Sassafras Northwoods

Begun another paddle today in the backyard "workshop". This one is from a thick board of Sassafras. A paddle in the collection of the Hudson Museum in Maine (see original post ) was the inspiration. It featured a segmented grip with graceful curves and a stretched out beavertail blade.

Hudson Museum Paddles (Credit: Bob Holtzman)

My version was shortened to 58" long and the blade design was the large Passamaquoddy blade used before on this paddle and its twin here. Sassafras is so flexible and lightweight this design has potential to be my go-to tripping blade. Unfortunately, the only Sassafras I could source out was a thick 8/4 thick board, which meant a lot of chopping was needed to thin the blade down to size. This turned out to be a slow process...mostly because of the heat in the city and the inviting Muskoka lounge chair set up in the shade. Think I spent too much time relaxing with a coffee and got distracted enjoying a fantastic Cuban robusto cigar (Partagas Series D4). Eventually the blade got thinned down enough to start using the spokeshave and in the next couple of days I'll start finishing off the rest. 

...Continue to Part 2 Update HERE