Peter Hitchcock Paddle

Last winter I read Jerry Dennis' book, "From a Wooden Canoe". In one chapter, Mr. Hitchcock’s paddles were praised and they peaked my interest. I found his email and reached out to him to see if he was still making paddles. I received an email back that day informing me he had a couple left from his last “log” (more on that later). They were not as highly figured as his typical paddles and he would sell one at a reduced cost. We wound up trading several emails and spoke at length about his process.

His paddles are made from veneer grade maple logs that he has split rather than milled. This provides very stable blanks that he is able to carve incredibly thin. He has posted on the WCHA forum and his description of how he creates a paddle can be found here-


This is by far my favorite paddle. It only weighs 1lb 2oz. and the blade thickness is 1/8”. It is surprisingly robust as I can really move a lot of water without too much flex.



The below is in comparison to my Bruce Smith.



In our conversation I mentioned I was interested in paddle building and he offered to share some knowledge in his shop. So back in May, I drove out to spend some time. He was very generous with his time and knowledge. He helped me rough out a blank to take home and finish. I couldn’t thank him enough.



Sometimes people cross your path that really inspire. I am excited to complete what we started and I will post when it is done.

This is an example of his typical work. I have dibs on one similar if he makes another batch!


Bob

Very cool.

Wow! Thanks for posting. I'm fascinated that someone is building paddles from split wood.

Thanks for posting about the paddle and the link to the WCHA.org thread. Quite enjoyable to read and it got me thinking more about the behavior of wood (split vs. randomly sawn) as well as species of wood used.

I have now made four paddles; two made from a single 2" thick air-dried cherry furniture wood supplied by a friend who makes classic furniture, and two from scraps in my barn. I've done a bit of experimentation with blade & grip shapes. I have used three of the four for tripping and like them all performance-wise but aesthetically prefer the single board paddles.

My latest: Laminated ash shaft/spine (from w/c canoe gunwale scrap) and cherry blade & grip glue-ons (leftovers from the first two single board cherry paddles). I used it once and promptly brought it back into the shop and removed about 1/4" from the spine of the blade. It's now about 3/8" at the thickest part of the blade, tapering to about 1/8" at the edges. Sorry about the orientation of the second photo- vertical mode pictures don't translate well to posting here.

Cheeseandbeans said:

His paddles are made from veneer grade maple logs that he has split rather than milled. This provides very stable blanks that he is able to carve incredibly thin.

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This is very interesting, and I'm glad their are folks who appreciate Hitchock's construction methods and resulting product.

However, I don't quite understand the cost/benefit of the fastidiousness in selecting veneer grade maple logs for at least 6 feet of perfect splitting. I mean, I understand that it can result in a strong paddle (for reasons that are not technically clear to me, not being a wood worker). But it is clear from Hitchock's narratives on the the linked WCHA thread that he can only rarely find suitable logs, for which he has to travel considerable distances, that he only makes two or so paddles a year, and they cost $500 each because of the material costs. I'm not sure that's a sustainable cost/benefit ratio on either the production or consumption sides.

I don't own any maple paddles nor any from split logs that I know of, but I expect all my various single stock and laminated paddles can last at least a lifetime with adequate carefulness and care.

I find blade shape, grip comfort, balance and weight to be more important than durability. For example, to me, my Bruce Smith paddle is superbly crafted, comfortable and balanced—and I'm sure it can last for 80 years—but I've concluded that the propulsive characteristics of the ottertail shape are not ideal for me. I should have gotten one of the less tapered and wider blade shapes. The Hitchock blade shape does look very versatile.

Patrick Corry said:

Sorry about the orientation of the second photo- vertical mode pictures don't translate well to posting here.

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Tangentially, this caught my eye as admin, so I rotated the picture and am reposting it vertically in two different sizes. I'd be interested in hearing what any such problems are so we can address them. However, if all we are talking about is that desk and laptop screens are wider than they are tall and hence can display landscapes better, that's just physical fact, not a software problem.

Glenn MacGrady said:

I don't quite understand the cost/benefit of the fastidiousness in selecting veneer grade maple logs for at least 6 feet of perfect splitting. I mean, I understand that it can result in a strong paddle (for reasons that are not technically clear to me, not being a wood worker).

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The way I understood his explanation was it has to do with grain orientation and how that allows the amount of flex, strength, and ability to carve it so thin without compromise.

I really like my Bruce Smith also, but this is very different. This obviously is all highly subjective. You don’t live too far from me Glenn. Open offer to give it a try sometime.

Bob

Just stumbled across this thread - very interesting stuff and the Hitchcock paddle is gorgeous!

I am getting close to finishing the maple paddle from one of Peter’s blanks and under his tutelage via email. One fantastic tip he gave me was to make a hole with an awl every inch or so along the middle reference line drawn on the blank. That way, if your line gets sanded off you can always get it back.



I am torn on varnish or the tung oil concoction Bruce Smith uses. I can’t remember the recipe he included when I received a paddle from him for maintenance when needed. I have it somewhere…

I like the look of varnish, but enjoy the feel of a well used oiled paddle.

Thoughts?

Bob

Bruce says to mix up a batch of 85% BLO with 15% paint thinner or varsol. Ace had BLO and paint thinner, so that’s what I got. It has worked just fine on my cherry BS ottertail and on my reshaped Clement. On the Clement I used varnish on the blade and oiled the shaft and grip. The oil finish requires more frequent care, but it’s very easy and you don’t get runs in a rubbed finish!

The varnished blade / oiled shaft makes sense but I just oiled from grip to tip on the ones I made. I used Watco Teak oil & it seemed to soak in pretty well. Field testing will commence soon.

Gamma1214 said:

The varnished blade / oiled shaft makes sense but I just oiled from grip to tip on the ones I made. I used Watco Teak oil & it seemed to soak in pretty well. Field testing will commence soon.

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That’s what I’d do too on a solid wood paddle; the Clement tip has two transverse lams and I’m pretty sure the whole thing contains a sheet of glass in the middle, then where the blade transitions to shaft there’s a dovetail joint so I thought it best to seal it better. That and I didn’t want to sand all of the old varnish off!