New Shaw & Tenney paddle

My wife has agreed to buy me a S & T Maine Guide paddle for my birthday. I’m kind of overwhelmed with the options ( which material and varnished/unvarnished ). Any insight would be helpful.

My choice for all around use would be the Penobscot in either Sassafras or Curly Maple. I have paddles in both and like them immensely.

Hey... I wonder if we're related?

Mine is sassafras. Bought it unfinished, sanded and only use hemp oil on it. End of each season, I lightly sand deep scratches, oil … good to go. Have paddled rivers, boreal lakes, brackish and salt water … paddle is awesome. Fresh oil makes her look new again.

Good luck with your choice.

Oops, forgot to mention …

Sassafras has a nice flex without being “noodlelly”. After a long day of paddling my joints are not as sore, my body feels better than I do from a stiffer ash paddle. The Sassafras is plenty robust, but softer on the power part of the stroke. This is by far my favorite paddle and paddle material.

Also, the wood is bright yellow … but within a year mellows to a rich warm brown color. It is a rot resistant wood. Sassafras does except oil, but it takes a bit soak in. That said, it does keep its oil finish through lots of use. I personally prefer oil as a finish because it is easier on my hands - I feel like I have better grip and less blisters. I also find it easier to touch up scratches, gouges etc with an oil finish.

Utilizing the handle to change hand placement makes it easier to paddle long distances for me and paddling deep and shallow on the same body of water is effortless by changing hand positions on the top.

Good luck with your choice, I love my paddle from them.

A buddy of mine has a S&T Guide in Ash and, it’s sooo much paddle. It’s quite nice but I don’t think I could use it for any extended period. A little unfairly, we sat around the campfire joking about how “Even Paul Bunyan couldn’t paddle this thing.”

In that model, I’d lean towards a lighter and more flexible species.

If I bought a Shaw and Tenney it would be a Penobscot for maximum usability/versatility and I'd absolutely get an oil finish if available. I can still remember using a friend's spruce Penobscot years ago so for me I'd have to decide between sassafras with oil finish or spruce that only comes with varnish. The spruce will dent and isn't as durable but it's delightful to use and if you manage to wear out a paddle that's a good problem to have.

Has Shaw and Tenney always had this elite line of paddles? When I was in retail years back (early 1970s) the canoe shop I worked at sold Shaw and Tenney as low-end paddles, the $5 to $10 range as I remember. Clement and Sawyer were higher end back then, Clement, out of Trois-Rivières Quebec, moreso than Sawyer, who had recently moved from Michigan to Southern Oregon. Both of them were in the $15 to $20 range as I remember. Both were laminated, I think, whereas the Shaw and Tenney's were not. I don't remember other brands carried then, but there could have been some. I think Old Town also had some paddles at that time, unlaminated spruce. The Shaw and Tenney's were varnished ash as I remember. I could be misremembering a lot, long ago and mind creep plus. I looked at the Shaw and Tenney Web site and don't see any low-end paddles at all, though that's what I remember from them.

Whatever you like. For rivers I like a stouter paddle made of hardwoods. White ash, mahogany, and walnut glued together. The weight is not important. I have used the same paddle for over 30 years. It has never failed in rocks and big waves but has been found in eddies a few times.

Varnish or tung oil. Leaving the top grip bare wood is kind of comfortable.