Sugar Island Paddle

I just finished my first canoe paddle. I decided on the Sugar Island design found in Canoe Paddles, A Complete Guide to Making Your Own by Graham Warren and David Gidmark. It gets it's name from the island in the St. Lawrence that is owned by the American Canoe Association where international canoe races between European and North American paddlers were held. I made it for Zoe so, more accurately, I guess she decided on the design. As any one who knows me, knows that I can't leave well enough alone and have to modify or add my personal touch to everything and this project was no different. The offsets in the book produce an 8" wide and 24" long blade. In my opinion that is a very wide paddle, I subscribe to the school of thought that a long narrow paddle will allow you to paddle greater distances with less fatigue. Keeping in mind that Zoe is new to paddling and I felt that the 8" of blade would catch too much water causing her to tire quickly so I reduced the width to 7" X 22". I also believe that a shorter paddle shaft reduces stress on the shoulders so the length of the shaft, from the shoulder to the end of the top grip is 31.5". The edges are very fine, finer than I had intended because I had some issues with warping of the blade and had to take more material off one side to compensate. In the end I was able to work out the warp and achieve a paddle that is straight and true. Because of the warping I had to erase the guidelines that I had painstakingly marked out and continued with the project shaping the blade by eye, which I guess is a more traditional approach.

I learned a lot during the build, here is a list off the top of my head:

• It's not easy finding a suitable piece of wood with little warp to it and a straight grain
• A ten inch plane works great for thinning the blade
• Aluminum oxide sand paper is way better than anything else, it lasts long and cuts fast
• The use of a flexible straight edge would help greatly in marking out the centre lines on uneven surfaces such as the shoulders and throat
• A wood rasp works great for shaping the top grip
• Marking out guidelines can be very time consuming
• building jigs and sanding blocks takes a lot of time away from the actual building of the paddle (but they only need to be made once)
  

Laminating the blade and grip

The blade and grip are cut

Thinning the blade with a plane

Rough shaped grip (you can see the course marks left by the rasp)

Shows how fine the edges are

The paddle is ready for a coat of varnish

Path of the Paddle - Bill Mason

The Path of the Paddle (Solo Basic, Solo Whitewater, Doubles Basic and Doubles Whitewater) series of films produced by Bill Mason in the 1970's and 80's continue to form the foundation of paddling technique and show the skills required by any canoeist to safely navigate on the waterways of the Canadian back country.

Solo Basic


Solo Whitewater


Doubles Basic


Doubles Whitewater

Domain name update

The domain name www.wildpaddler.ca is now directed to my paddling blog. Don't worry, wildpaddler.blogspot.com will still get you to my paddling blog.

Birch Bark Basket

Last autumn Zoe took up knitting so I decided to make a basket to hold her knitting. In keeping with a hand made theme I decided to make a birch bark basket. Collecting the materials for any project is half the fun but it takes on a whole new experience when the materials are found in nature and forces you to get outside.

On a recent outing to the Fort a la corne forest I spent some time digging in the sandy soil for roots that would be used to lash the basket together. The natives traditionaly prefered Black Spruce roots but White Spruce and Jack Pine were also used in emergencies.

A bracket with a slot in it clamped down worked well for peeling the roots that were no more than the width of a pencil and after splitting the roots were rolled for storage until they were ready for use.

Peeling the roots

Before and after peeling (black spruce and jack pine)

At the time that I collected the bark it was 1/8 of and inch thick and much too stiff to work with so I thinned it by peeling layers off until it was half of its original thickness. The next step was to make a template from a piece of paper, I then traced the pattern onto the inside of the bark.

Birch bark and pattern

After cutting the bark I soaked it in boiling water to soften it and to prevent it from cracking while bending the sides up. It's amazing how quickly and how flexible the bark becomes. (I wasn't able to get any photos of the soaking and bending process because I had to work quickly) I used clothes pins to hold everything in place.

Clothes pins holding everything together while drying

When it had dried I used a three sided awl to work holes in the bark, along the corners so that I could lash the end flaps together. From what I've read a three sided awl is supposed to work better for making holes in birch bark, it doesn't split the bark like a round awl would. I quickly made an awl out of a punch that was part of a screw driver set.

Three sided awl made from a punch

The spruce roots that I had collected earlier had dried out and were very stiff and brittle. To make them pliable again I boiled them for 5 to 10 minutes. Again it's amazing how boiling water can soften wood. (Zoe was not happy with the sticky residue that was left in the pot after I had boiled the bundle of roots) I used a double thong lashing to lace up the corners.

Boiling roots in Zoe's good chili pot

End flap secured with a double thong lashing

For the rim and handle I collected red willows which had sections that were around 1/2 inch in diameter, I peeled them and cold bent them initially to attain the rough shape then held them in place with clothes pins while I lashed them on with roots.

The finished basket

Things that I learned:

• when selecting bark look for a tree that is completely free of imperfections, ie. small branches, bruises, blisters, splits in the bark, any little imperfection on the outside shows on the inside.
• an ideal birch tree can be very tough to find in the woods
  
• black spruce roots are very easy to split, they grow in the shape that is similar to a figure 8 and splits easily along the groove that is made between the upper and lower portions of the 8.
• if I were to make another basket I would thin the bark even thinner, maybe to 1/32 inch.
• birch bark and roots become very pliable when warm and moist
• Spruce roots make a very strong lashing material and are relatively easy to dig up
  

Strop

For my birthday this year Zoe gave me the small forest axe from Gränsfors Bruks. Gränsfors Bruks is located in Bergsjö, Sweden and is committed to producing the finest axes and cutting tools with as little impact on the environment as possible. Every axe head is forged from a quality piece of steel by a skilled blacksmith in the old style. There are no mass production lines here just the craftsmen, a 1200 degree C oven and a forge. Each axe head is branded with the Gränsfors Bruks label and crown as well as the blacksmiths own initials. The small forest axe is a great axe that is perfectly balanced and very sharp. From the manufacturer it is sharp enough to shave with but it could use a bit of extra work to make it scary sharp. On a students budget, I can't afford a set of Japanese water stones, so I'll have to make due with a leather strop. I've decided to make my own from a piece of pine I had laying around the shop and and old leather belt. With the addition of some polishing compound I should be able to achieve a very sharp blade not only on the axe but all of my other hunting and fishing knives. In the photo the white polishing compound is has a medium abrasive and the rouge is finer.