How do you make a canoe paddle in the wilderness?

[Odyssey]

I guess I'm looking at this question differently. I see it as less of a challenge of carpentry skills, and more of a challenge to think, to think about emergency preparedness and reasoning. I'm not a complete buffoon with a blade, but my first thought about making a paddle was to spend as much time as possible repairing the broken one. But as per OP, failing that I'd construct a facsimile with perhaps the food barrel lid and a sturdy branch. Poking holes in lid and lashing with paracord, hey presto! an ugly 10 minute paddle project to get me out of an emergency. If however I had more time, and there were much less of an emergency, only then would I set about carving something more elaborate. I have far fewer carpentry skills than perhaps the rest of you, so it wouldn't be my first option in an emergency. I'd lean on any and few strengths I could muster, and save weaker skills for a really dire situation. Weaker and unpractised skills such as carving a complete paddle out of a standing birch. Know your strengths, and know your weaknesses. I wouldn't be afraid of hurting myself while carving, not at all. I'd be concerned with whittling away the time making a complete paddle, when a basic rudimentary ugly stick could do. I can whittle, I can split and wedge wood, I can fell trees. I just haven't put all those together in a project before. Having seen this done now, thanks to this thread, I'll add this knowledge (though perhaps not the skills) to my "good to know" list....and I'm serious about having a "good to know" list.
This is a good question and a good thread. It challenges us to think about a situation we may never find ourselves in, and challenges us to think about options. Having a basic kit for emergencies can mean more than first aid, fire and mealtime. It can mean basic bushcraft whatever our skill set, and calm reasoning whatever our experience, to work out solutions to problems when good times turn bad.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Every thing an knife can do I can do with an axe

If that were true for everyone, then no one would ever need to carry a knife.

That is the reason why every one use to cary an axe in the bush, every one, men and women.

I challenge the factual and historical accuracy of that assertion. What time period in history are you referring to? What part of the world? There are millions of indigenous people today who live in or near tropical or semi-tropical wilderness and who use machetes, parangs, goloks and kukris as their daily chopping instruments, not an axe. The constant companion of the Sami peoples of Finland was a short knife (puuko) and a long machete-like knife (leuko).

Moreover, there are millions of backpackers and hikers, and tens of thousands of canoeists, all over the world who don't want to carry an axe on their trips for weight and bulk reasons. This is simply irrefutable. These people perhaps could do some tasks better with an axe, but they can do them sufficiently with lightweight saws and knives within their weight constraints.

None of this is really the topic, however, which was more of a thought experiment about making a paddle with minimal tools. To me, it seems clear that the best single tool, traditional to North America and Europe, for making a paddle is an axe, though I have little doubt it can be done with a parang such as the one advocated by British survival expert Lofty Wiseman, who literally wrote the book.

However, I personally never have and wouldn't carry an axe on my typical canoe trip just because it may be the optimal tool to carve an emergency paddle -- because, in my weighing of risks in gear selection, the need to carve a paddle is very remote. I may someday need to dig big holes on a canoe trip, but that doesn't convince me to carry a shovel.

Buy an axe!!

Passionate advice, and good in many contexts for the many people who want or need an axe. But millions of people simply don't need or want one at home or on their occasional trips into the woods.

The only reason, for me, to carry an axe on my common type of canoe trip wold be to process firewood. However, I can do that perfectly adequately with a folding saw, squaw wood and knife. And, as a warm weather-only camper these days, I usually don't even bother with a fire.

 

[Rippy]

Good post Brad. Good thread Glenn, it got us all thinking. I learned from other's thoughts as well. Lot's of ways to look at that situation. I should have waited till coffee kicked in before I posted in #61. I hope it didn't come off as harsh. Dave

 

[oldie moldy]

Interesting post Dave, sure agree with you. I don't know why it should surprise me but all it takes is one generation getting away from using tools and the skill is lost. Poof! Maybe I took the durability of society too much for granted. In fact it's much more fragile that I ever believed.
What's funny/sad is to listen to the present crop of young one's and hear the smug superiority they feel over the blue collar worker who uses his hands to earn his bread.
When I listen to this silly stuff, it seems to me that the poor dummy has dropped his trousers and bent over and is awaiting a reality check that he really won't like.

Now I go camping alone, mainly through sociability defects of mine, I never let loose of the idea that I'm alone and nobody is coming to help. It's true there is a little bit of pride in it, but also a chill on the back of my neck when things aren't going smoothly.
There's a intangible quality that I think we often neglect: that is the confidence that come what may I'll be able to rise to the occasion. It's almost like I have a box with all the abilities to face things inside and there's a latch on the lid. That latch is the confidence in myself. If I can't get the box open........

