: Thanks. Can you give me a couple examples of places that would
: cause problems? These would be either near the tip or 12"
: from it, running across the blade.

That's probably a worst-case scenario. If the knot material is loose, one option would be to epoxy it in place, then carve the blade normally. If the material is solidly embedded, you might want to just carve the paddle from one of them and see what happens. If it doesn't work out, try something different with the second one.