My Story

My name is Cody Whynot and I live in the wilderness near Kejimkujik National Park, where my partner Karlene and I operate our adventure company Whynot Adventure. In the shoulder season I pretend to be a woodworker. 

My designs are created out of need and shaped by function with a balance of form— or at least that’s what I like to think. I've been drawn to woodworking for as long as I can remember but now I have the time and means to pursue it with just a modicum of seriousness. Woodworking isn’t my livelihood, but calling it a hobby never felt right either, so for now I will call it my practice. I think that sounds right.

The painted canoe paddles are my attempt to share the pleasure of using thoughtfully designed, and while I’m at it—fine looking, wooden paddles for canoe tripping. I've made many of these, with each successive paddle shaped towards an elusive confluence of aesthetic and pleasing tactility.

Canoe paddles, stools and tables seem to be my jam. I suppose I’ve made some shelves and hanging wall cabinets, too. My aesthetic arrives in that space between sleep and awake, or while on a jog— and is then refined by all the Fine Woodworking influences. 

My process involves a mix of machines and hand tools. After dimensioning rough stock, I rely on chisels, hand planes and spoke shaves to achieve the finished shape. Almost all of my wood is from a local Nova Scotia sawmill, while some species come from a province or two to the west.

Also, I love working with red oak. That is all.