Different woods for paddles

[ticonderoga]

During this time of forced isolation, I am getting around to making a few paddles out of woods that I haven't used before. It was nice to work with different woods and seeing what are the characteristics of each species. Left to right : Flame birch, very tight grain Ash, Tiger maple and American chestnut. Now I can't wait to get them wet! Thanks for looking.

 

[Brly]

Very nice! Did you stain the ash?
I'm a sucker for curly maple, but they all look really great.

 

[ticonderoga]

Yes the ash was stained to really make the grain stand out.

 

[Brly]

Looks great. I have some split ash I intended to use for snowshoe frames. I'll have to see if any of it is wide enough for paddles.

 

[Murat V]

Great carving! Am I correct in assuming that Flame Birch is actually Yellow Birch?

 

[Rob Stevens]

Yup. And it is the provincial tree of Quebec.

 

[CZanatta]

Where did you source the American Chestnut? Is it refurbished wood?

 

[ticonderoga]

Very limited supply from a forester friend!

 

[Tsuga88]

All stunning! Too bad chestnut is so hard to come by these days....

 

[Rob Stevens]

I've done a couple in Am Chestnut. Black Cherry is a favourite, but Sassafras is wonderful to work with too.