I bought a book, collected some wood, picked up a spokeshave in a flea market and got to work.

Beautiful! Congrats on your newly developed skill/art.

Nice looking paddles! I like the looks of that grip.

Thank you. I have never tried building a canoe but I sure appreciate following some of the threads on this site and seeing the amazing work.

Nice looking paddles. What book did you buy ?

Thanks, Bill. The book is Canoe Paddles by Graham Warren and David Gidmark. A very informative book.

These are exceptional. I am really impressed with the matching and contrasting wood grains. There's nothing quite like a handmade piece that is both functional and beautiful.

Beautiful work!

Having built a few myself, I really admire your craftsmanship. Simple elegance with functionality. Time for the marketplace, perhaps?

Thanks folks for all the encouragement. Not ready to try to sell any I think, Christmas presents for now.

Traveler: "Thanks, Bill. The book is Canoe Paddles by Graham Warren and David Gidmark. A very informative book.
"

I've used the ame book. I have built 6 or 7 paddles and although they, for the most part, turned out to be a little heavier than most commericial paddles, I still very much enjoy using them. I found the instructuons in the book to be very useful.

Yeah, mine are a little on the heavy side too. I have managed to get them down to 2lbs but I haven't gotten much below that yet. I admit that I sometimes like to use heavier woods like walnut and Paduk just because they are so beautiful. I also use basswood, ash, sycamore, sassafras, a little pine and a few other odd scraps.

Traveler: "Thanks, Bill. The book is Canoe Paddles by Graham Warren and David Gidmark. A very informative book.
"

You do very nice work, they are works of art. This book was what I also used when I made paddles. Detailed information and instructions. If anyone is new to paddle making you need this book.

Nice work!

Works of art.

Magnificent works of art! Well done! You are a gifted Craftsman. Thank you for sharing.

Awesome! Is 2# heavy, seems like it’d be worth toting to use one of those beauties. Googled spokeshave, now ya got me thinkin.
What is a light wood, I would think cedar, but that is fairly soft. Basswood is light I think, doesn’t have much grain tho.

Very, very nice!

I have found basswood to be really nice for the main shaft. Lightweight, straight, and easy to work with. I think my favorite other wood so far has been sassafras. Beautiful, not heavy, and smells like root beer!
Thank you all for the nice words.