Meryl Grandy

Figure 72 of Adney's book shows 3 variations of Passamaquoddy paddles. After making a replica of the top paddle, I next wanted to try the more angular diamond shaped paddle pictured in the middle of sketch.


Adney's sketch - Diamond Bladed Passamaquoddy in middle

A while back I had cut a blank out of my final piece of Yellow Poplar stock. Apart from the blade shape, I was attracted to the short, flattened grip style. Doug Ingram of Red River Canoe also replicated this design for his historic paddles article which includes some nice pics of his work.


Doug Ingram's fantastic replica
It's been a while since I've been able to do any carving. My shifting work schedule combined with poor weather and the demands of our little monkey at home have meant serious deprivation from this time-consuming hobby. Well, the universe was perfectly aligned today as I scored a day off from work, the child was sent off to day care, and the frighteningly unseasonal weather in Toronto meant the carving tools were out on the balcony again today.


Blank ready for more shaping
The blade was simple enough to shape down quickly. To work on the edges of the grip area, I thought I'd try working with the crooked knife recently sharpened with some waterstones. It worked well enough though I still have more work to do on the grip area before it's shaped to my liking.


Working with the crooked knife
I still can't believe the weather today, warm enough to eventually strip down to a T-shirt for the final carving. Ridiculous really for the middle of January!


Toronto in January???
Still more work to be done on this one. For now it's back hanging in the locker room until another miraculous day when I get some carving time.

UPDATE - April 11/2010: Part 2 of this paddle construction has been posted.

Another Cherry paddle is in the works. This blank had been cut out the same time I had started the c.1849 Passamaquoddy replica (the paddle in the header of the site) and included the same blade shape. My intention was to make a set of matching paddles to go with the decorated canvas canoe. I had actually began working on the blade of this paddle first, but the reversing grain kept causing significant tearout and frustration with the spokeshave so I ended up leaving this blade incomplete and worked on the other one which had a superior grain pattern.

For this paddle, I had wanted to replicate the long, spined grip design of the Robin Egg Blue antique paddle posted on previously:


Maine Guide Paddle.
Circa 1910
However, after being cut out and the blade partially worked down, the paddle was left in the garage for many months and as a result, the blank revealed a significant twist resulting in misalignment between the grip and blade. In retrospect, I should've hung this blank but simply ran out of room on the rack. It was still completely salvageable, but the grip needed to be recarved to take out the twist and this necessitated redrawing of the center and other guidelines.


Twist in the blank; Redrawn grip top
All went well, and the while clamped to a picnic table near the communal fire pit, I worked down the grip and finished off the paddle over a weekend. Here are some shots during the process and a pic of the paddle after its first wetting in the lake to raise the grain.


Carving the spined grip; Frontal View (still needed some work)

Wetting the paddle to raise the grain
I was eager to take out this paddle for spin, as well as try out the Reshaped Birch Cree paddle. Both paddled very well, but I could see the thinned, lightweight Cree design being more suited to just light paddling use. The cherry paddle with its smooth, Maine Guide style grip was a real delight to use. I could see myself using this robust paddle for extended tripping given its comfortable design and balance.


Quick test on the water

UPDATE - JUNE 24: Paddle is now complete...see Part 2