So.....what does this have to do with paddle making? This next summer (it's coming, have faith) I'll be learning to make a paddle. Probably never need to do it, but it's one more deposit in my confidence account.
I'll probably try that batoning too, don't want to use my knives for it though, maybe I can barrow Memaquay's, understand he's got a loaner.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[yellowcanoe]

the failing is not the tool , It is I. So I will stick with my stick. Good skills are mentioned that need to be practiced at home where the ER is nearby

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The constant companion of the Sami peoples of Finland was a short knife (puuko) and a long machete-like knife (leuko).

I don't want this to be an axe vs. big knife thread, as each tool obviously has optimal uses, sub-optimal but acceptable uses, and is preferred for different reasons by different people. But for those who don't want to read the link about the Sami leuko knife, here's a quote:

"On the northern tundra a 7 or 8 inch leuku is far better to shop firewood with than an ax, as brush and willows are to weak to offer the ax the resistance needed for a easy cut. The leuku just slices thin branches off easily with a flick of your hand. But the big one also splits larger firewood well with the use of a baton. For fishing and hunting it is very handy as it is both knife and ax in one."

Did the Sami people paddle canoes or kayaks and therefore have a need to make paddles? I don't know, but they have lakes and ocean in Finland, Lapland and northern Scandinavia.

 

[Rippy]

The leuku just slices thin branches off easily with a flick of your hand.

I have done this with larger knives that had a keen grind and edge, and it's actually fun. I would take a knife down to the near by rail road ditch and easily knock green limbs the size of my thumb off trees. It was all in the blade speed which was easily achieved with a flick of the wrist and the momentum of the knife blade. Didn't work very well on dry wood in my local.

 

[memaquay]

I've been thinking, I'm going to try that duct tape/forked stick idea this summer. For ease and quickness, I think that might be the winner. If i have any down time on the June trip with my students, I might give them a design challenge and then let them have a canoe race with their creations. Winner gets an extra piece of bannock or sumpin.

 

[Guest]

I've been thinking, I'm going to try that duct tape/forked stick idea this summer.

I may do that as well, just for funsies. But the question of fashioning an emergency paddle has too many variables for any one answer. Beyond the tools needed or at hand I see this question as an unknown situational issue. The implements I have at hand would certainly come into play, but so would a lot of other factors.

What kinds of materials are available? If it is nothing but stunted jack pine that doesn’t provide much to work with. Tall skinny saplings or straight grained standing deadwood cedar/poplar/etc ? Can I make it to some derelict camp or cabin with something rudimentary and scavenge a piece of dimensional lumber?

Do I have some part of the broken paddle to use even if I can’t repair it? What other materials do I have available, especially if the wood choice is limited. Can I whittle the broken blade down and secure it in a tarp pole shaft? If I have the rest of my kit and all I have lost is the paddle(s) I have a lot of potential material to work with - rope, cord, tape, dry bag fabric, webbing. If I have my Spares & Repairs kit I’ve got wire, epoxy, cloth and lots more to work with. Fabricate versus split, saw, whittle?

How far do I have to paddle, five miles up the lake to where I left my spare or 50 miles downriver to the first road or camp? What kind of water do I need to traverse, big windswept lake, white water river or pond hopping portage trip?

How much of an emergency is this no-paddle situation? Do I have a day to find and process a suitable piece of wood to split, saw and carve some approximation of a paddle? Quite honestly, with the tools and skills I carry, that would not be my first choice.

If the intent is to carve a solid wood single blade it makes for an interesting bushcraft challenge, but for me it seems akin to fashioning a fashioning a bow drill. How the hell did I get myself in that condition? Perhaps more than anything it illustrates the need to carry a dependable spare paddle (and spare lighters).

Dependably sturdy, and dependably - and accessibly - secured to the canoe. It is unlikely I’m going to forget my spare. With whatever attachment method it is boldly visible in front of me and the boat would look noticeably naked without it. I have forgotten a PFD (I didn’t get far), but I don’t remember the last time I was in a boat without a spare paddle. Maybe never.

The most likely situation to lose a paddle would be in a capsize, swimming beside the canoe with one paddle (hopefully) still in hand. I’d think about the dependability and attachment security of my spare paddle before practice whittling a beavertail.

