Anybody ever make their own paddles? Preferred materials? Bent vs Straight? Tips or thoughts?

Eagleye -

I've made paddles out of various things. Mine are a bit less refined than most, but work well. Best ones were made out of cottonwood, as they are fairly light weight and have some suppleness in them, allowing a bit of bending. On the other hand, they do wear out fairly quick if you're in rocks without a rope glued to the bottom end.

Jack

I made one about 40 years ago with a spruce handle and an ash blade. It's probably still around here somewhere. It held up well.
I saw some a guy made with blades made of several kinds of colored woods. He fiberglassed the blades. They were beautiful but heavier than I'd want.

Yeah , Some paddles are a pice of Art.

Bent are almost silent in use , stalking on the water is an art !

Made them in shop class, one piece runs the length of the paddle. Glue boards on the bottom for the blade equal on each side and on top for the handle. Router and a plane and a hand held rasp. Far superior to anything you can buy.

I've made a few. Here in the Missouri Ozarks sassafras is the native wood of choice. Finding large enough logs that are solid is the issue. We always hung logs and let them dry for 1 year plus, that is just the way the old timers did it don't k now if the is a fast more modern way. I always made the entire paddle including blade out of one board. Lots of planing. I make mine longer than normal so you can use it to push (6 1/2'). Used more for jon boats than canoes and used on streams. The longer paddle let me push going up stream

Thanks for the input-
Gulo- beautiful paddle, nice craftsmanship.
grynkl- I was leaning toward spruce as a strong and light weight wood... heck- Howard Hughes made a plane out of it lol.
farmhunt- I'm going to check out sassafras as another choice.

I would've probably overengineered this without research and input... I guarantee my paddle would last forever but you wouldn't be able to lift it. I'm going to try a bent angle shaft at 12 degrees, I might laminate the shaft but have some more research to do.
Thanks Again

Those paddles are almost to purty to use! Nice work.

So how is the handle held to the blade? And what is a bent paddle.
just

Still a lot to learn- I'm thinking of one similar to the one above, from what I've seen the shaft is usually one solid piece on a straight paddle and offset about 8-14 degrees on a bent shaft. Furniture manufacturer's have somewhat settled in on 12 degrees as the most ergonomically comforting angle. The blade is simply glued to the shaft or you can mortise it for additional strength. I'm thinking of laminating the bent shaft in a jig to increase strength and aid in achieving the desired angle. The advantages of a bent shaft are comfort on flat water- not intended for whitewater. The angle should start about one hand width from the area where the blade meets the shaft and you paddle with the convex surface not the concave side.

Plywood blade anyone? anyone make any oars? Ash handle with plywood blade?????

JK - with the amount of basswood " linden" we have in the area , I'd suggest using it , its light and strong . ash shaft works well . ply wood is way over kill and heavy .

I like a little bit longer handle myself, lol. That's nothing some trapping wire couldn't fix.

My canoe fishing partner who passed away this summer from cancer had one of the paddles with the 12 degree angle. I used it a few times it worked very well. His had an over sized blade but with the angle it was less work then the straight shaft paddles with the standard size blades.

Bryce

Les please don't put that in the wood stove...!!!!
It's a perfect one for wild rice picking.

That is a work of art Les! Did you date and sign it to increase the value for future generations?

Chris

Nope, but there is a story behind that old paddle. And I saved it from the scrap pile too, as my trapping partner at the time was going to burn it. We (that means me) broke it about 2 miles and a half dozen beaver dams deep into some beaver country, and I wired it up and was quite gentle on things after that. It's wall hanger if I ever get it hung up. I thought maybe I'd give it a coat of preservative first. It's been hanging around here since "97" when I broke it.

Heres a paddle I made from a solid piece of cherry. It has actually stayed nice straight and served me well for the last several years. Made an ash one as well which I destroyed in short order due to an unforeseen knot. Fun project, go for it!

Consider what paddlers used before the recreational paddling craze of the past 60 years. Voyageurs in the fur trade used long narrow paddles. Indians used many different styles, but most were long and narrow. This allows for easier paddling and less back pain. It will only take a few strokes more to get up to cruising speed. The wide bent shaft paddles only became popular within the last 100 years when recreational paddlers and white water canoeist developed the "need for speed" mentality of canoeing. Long narrow paddle designs also allow for more variable strokes and paddling styles. Unless you often paddle in very shallow water, white water, or do canoe sprints a short wide is not ideal.
Wide paddles are similar to trying to use a sprinting pace to run a marathon. You will wear yourself out.

I have made many paddles out of cherry. Most of them have been less than 6 inches across.