: No, you're not hallucinating, thin edges produce a quieter, more
: efficient paddle. On my own paddles. I plane the edge down to a
: 1/8" flat before rounding it off. The downside is that the
: edges are less durable, so adding ha.

Ditto to what Bryan said. I take mine down to around 1/8" as well before rounding and burnishing. I also may me tips pretty thin as well. I add a small plastic protector to the tips that works incredibly well but add no real weight. See the picture below of my first paddle with the protector. I just finished another yesterday that has the plastic completely inset into the tip adnd it came out very neat!!!

The thin tips and blades make for a very quiet paddle. My friend leaves his chunky and the constant "thunk thunk thunk" sound is very annoying!!

Sean