 

[Canotrouge]

Off course I was talking to Canada/ USA, and not the entire world... Anyway, it doesn't really matter since you don't believe into axes, and in an the post said the you don't even need a knife on trips. I do carry an axe and at least one knife on all my trips, and I'm happy with that!!
Cheers

 

[Odyssey]

There is a prehistory of both axes and knives here. A little history I've found about blades in pre-contact N.America.

http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.be...dianKnives.htm
http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.be...pedia/axes.htm

Here's an interesting discovery about a portion of iron axe head predating European exploration.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/...ean_axe_a_cent ury_before_european_contact.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantle_...estral_Village

The First Nations in every part of the world fabricated and traded for tools that would best suit their circumstances. Whether for ceremonial or pragmatic purposes, they likely found the best tool for the situation.
It's suggested that the iron axe became a valued trade item for the indigenous peoples.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...n-trade-goods/

I do not see a blade debate. Whatever tool works. Whichever tool I/you choose to use is good.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Anyway, it doesn't really matter since you don't believe into axes, and in an the post said the you don't even need a knife on trips.

Haha. Touché, Canotrouge.

Actually, I said I once brought no knife because I lost my only one the first morning.

I've been reading a lot of stuff about bushcraft and edged tools and have developed a curiosity and interest. Thus, I've decided I'd like to improve my skills in some of these areas. I'd like to get better at making fires in different conditions, for example, including batoning and feathersticking. I intend to improve my skills but I'm also lacking in some tools. That's why I've purchased three fixed blade knives this month and am even thinking (very slightly) about an axe. That's why I'm spending so much research and posting time on these subjects.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Canotrouge]

I'm all for having fun Glenn.... I really like you threads, I learn lots from all the response to them from every one!!
Cheers

 

[ppine]

Some good thoughts by like minded people. Rippy is preaching to the choir. Canoe tripping is all about self-reliance.
Some people hire a guide for the Boundary Waters, but you will not find those kind of people on this forum. I have a high level of respect for this group, in fact higher than any of the outdoor forums I frequent.

I don't make lists for most trips. Over the years I have forgotten plenty of things. It is how to learn to make substitutes or lighten the pack in the future.

I remember a family camping trip to Maine in the 1950s. Dad forgot the top part of the pole arrangement for the canvas umbrella tent. He went into the woods with an axe and fashioned some willow branches under tension. The tent looked better than it did with the store bought poles. I never forgot that lesson at age 10.

This thread is a great time to encourage people to make some paddles at home. Then making one in the field will be very familiar.

 

[HOOP]

Ray Mear's full length film (winner at the Reel Paddling Film Festival), has a great segment of him carving a very nice paddle with a full size axe and crooked knife. To save me re-typing, below is the copy-paste I posted on another website with the Vimeo link and instructions: Enjoy:

Ray Mears' short film "We Belong to It", has won an award as one of the best of the Reel Paddling Film Festival. Its classic Ray Mears narrative. If you are not familiar with Ray, he is a world famous documentary film maker, and specializes in bushcraft skills, but always in a very humble and quiet style (check out the segment showing him carving a paddle with axe and crooked knife). Its filmed in northern Ontario's Wabakimi Provincial Park, a place where some of you have paddled.

The video is posted on Vimeo for free watching by the producers. Its about 13 1/2 minutes, well worth watching. Link here: https://vimeo.com/120156522 Its also filmed in a beautiful stretch wide landscape format.

I found with my old computer it would not live stream properly clicking in the video box. But look beneath the video box and there is a "Download" button with menu options for what resolution and software you would like to play it on. The download takes a few minutes depending on your choice of resolution. It downloads in MP4 format, so I had to search around my software for an MP4 player. With trial and error I found it. Once downloaded, my computer could play it smoothly with MP4 playing software.

I am sure you will enjoy it.

 

[oldie moldy]

I recently purchased a farriers knife/crooked knife from Ben's Backwoods. A very well made little tool, just needed a polishing of the edge and it cuts like a dream.
Not very expensive either.
That funny little hook on the end of the blade is dandy for hollowing out shapes. To get into the curve to sharpen/polish the edge a section of dowel with very fine emory paper works well.
I really like that guy Ben, think he's a straight shooter.

Rob

 

[memaquay]

Thanks for the reminder Rob! Certainly can't beat that price! I just ordered one. Now if I can get one of my buddies to cut down a tree and split it, I'll have something to keep me occupied for a week or so of sitting on my backside.