Nice. Your planes look like they’re cutting clean. I put the first coat of Tung oil on my paddle
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Congrats Paul! It’s great to see how much your tool skills, confidence, eyes and feel have improved; you’ve become become well-trained. It’s really all about learning and enjoying the process, plus you end up with a nice paddle as a reward! 
I’m going through the same learning curve with green wood carving. One bowl and a couple of spoons into it, I’m thoroughly enjoying it now. Just don’t ask how long they took to make or what I’ve spent on tools. 
I’m looking forward to your reaction when you start sanding, as that’s where the magic really happens. You’ll see what I mean…
Doesn’t matter Brian, the cost of the tools, they’re forever. How do the bowl and spoons look. You have to show pictures.
Thank you! It has been an enjoyable journey.
Uhhhh… you’ll be laughing in your beer, right?
I might actually wait until it is a bit warmer outside, I’m not sure I want the cedar dust in the house.
Hand tools… Quite a finished product.
Look how out of hand this can get.
Peace J
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Hey. Is that Brian’s bowl, or maybe the spoon.
That’s also how they gauge the thickness of Chesapeake Bay Log Canoes. Nice find paatit. Things do get out of hand.
No, I’m serious. When all the edges disappear and the paddle feels like a living thing in your hands, it’s a special moment
Well, it’s supposed to be around 60 degrees tomorrow (Wednesday)…
The axe, adze and gouge techniques are remarkably similar, just on a different scale.
True.
This is bowl #1. The right end split, so I filled it with a WRC wedge made from an off-cut from a paddle. What goes around, comes around, I guess. I actually like the look.
This is spoon #2. The grain told me that this needed to be an asymmetric serving spoon. Notice that it has a slight split, too. I haven’t filled it yet, as I’m waiting for it to dry completely first. I’m sensing a pattern here, so perhaps I’ll fill it with a cedar shaving.
Here’s a little “trash to treasure” story. I took five strips from the sides of this…
…and laminated them to make a blade cover for my carving knife.
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Looks like cherry with sapwood. Is either one made from the tree you cut down. Nice tool marks and balance. I like your tables as well. Looks like quartered white oak and not sure what the other is.
Yup, it’s black cherry. My next bowl will have minimal sapwood and none on the ends, so splitting should be less of a problem. The next spoon will probably be black locust, as I’m curious how it carves.
I didn’t make the tables. The first one is rosewood, the second is oak (the coarse grain makes me think it’s red oak) and the third one is teak.
Clever, like paatit said, it can get out of hand. When I finished truing up my paddle a few days ago, the spokeshave was cutting cleanly using one hand.
Nice setup. I was thinking white oak because of the long medial rays. Nice patina.
I had a friend of mine accusing me of going “all amish” on the work bench I’m building. First bench, which you can briefly see in episode 20, was all hand tools. 2nd bench, may be all hand tools. I do have 6’ piece of 2x12 that I need to rip and I’m not looking forwards to that.
mmmmm…
There’s this crazy thing called work…
Air temp at home is 61°, Thomas Point near Annapolis reading:
47° water is warm for this period. I expected the reverse in air/water considering air is 61° on land.
Paul, you have gone all Amish. Brian, I’m not sure I want to get mine dirty, but I want to see how it cuts through water. Watching Paulo, Dancing with Waves, makes me interested in doing rolls.
Watch this.
I watch that all the time…
Next you’ll be making a skin boat. I am…
Skin on Frame boats are amazing. I looked at different boat designs and material. Despite the drawbacks of plastic, it’s the material of my choice and my boats give me complete confidence in the conditions I can expect.
I’ve never used my spray skirt, because I don’t paddle in conditions where I feel unstable. Videos like that interest me, but to play with rolling means I have to give up paddle time. Not ready to go there yet.
I’ve built three SOF kayaks and still have my first one. It’s actually both my first and fourth boat - sort of - as I modified it after building the other two. Honestly, it’s the boat I use the least, but building SOFs was a lot of fun and as with all of these hand crafts, a great learning experience. They taught me to trust my eyes, hands and intuition when working with wood, which was an invaluable lesson.
That’s the greatest part of making things by hand. I shouldn’t have made the paddle, but this thread became too enticing. I have so many unfinished projects - basement to finish, a stereo cabinet to build, a display cabinet, a kayak launch, a fire pit with a stone patio (the stone work stopped me and crippled my arm). CLC is an hour away and I almost bought a kit, but I couldnt find one that inspired me when I paddled the models. I don’t have time to actually paddle, and decided that I don’t need a boat that has to be pampered. The walls in my new room are flawless. The effort to pack the joints and finish them has me reluctant to hang pictures. If I put the time in a wood boat, I know I’d be afresid to scratch it.
I’m at a point in my life that I don’t need new tricks or new toys. I don’t want a shiny boat or new skills. I want to do what I enjoy doing most.
What’s fascinating about this Greenland paddle is that its a $5.00 piece of wood that otherwise could have been buried in a wall. If I don’t like it, I’ll hang it on a wall or burn it and make another one on a cold winter day. I have four more blanks that were about $8.00 each, and my fir blank that was $31.00. Building the paddle was therapeutic and took no time at all. In the time Paul took to share his build, he could have had his own paddle company, but then I’m sure a lot of paddle makers wouldn’t have thought of using a 2x4. I didn’t.
I like nice things, but I can be content looking at the nice things other people own. I’m as happy as a tick on a dog with my plastic boat and plan to take my good paddle and my home made paddle for some hard rides.
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Have fun and be careful out there!