: The recent thread on finishes is interesting, if read with weight as foremost
: concern in mind. With all the trouble different finishes can give, why
: bother? I mean, if one wants to sell the thing, the prettier the better,
: but for own personal use... have you perhaps been turning into this line
: of thought lately?

Risto,

Yes, my 31 oz paddle has been oiled many times over more than a year of use. However the oil does not seem to penetrate very far, even when thinned heavily, so in my experience, the oil doesn't appear to add much weight. Also consider that my first coat contains linseed oil varnish (Z spar), which acts as a sealer. After the surface "cures", adding new oil replenishes the finish and hides scratches but most of the oil gets wiped off. When I widened the loom, during my first trials with the paddle, I didn't have to go very deep until I hit unoiled wood. My speculation is that the solids from the oil are left behind to polymerize near the surface, while the more volatile aspects of the oil (and much of the weight) evaporate over time.

My next paddle will be unfinished, but it will have sharper edges and thinner tips and maybe another inch in length. In this regard it will be identical to the paddles that I experimented with in Greenland. I also plan on making a stout "beater" out of spruce with plastic or ash edges and tips for operating around oysters shells (very common in the lagoons here).

Truth be known, I suspect that most of us finish our paddles for the sake of aesthetics, which like weight and strength, is still an important consideration. I am looking for performance improvement and maximum buoyancy, and put aesthetics rather low in priority (but actually prefer a very simple, unadorned finish). I used varnished and epoxy finished Greenland paddles for seven years and now greatly prefer the feel of oiled or bare wood (solid, sure grip and no "squeeks"). A paddle is a very personal item and more than likely YMMV.

Greg Stamer