Here's another grainy photo from
With Rod and Gun in New England and the Maritime Provinces, published in 1897. It features a profile shot of bark canoe with the guide on the far left holding up a paddle.
Samuels, Edward A. (Edward Augustus), 1897
page 295
Here's a closeup. It seems that the paddle has what looks like a knot or other blemish on the mid portion of the blade.
I don't know if it a knot or not, but I found that tight knots in a paddle blade is irrelevant, in the shaft could be different if the knot is large but one of my sitka spruce paddle have one small tight knot in the shaft and never had a problem yet!!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure some of the paddle made in the bush in the old days would have had all kind of defects. after all most of them were utilitarian, a tool that would be use and abuse and then after breaking them and I,m sure they broke many would have been put in the fire to light the work made on an other paddle!
Cheers