Incomplete grip area; Completed burning
I was actually working on the decoration of this paddle the night my wife's water broke and will always associate it with the panic and excitement of my son's early delivery. As such, I decided to dedicate this one to him and burned his full name, date and time of birth in the empty triangular space on the grip. I'm hoping it'll be a family heirloom and he'll appreciate it when he's old enough.
The Dedication Inscription
To seal it, the paddle was oiled rather than varnished to give it a more natural, matte finish. The fact that oiling is so much easier than varnishing is a plus. A quick 15 minute job for a single layer rather than the much more time consuming affair with varnish, solvents, safety gloves and a wailing baby in the background. Over the last few days, I've been adding additional layers of 1850s Circa 1850s Tung & Teak oil to give the paddle the desired sheen I was looking for. Here is the final result posing with Toronto's first snowfall in the background.
1849 Historic Passamaquoddy Replica
I really like these abstract scroll designs on certain paddle blades and plan to do more of them, hopefully eventually getting enough detail to replicate the c.1878 Maliseet Paddle I posted on earlier.
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3 comments:
Very nice Murat!
Ferdy
Obviously I have only just now found your blog and your work amazes me, hence the numerous comment on old posts.
Ive been a woodworker my whole life and turned my passions for wood and boats into my profession, so I am now, and have been for some years now, a wooden shipwright. Ive replicated a few skin kayaks from the Canadian Museum of Man and even made the correct paddles and tools that ere found with each of them. So obviously I have some experience in the subject matter at hand. About finishes, the best I have ever found is made by Heritage Natural Finishes, formerly LandArk Oils. It is truly a sublime finish. All of their products have the same ingredients, purified linseed oil, tung oil, citrus oil, pine rosin and bees wax. Each of the individual products are so pure that each of the is consumable by humans and are the finest you can buy. These ingredients are used in varying amounts to produce their individual products. They give the most lusturous finish and sheen I have ever found. Ive been using it exclusively for about 5 years on all of my projects where an oil finish is desired. I even use it on things where I would formerly use a non oil finish just because it is so beautiful. The linseed oil doesn't even become a sticky mess if left to absorb for a day or two like every other linseed oil I have ever used. Honestly, this stuff is just amazing. I even use it on some of my boat projects so I can vouch for it being a top notch product for use in the most extreme environment, the marine environment.
You should try it on some of your works of art you call paddles, you will love it. They sell small sample bottles so you could test and try for your self. Be sure to get the end grain sealer as your final coats and enjoy the beauty and protection it gives.
No, I have absolutely NO affiliation with the company. I just like spreading th word for this terrific company, they have been good to me over the years.
Good luck.
Thanks for reading some of the older posts. Your input as an experienced shipwright builder is most definitely appreciated. I'll be sure to read more about LankArk oils. Thanks again for the tip!
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