Old Shaw and Tenney paddle question

[SouthernKevlar]

I have posted this request for information on Canoetripping.net and I realize that there is a good bit of crossover between these sites, so if you have seen this posting already, please bear with me.

When I picked up a wood and fiberglass (Northland Canoe, most likely) this weekend, it came with a few accessories. They included three old split Feather Craft paddles, which had seen much better days, and a Shaw and Tenney 48" paddle. The S&T has some repairable splits and I am planning on refurbishing this one.

I did notice one thing different on this paddle. Whereas the S&T paddles that I have seen have the maker's name branded, if I recall correctly, into the blade, this one is stamped in red ink.

I wonder if any paddle collectors and historians in this group could tell me when S&T used the red stamp, as shown in the attachments, on their paddles? I emailed Shaw and Tenney and received a reply from Neil Gutekunst, the current owner. In his reply he stated that it would have been pre-1980 but that is as much as he knows.

If anyone can add to this information, it would help fill in the paddle's age and settle my curiosity. Thank you in advance.

 

[MGC]

I owned a Shaw and Tenney youth paddle that has that exact stamp on it. I gave it to my granddaughter to use for family paddles on the Teton River.....so I won't post pictures of it.
There used to be a secondhand store across the street from the Old Town factory front entrance. My father and I bought it there.
Making assumptions about how old my sons were to use a youth paddle, I'd assume I I bought about 35 or so years ago.
Dating the paddle into the 80's makes sense. Before it ended up in that store, someone bought it, used it and outgrew it.
Let's say that's a ten year cycle and it may be longer. Consider how long something can sit in your garage before you finally act on moving it along.

 

[MGC]

And on second thought,, I recalled previous thread where youth paddles were discussed. I traced the paddle and sent it as a pattern to Norm Hein a few years ago. This thread has a picture of it.

Grandson's Paddles

I have 3 Grandsons under the age of 3 and one more on the way in about a month. My thought is to make paddles that they can use when they come out to visit. The Old Town paddle in the picture is what I would like to make a down sized version of. So if I do half scale size would it make sense to...

forums.wcha.org

 

[SouthernKevlar]

Thank you for the information and the link to the previous thread. That is the same labeling and it looks like the same model, judging by the blade shape.
It is curiosities like this that make old canoes and associated paraphernalia so interesting.

 

[MGC]

Thank you for the information and the link to the previous thread. That is the same labeling and it looks like the same model, judging by the blade shape.
It is curiosities like this that make old canoes and associated paraphernalia so interesting.

It's a small community. Eventually everyone crosses paths and everything comes full circle.
Mike