What type of finish do you prefer on a wood paddle? Do you find that it makes a difference in causing blisters or hot spots?

I have used both lightly oiled palm grips and palm grips that have been finished with polyurethane. I like the feel of the oiled grips better and I think that it also causes fewer blisters.

If I had a wooden paddle I actually used, I'd prefer the matt finish of oil for the shaft and grip. If you find you don't like it visually, you can always varnish or poly over it.

Linseed oil is mold food but that shouldn't matter for a paddle. Tung oil is normally sold as a wiping varnish. Most are not really an oil finish at that point. Pure tung oil is thicker than motor oil and needs to be thinned with spirits but it will penetrate, fill the pores with wood slurry and harden thereby also hardening the wood, protecting it from dents and the like like no surface coating could. It takes months to truly dry though. I finished a project using pure Tung oil on reclaimed wood so as to preserve the patina and old tool marks that still smells like oil up close over two months later.

That said, my paddle grip is epoxy coated styrofoam and the shaft is sheathed in plastic. I never get blisters but my calluses usually last a good month after a trip and some never seem to go away anymore.

Anyway, you can't go wrong with oil and you can always sand off varnish and poly. Oil will need to be redone every once in a while. Just be careful how you dispose of the rags you use. They can get hot enough to ignite.

I have a mixture that is called "boat soup". It is equal parts Linseed oil, turpentine and pine tar. I used it on an out door bench. It is slow to dry but I was thinking of trying that on a paddle.

Ha! I've never even heard of pine tar before. Love learning about new old stuff. Thanks! Let us know how it works if you try it.

This looks interesting:
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Ah pine tar, absolutely love the smell. I have an old pair of wooden Xcountry skis that I treat with pine tar. Brush it on then heat with a torch to "melt" into the grain and then wipe off the excess while it's still hot. Same treatment may work well for a paddle grip. I'm sure it would make your hands smell nice after a day of paddling.

It's not just for "boat soup".
If you've never had the pleasure and like to really smell/feel like a man, then give this stuff a try ;)

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Watco is my choice.  When I first get a paddle I put about 5 coats on, which takes about a week.  That may mean sanding the grip, but that's OK, since I sometimes reshape it anyway.  Then at least one more coat for each paddle some time over the summer.  They could use more, but this seems like enough.

Do you just do the grip or do you oil finish the entire shaft to the blade?

Just spent the week doing 2 paddles handles and grips with the Boat Soup mixture. They are drying now I like the look. The Pine Tar adds a little color. Now we will see how they hold up this summer.

Sorry to be so slow in responding.  I don't wax the shaft unless it's been sanded down to the bare wood.  Then I treat it the same as the grip.  Almost all my paddle shafts are varnished so this hasn't happened much.

Well I got out today and tried out the 2 paddles that I did the Boat Soup treatment on. They reel great and look good, now to see how they hold up through the summer. 8-)

I've had both...I prefer the oiled grip if I'm not using the graphite paddle.  By the way if you happen to use Deet ever and get a bit on your hands it does remove the varnish.

I use poly and then buff it out on a maidens rear end. You can't beat that finish, very nice on the hands.

I am liking the oil finish on the paddles that I refinished this spring. There is no sliding in the hand when wet. Zara I have not been able to find a willing maiden to buff them out. I asked the wife she had a whole different idea on how to buff my paddle. :o

A good "maiden" is hard to find nowadays.
A "nubile" one is damn near impossible! ;) ;D ;D