canoe maker

Mark Lafontaine's blog recently had a post about his latest paddle creation, a 61.5 inch "modern voyageur" design made of exotic Lacewood (Grevillea robusta) and ash. I've stayed clear of using exotic hardwoods mostly because I've read they are hard on the handtools and don't plane very well without tearing. But after seeing the gorgeous lacewood grain on Mark's paddle, this inconvenience looks to be well worth the effort.


Mark's Lacewood & Ash Voyageur Design


Lacewood grain pattern


Laminated grip
More pics of Mark's efforts as well as a synopsis of things he learned with this project can be seen on the original full post here.

A while back while working on my first crooked knife blade from an old file, I got discouraged with the speed of progress without power tools. In a moment of self-doubt about whether I could finish the project, I ended up ordering a crooked knife blade from Orien MacDonald after coming across his page on Etsy. I liked look of his blade, especially the fact that it was offset from the tang allowing for a greater and more comfortable angle for carving. Here is the blade he made for me with a traditional, bent tang.


New Crooked Knife Blade
When working out ideas of the handle, I had collected some pieces that were promising options. For this knife, I decided on the yellow birch handle (2nd from top) in the photo below:


Handle choices
It was shaped with some rasps and a spoon carving knife to hollow out the thumb rest area. I decided the decorate the birch with some basic woodburning patterns to mimic the chip-carving I've seen on various knives. Here's one angle of the completed knife handle.


Decorated Handle
The bottom was chiseled out to fit the tang and the blade secured with leather lace. Here's the finished knife below showing off the offset angle of the blade from the handle as well as the curving angle of the blade from the horizontal view.


Offset from handle's axis


View from the horizontal plane
Here's a comparison shot of the new "Orien Crooked Knife" and the homemade Olive Crooked Knife. The homemade blade is longer, thinner, and flat and I can see it working well when shaping canoe ribs and larger surfaces like a paddle blade. For all around carving though, the Orien Knife would look to be more versatile to carve out paddle grips, the shaft, spoons, bowls, and other bushcraft items.


The budding crooked knife collection

Just returned from a glorious (albeit brief) holiday weekend from up north. I was able to get the cedar canvas canoe into the water again for some sweet evening paddling. Also got some time to tinker with a new crooked knife (pics coming in a post soon)

While in the area, I made arrangements to meet with the local chapter head of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association and drop off a donation for their annual fund-raising auction. I decided to donate my Laminated Kestrel Paddle. It was a simple design with an ottertail blade and flat, Passamaquoddy style handle.


The Kestrel paddle
I had received some compliments on the woodburning decoration, but never really used this paddle much. Laminated paddles can be great to use, but lately I've been leaning towards single piece paddles more both for aesthetics and flex...so figured this one might get sent to a good home and raise some funds for a nice association preserving the fine art of wooden canoes.

The auction will take place at their annual assembly, this year held in New Hampshire. I had a fun time at their 2008 Peterborough Assembly and posted lots of pics about the experience here.


2010 Assembly Info
Franklin Pierce University, Rindge, New Hampshire

During a visit to Toronto's Reference Library, I requested an archived book entitled, Inventory of Micmac, Maliseet and Beothuk material culture in international collections : Great Britain by Ruth Holmes Whitehead (1985). The author mentions a few paddles on display in overseas museums, including a set in the British Museum, London. I was able to find a dark B & W photograph of the paddles in their online collection.


Inscribed paddle made of wood (maple)
Full Citation Link
� Trustees of the British Museum
(as per their online usage policy for educational purposes)
The two Maliseet paddle blades have decorative etchings but the photo contrast was less than ideal. Using some Photoshop adjustments with the Hue and Unsharpen Mask features, I changed the image a bit to add some colour and bring out the detail. Here's the new image below


Enhanced
The paddle decorations are inverted in the image, so by flipping the image around 180 degrees, the delicate etchings revealed themselves. Here is each paddle image along with Ruth Whitehead's descriptive detail.


