Military Paddle Wrapping (Page 1/1)
ggfoster FEB 06, 10:34 PM
As it appears there is a rather large former military population on here I figured I would give a go at throwing my wrapping services out here. I have been wrapping for a while and have my own style/technique to doing it that makes them truly my wraps vs. a lot of copy catting you see going on. I have spent many hours practicing and have gotten it down to a science. I have a multitude of colors and am willing to do any unit. This also isn't restricted just to military. I have wrapped things for businesses and groups before. This is only a small cross section of my work. And very small at that. These are mostly from this past year. I got into a certain set up as you can see, but the color combinations worked well on all of these. I have many other knots I can tie on them so don't feel like you're limited to just this set up.

Prices vary usually from $75-$100. It all depends on the how ornate the knots become and also whether there is anything put on a plaque or patches involved. I only charge for the plaques/patches what I get charged to keep the price down. So if you have a hook up near you that can add that on the face for a better price than my guy, by all means, go for it. Anyway, here are some of the wraps.






Go ahead an PM me if anyone is interested. i really do enjoy wrapping and could use the extra money right now. It normally takes me about a week to wrap. That has to do with drying time for the stain and poly mostly, but I really don't like rushing the knots. I CAN tie one in about 6 hours, but my fingers get so tired that some of the knots aren't as tight as they should be so I like to avoid that. I apologize for any blurriness of the pictures. They were taken on my phone.
Tony Kania FEB 06, 11:47 PM
That is art. Absolutely beautiful.
Monkeyman FEB 07, 03:58 AM
NOT dissing you by any means but is there a purpose for that or is it strictly for decoration? I've never seen anyone tie up paddles before.
ggfoster FEB 07, 11:18 AM
Haha Not offended at all Monkeyman. It started back in the 40's with the Raiders. They spent a lot of time on ship with the Navy who used the knots to decorate the railings on the ships, which was heritage that actually came from European whalers way, way, way back in the day. The Raiders had to row onto the Japanese islands during WWII and everybody had their own paddle which was specific to their position in the zodiac. If you were KIA or left the unit, someone would wrap it for you as memorabilia. They disbanded the Raiders in 1944, but a lot of them left to join the Amphibious Recon unit that had been created the year prior because it shared many of the same capabilities and missions. It ended up spreading through the SEALS when they were created in the late 60's and even found it's way into the Rangers although they mostly decorate "walking sticks" instead of paddles. It eventually went on to many units in the military. Unfortunately, it is a dying art form. Not so much that people aren't doing it, but more because people aren't doing it properly because they're lazy. And as far as the history on it goes, there is a ton of debate. The part about the whalers is true and I only know that because I was able to research how coxcombing got into the Navy. But which unit actually started decorating paddles remains heavily argued. This is the way it was taught to me by MGySgt Padilla back when I was first in Recon training, but it is very possible that there is bias in the story haha.

So there's your history lesson for today! And unlike the History Channel, it didn't involve Nazi's, aliens, or the end of the world lol

EDIT: Thanks Tony!

[This message has been edited by ggfoster (edited 02-07-2013).]

Monkeyman FEB 08, 01:06 AM
Great history lesson. I obviously had no idea. I'm not much into decorations of any kind but those DO look cool. Looks like lots of hard work, too. Best of luck with the sales.