: Believe it or not, I've been thinking of checking with the meat department of
: the local supermarket to see if any cow bones are big and thick enough for
: paddle tips. Do you think a shoulder blade might do the trick? Can bone be
: steam bent? If so, strips cut from a femur should work. I'll bet it will
: stink to high heaven when you sand it!

Brian,

I think I have seen mention of working bone from the supermarket on the baidarka list. You may wish to check the baidarka archives. As far as bending goes, the Inuit do not bend the bone edge and tip fittings on their paddles, they are shaped with a file and are nailed into place with bone or antler nails. The tip is fitted with a mortise/tenon join secured by two pegs. Get a copy of John Heath's full-size paddle plans or refer to H.C. Petersen's "Skinboats of Greenland" for details.

I tried one of these paddles while in Greenland and they are very heavy.

Greg Stamer