Maliseet Paddle - AM1980 35.2
Dimensions = 135 cm x 13 cm (max)

"Canoe paddle, hand-carved, with incised designs on blade and shaft. Blade decorated with an image of a man with a leister in a canoe, night-fishing, with his woman in a peaked cap to paddle for him, and a birchbark torch to see by. Both peaked cap and canoe are in Maliseet style. A second design shows a woman with braided hair, a hip-length jacket with ribbon applique borders, leggings with elaborated selvedge edges, moccasins; she is standing, with a fish in her right hand and a knife in her left. The paddle handle has a border of lines and cross-hatch, surrounding a Scotch thistle above a salmon leister's head."

Maliseet Paddle - AM1980 35.1
Dimensions = 135 cm x 13 cm (max)

"Canoe paddle, hand-carved, with incised designs on blade and shaft. Blade decorated with two circles, one enclosing a realistic moose head, the other a caribou head. Near waist of blade is a design of a man wearing a toque, long coat, waistcoat, shirt, untied tie, fringed leggings to knee, short man's kilt, moccasins, with rifle in hand; labelled "BLACK BIRD". Blade signed "San Thomasis" (?); if accurate, this is corrupt French for "Jean Thomas", with the "sis" ending a dimunitive or endearment. The shaft is fairly plain; the handle is bordered with geometric motifs of scallops and triangles, with a cross-hatch fill. Handle centre is decorated with a magnificent salmon."

Whitehead's text had a hand-drawn sketch of the handle with its salmon etching. Here's a shot below:



Sketch of Grip & Carved Drip Ring

These fantastic images show that East Coast Native tribes did not just etch in geometric pattern designs.

Feb 2013 Update: See a full sized image of  Maliseet Paddle - AM1980 35.2 on this post HERE

I came across an antique Maliseet paddle on this page describing various aspects of Maliseet Art. The paddle has slender lines and an elongated beavertail blade with a distinct roll carved for a grip.


CMC Catalogue Number: III-E-80
Description: Paddle with realistic scratched design. One side of blade has designs including a beaver, moose head, canoe, hawk, and eagle in flight.
The photo doesn't have enough resolution to make out the incised decorations on the blade, but I was able to find another image with a closeup. The blade has split with age but many of the carved details are still visible.


Incised Decorated Blade

Here's fun way to distract the kids when they need an outlet on a rainy day. My little one spontaneously grabbed the mini Maliseet paddle I had made for the bark canoe model back in '08 and began to whack an inflated dollar store beach ball around the apartment. Great safe fun... now I just have to get a league going for this new sport of Paddle Ball.

Paul Kane (1810-1871) was an Irish-born Canadian painter whose artwork serves as an insightful ethnographic record into the lives of First Nations people of the period. In a few of his paintings and sketches, canoe paddles can be seen oriented into a cooking tripod for use over an open fire.

In the pencil sketch entitled Indian Encampment, Sault Ste. Marie below, a single paddle is lashed with some saplings to form the tripod structure.


Indian Encampment, Sault Ste. Marie (Southeastern Ojibway)
August 1845

A sketch entitled Eleven Studies of Indian Life, includes a set of three paddles (lower left) illustrating another tripod image.


Eleven Studies of Indian Life, Southeastern Ojibway
Paul Kane (1810-1871)
Pencil on paper
14 cm x 21.5 cm
August 1845


Paddle Tripod Closeup

It seems these sketches were used in a full colour painting entitled, Indian Encampment at Georgian Bay around 1850. The paddle tripod is clearly visible on the left side of the image.


Indian Encampment at Georgian Bay
Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. 1995-215-1
ca. 1850
It seems the First Nations used their paddles in a very utilitarian manner, often for more than the obvious role. I wouldn't be carrying 3 paddles on a solo canoe trip, but it is nonetheless an interesting bit of bushcraft history.