: Traditionalists would like to see Greenland paddles made as closely as
: possible to the sizes and shapes which have been used for centuries.
: Obviously people who use Euro paddles are not going to fit in the category
: of "traditionalist". If you are one of those who are willing to
: shuck the label, then you've opened doors to all kinds of possibilities.

: Most instructions for making Greenland paddles seem to start you with a cedar
: 2x4. Depending on your lumber source you might get a blade which is 3.5
: inches wide, or one which is 4 inches wide. These are much narrower than
: the blades on a Euro paddle. So compromise on tradition and start with a
: 2x6, or maybe rip a 2x10 in half and use what would be, I guess, a 2x5. Or
: go really big and whittle down a 2x8.

: You can approach the paddle idea from the opposite direction too. Make
: spoon-shaped blades (ala Euro style) which are longer and narrower than
: the usual Euro blades, and mount these on a shorter shaft. Such a longer,
: narrower neo-Euro style paddle would have some of the advantages of a GP
: (such as less resistance and a faster, lighter cadence. But at the same
: time it would have some of the advantages of the Euro designs.

: This country was founded on compromise. Take several ideas into the shop and
: blend them together to create something new. It is the American thing to
: do. Leave Greenland and European ideas behind you and emigrate to a new
: American paddle design, created by you in the tradition of E Pluribus Unum
: (That is Latin for: out of many screwy ideas, one is going to be a bit
: less screwy)

: Remember that one of the joys of building your own is that you get to
: experiment with ideas that are not on the market. So be creative and try
: something wildly different.

: Building paddles is relatively cheap. If you cut all the wood for 5 or 6
: paddle shafts at one time, you can make an assortment of styles of blades
: and glue up different paddle styles at your leisure.

: Enjoy your paddle building.

: PGJ

Hi Paul,

Well....everyone seems to think that the diamond shaped shouldered paddle is "the" traditional GP. It is one of the traditional shapes, it isn't the only one though. I think it's Harvey's site that shows a picture (there are several around the web) with a bunch of GP's show, none that look like the one that everyone assumes is "the" tradtional greenland paddle.

The one I use now is a mixture of shapes that I like, is it traditional, maybe not, don't care But it's not as strange a shape as many of those pictured that "are" traditional GP's.

Bill H.