It's a long time since last blog entry. Lots of stuff has happened - jobs, projects, orders and a few small classes also. It is the most busy time of year. And indeed, this year is no exception.
I'm just about to finish a lot of different paddles. Next week I will be giving a kayak building class, unless some new mutation of Covid19 decides to breaks out. This winter I got in touch with a farmer who runs a small sawmill. And his forest is full of quality oak and alder. Here you see a preview of my new reinforced paddles. I just love the colors. And the best thing is that it is 100% locally grown materials. I think I'll make more of those in the future.
Speaking of paddles, This year has been exceptionally busy making special orders. Different colors, odd sizes - I run a small scale production, and it is usually no big trouble making changes from my standards. This winter I also re-introduced the Aleut touring paddle that I used to make. It's a crossbreed between a classic Aleut - or Unangan style paddle, and a bent paddle, as known from Early East Greenland.
From right to left: Stained reinforced Greenland paddle bound for Germany. Black stained take-part paddle for a Norwegian customer, and in front the bent "Aleut touring" paddle bound for the USA.
Recently, I've also done a bit of work on developing my SUP paddles. The standard sup paddles I make are all spruce. I just love the way they look. They are beautiful, super strong and light. It is, however, a lot of work carving these blades all by hand. And that makes them, of course, a bit expensive. I just tested out, making them as a combination of solid spruce and birch plywood, to save some time. I have tested the plywood paddle a bit, and it preforms well. We'll see if it will become a standard in the future.
One more project worth mentioning is a replica paddle. I seldom do replica paddles. It is a lot of work, but great fun too. I got this job from a friend who wanted a very authentic paddle. We picked a paddle, most likely from East Greenland, from a museum catalog. Whalebone is not that hard to come by in Norway, and I found some really good quality whalebone from whales hunted back in the 1960's.
Of course, edging and end reinforcements of whalebone has to be pinned in place with whalebone nails.
The paddle is almost finished at this moment, and yet to be tested. It is, like all authentic Greenland paddle, really heavy. But super solid and made to last.
What's next.. a couple of kayak building classes during the next weeks. And then hopefully a small vacation after that. But we still do paddle - Here's a shot from yesterday's evening trip. The bird cherry is blossoming wildly along the banks of the river.
