There are many people who feel that the old way of doing things is still the best way to go. For that reason, people still enjoy woodworking and carving wooden logs into beautiful works of art. It is something that more and more people are taking an interest in and even though modern technology tries to make it easier, there is still nothing more satisfying than knowing you have been hand carving a canoe.

How Hand Carving a Canoe is Done

Anyone who works with wood understands that it is not an easy job to take on. However, a canoe is one of the biggest jobs you may take on since it starts out life as just a very large log or tree. From there, if you are working with your hands and power tools, you will want to use a chainsaw, an ax, and an adze to remove the top part of the log and clean out the bowl of it. Your goal will be to whittle out the inside to give you an area to sit and have the general shape of a canoe on the outside so that it will float easily with you inside of it.

Why Carve a Canoe from Wood?

Wooden canoes were first created back when Native Americans were roaming freely. In those days, they were made of birch bark mostly, but then other types of wood began gaining popularity. The newer wooden canoes were more durable. The downside is; wood has to be kept wet or there is a risk of it splitting. This will ruin the looks of your canoe quickly, so it is a good choice to treat it so that you do not end up with splits. Often epoxy is used to protect the wood.

After approximately the mid-1900s, plastic canoes started being produced. They are more durable. They require less maintenance and some may be beautiful. They are shinier than all other options, but true woodworkers have never quite given up the idea of a traditional canoe that is hand-crafted by them.

Do You Want a Kayak or a Canoe?

Kayaks and canoes are both basically the same thing. However, there are a few things that you may want to consider before cutting out that log for your canoe. One thing is that a kayak is generally not going to have a seat for the rider to sit on. A canoe often does, in the form of a bench. This is because the sides are going to be higher on it than the sides for a kayak will be. The canoe is also going to be completely open on the top whereas a kayak may have a covered area for your legs to rest. For a more detailed explanation of the difference between the two, check out Kayak Kraze. You may also want to think about whether you have a single bladed padded or a double. Most canoes use single blades and kayaks use the doubles.

With all of the minor differences between a kayak and a canoe, you may want to take into consideration the size of the log that you are going to be using. If you start with a log that is not thick enough to create a deep area for you to sit in, you could be creating more of a kayak and a log that is too thick may not create a good kayak. Either way, you will be sticking to traditional and creating a true masterpiece when you use wood to hand carve a canoe.