many people are familiar with a scythe, but I still use mine daily. It’s an incredibly convenient and multi-purpose tool.”