The idea for this paddle came from a blog post on another blog. What really caught me attention was the grip, I wanted to make something similar. But the end result actually isn't very similar at all. I got a lot of new ideas along the way. The slight difference in the wood color is because I finished the shaft and blade with a tar and oil mix. And the Grip with just raw pre-oxidated linseed oil.
The reason for the spear blade was mainly because I had never paddled with one before. From what I have heard they were used for spearing fish and as weapons against other tribes. Murat, the owner of the paddle making blog told me they were used in Africa and Amazonia where the bottom is often muddy. If the blade gets stuck in the mud you just have to flip it and it gets loose. A normal blade is too wide to flip when it gets stuck.
I have a theory as well, that by putting all the impacts in the middle, where the paddle is as thickest and where the fibers go all the way through the paddle, it won't breat as easily. A wide blade can get stuck between stones and split the blade.
The shaft length is 64 cm (25") and the paddles overall length is 130cm (51"). The shaft tapers from a round shape by the grip to an oval shape towards the blade, for a good grip and better balance.
The surface is not sanded. I will go deeper into this in another blog post.
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