Both oil and varnish are durable and ideal for paddles.  Varnish results in a high gloss finish while oil has a matte look and feel.  Varnish: Provides a completely sealed paddle and ready for first use. It's high gloss finish allows the grain and colours to stand out unlike any other. Varnish finish will hold up to a beating much better than oil finish will. Re-varnishing your paddle is slightly more complex than re-oiling but only needs to happen once a year or maybe once every 2 years depending on use. We use the highest grade marine varnish on the market...Epifanes. There is a reason why Ray Kettlewell (our founder) only offered varnish. ;) Oil: Provides what we call a matte feel to the paddle. For our oil finish we use a boiled linseed oil. Please be aware, an oil finish requires a much higher level of maintenance. We ask you to re-oil the paddle at regular intervals, including prior to its first use. We recommend oiling your paddle once a week for a month, once a month for a year and twice a year for the rest of its life. Oil finish is only available on Custom Paddles. In both cases the finish can be touched up and made to look like new.  So in the end it really comes down to the paddlers preference and how much they are willing to take on to keep their paddle prestine. We do not offer Oil as an option for Ash paddles due to its open grain. You can use oil on Ash but it takes an extensive effort to do so. If you are interested in an oil finish on an ash paddle, please contact us first prior to ordering.