He carved ax handles with it. With the help of an identical crooked knife, Vaillancourt has carved more than 140 canoes. The air of patience is just as much a tool in the art of building his birch bark canoes as the centuries-old tradition of using the crooked knife, ax, and awl was for Native Americans. While he learned woodworking from watching his grandfather, he also taught himself the art of canoe building after studying whatever information he could find, finally creating his first successful canoe at 15. I had always been involved.
Observation is one of the best ways to learn.
From the very first steps in the canoe building process, the boats are a part of him. He chooses the trees himself, and 400 laborious hours later, he has again turned tradition into a tangible. And even after all this time and all these canoes, sometimes Vaillancourt still surprises himself. It's the lines you give the canoe. Most buyers know his skills and are willing to pay the money and wait for quality workmanship.