Juraj's paddles from Slovakia

Here are some paddle submissions by blog reader, Juraj from Slovakia. More photos of his carving process can be seen on his online gallery link.

The paddle on the left is American Black Cherry and the right is Maple. The grip design and decoration for the cherry paddle is based on the circa 1860 Woodland paddle that appeared on  page 384, plate 473 of the exhibition catalogue,  Pleasing the spirits : a catalogue of a collection of American Indian art by Douglas C  Ewing (1982).

The grip on his maple paddle is based on the design of my elder son's heirloom birth paddle which also appeared on the cover of Glooscap, the Beavers and the Sugarloaf Mountain illustrated by Réjean Roy.

Juraj finished both paddles with 3 coats of Boiled Linseed Oil and then a mix of BLO, turpentine and beeswax. In addition, he restored a fiberglass canoe with some custom carved wood components. The finished canoe has been launched and paddles have been dipped in a tributary of the Danube. Check out pics of this beautiful canoe country below.

Well done and happy paddling, Juraj!