Different woods for paddles

During this time of forced isolation, I am getting around to making a few paddles out of woods that I haven't used before. It was nice to work with different woods and seeing what are the characteristics of each species. Left to right : Flame birch, very tight grain Ash, Tiger maple and American chestnut. Now I can't wait to get them wet! Thanks for looking.

 

Very nice! Did you stain the ash?
I'm a sucker for curly maple, but they all look really great.

 

Yes the ash was stained to really make the grain stand out.

 

Looks great. I have some split ash I intended to use for snowshoe frames. I'll have to see if any of it is wide enough for paddles.

 

Great carving! Am I correct in assuming that Flame Birch is actually Yellow Birch?

 

Yup. And it is the provincial tree of Quebec.

 

Where did you source the American Chestnut? Is it refurbished wood?

 

Very limited supply from a forester friend!