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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Blog Inspired Paddles

Kent Lund sent me a kind email mentioning how a few of the various paddle types featured on the site got him inspired to get back into the paddle making hobby. Check out his fantastic growing collection below which features a nice mix of decorated blades and interesting grip designs:


Kent's growing paddle collection

Many readers of the blog might recognize the 2nd paddle from the right. Kent's version of the Snake Paddle featured back in December of '09. With some extra techniques on the paint job, Kent was able to give the paddle an antique look. Great stuff!

To further personalize some of the paddles, a striped banding around the shafts was added - a customized idea based on a pattern on his daughter's favorite jacket. A unique way to add even more meaning to a family paddle.

As an extra aside, Kent asked me about techniques for giving varnish an aged look. But I not really familiar with any methods that give an authentic, antique appearance. If anyone has suggestions, please comment so we can all learn more. Click the Leave a comment link below the post.
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5 comments:

  1. BrianApril 9, 2010 at 5:11 PM

    Hi I look in on your blog from time to time . Its very interesting and a wealth of great craftmanship and artwork. All the best from Scotland :)Brian(:

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  2. Bob HoltzmanApril 10, 2010 at 5:13 AM

    Murat,
    Kent's got an artist's eye. These are wonderful. Thanks for sharing them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. P A D D E L B L O GApril 12, 2010 at 8:07 AM

    The Snake-Paddle is also on my to-do-list and I hung a picture of it over my workbench. Unfortunately i have no other Idea to make a paddle look aged than to use it frequently.
    Axel

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  4. MuratApril 13, 2010 at 8:55 AM

    Thanks Axel. When you get around to it, send me a picture of your snake paddle to post as well. I've got too many other paddle blanks cut and awaiting carving so it will be a while longer for me to try this fun design.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kent LundApril 17, 2010 at 1:15 PM

    Murat, Thanks so much for posting on my paddles-I appreciate the nice comments. This paddle making has begun to consume me-I am "locking' myself away in my "creative lab", listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash while shaping paddles...
    Regarding the Snake Paddle: I did not have any actual measurements, so I guessed. The paddle length is 63 inches. The blade is six inches wide. I started with the blade being 1/2 inch thick and tapered it to a 1/8 inch. However I believe this blade thickness is a little too heavy. So, I am back in "the lab" shaping a new snake paddle-61 1/2 inches in length, 5 1/2 inches wide and this time I am starting with the blade at 5/16 thick. I have tried to research and am wondering if anyone knows the actual measurements of the antique snake paddle.
    Thanks again- I will keep you posted on my progress

    ReplyDelete