Ray Mears Bushcraft Paddle Video

Ontario Tourism is running a contest this summer involving a canoe package worth $10 000. The winner will get an all-expenses paid trip to Wabakimi Provinicial Park and paddle with some outdoor legends. The host guides are Ray Mears and Becky Mason. Here are some of the details from the official contest page

• Round-trip airfare from anywhere in Canada or continental United States to Thunder Bay, Ontario where the adventure begins and ends
• An 8-day fully outfitted trip including:
• Floatplane into Wabakimi Provincial Park for 5 days of guided wilderness camping, paddling, bushcraft and wildlife observation with Ray Mears and his team
• One night at Wabakimi Wilderness Eco-Lodge
• Tour of Fort William Historical Park
• All meals
• Plus $2,000 in outdoor gear from SAIL

There is a promotional video making the rounds that shows brief footage of Mears making a bush paddle with an axe and crooked knife. Here is the screenshot at the 1:36 mark. Beauty!

In the summer of 2014, Ray visited Wabakimi for his own excursion. His blog post about the journey is filled with lovely text and photos. Here's one of Ray making a paddle on that trip:

Photo Courtesy: The Ray Mears & Woodlore Blog
Original Link

Over on the CanoeTripping.net forums, a member began a thread about the minimal tools required to make an emergency paddle in the wilderness. Most respondents (myself included) mentioned the use of an a saw, axe and crooked knife as ideal, but the original poster correctly points out that few folks trip with an axe anymore and the crooked knife is even more rare. A few folks have come up with ideas for an emergency paddle including using duct tape and barrel lid. Creative!

Historic Paddle Photo: Maliseet Guide with Paddles

Another paddle photo find in the December 1910 issue of  Rod and Gun in Canada ( Vol. 12, No. 7 ). The article entitled, "A New Brunswick Canoe Trip on the Fascinating Tobique" by Stephen B. Bustin features an image of the Maliseet guide posing with a slim guide paddle with tapering grip.

Original Link

Paddle Closeup

St. Mary's Maliseet Grandmother Canoe Paddling

Found a Youtube video of the the replica "Grandmother Canoe" being paddled at St. Mary's Maliseet First Nation. After a brief, informal interview with G. Wayne Brooks, the video shows some folks bringing in the beautiful canoe to shore. Lovely paddles are being used to power this special craft. Here are some screen shots and the full video below...

Luke M's Ash Paddles

Blog reader Luke M from Wales has recently gotten into the paddle making hobby and has sent in some of his wonderful creations. Each paddle has been carved from locally grown ash with an axe and crooked knife. Most impressive! Here is a group shot of 4 paddles along with descriptions he provided.  These paddles are based on (left to right):

• The 1878 Malecite paddle at the Fredericton Region Museum (post here).

• Various historical fur trade paddles seen on this site and elsewhere.

• The Malecite paddle in the British Museum featured on your site (post here)

• The 1889 Passamaquoddy ocean canoe paddle in The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It’s 75” long and is mainly used standing 

Here is a Cree style paddle with a modified grip carved with a beautiful grain pattern... 

Here is Luke's first attempt at making a paddle from a log completely by eye without any templates or guidelines. It was also carved smooth enough to not require sanding.

This last paddle was carved recently from another quarter of the same log...just lovely!

Luke also sent in a photo of his tool set. The crooked knife blades were made by hand out of old files annealed in his woodstove. The axe is an old Kent pattern head which was restored and fitted with a homemade handle too.

Very much looking forward to seeing more creations from Luke in the future!

Peterborough Area Antique Tiger Maple Paddle

From the January 2015 Current Selections page of CherryGallery.com...

Tiger Maple Canoe Paddle
This hand-made maple paddle has a graceful handle shape and long blade with prominent tiger graining. It was most likely made in the Peterborough lakes region of southern Ontario.
Circa 1910
5" w, 60" h
 $875

 

The blade shape and grip design seems to be consistent with the early Peterborough / Lakefield canoe building area. This post from 2011 discussed a paddle made by John Summers (former GM at the Canadian Canoe Museum) which was based on a late 19th century template design from Lakefield Canoe Company. 

19th Century Lakefield Canoe Co. pattern