Paddles from the best... I think

Recently when we were in Wewak, in the Sepik region, I was able to find out that if you want a paddle made, the best people by far to have make them are the Iwam people. They're river dwellers and seem to be well known for their skills on the water... and for their paddle making. An expat friend of mine happened to have a paddle (see pic) made by the Iwam and I was impressed with it's light weight and strength. So I decided that rather than making the paddles myself, maybe I'd try to see if we couldn't find someone from the Iwam who would be willing to do the job for me. My expat friend made the arrangements sometime after we left. I wasn't able to make the arrangements myself because these folks don't make it out to town often. It's mere chance that you see someone from that area. As it happens, the day after me and my family flew to Madang, my friend saw someone he knew from Iwam. He agreed on a fair price for the paddles and will make them and bring them to Wewak sometime.
So sometime in the near future (maybe next few months) I should be the proud owner of 4 paddles for Shan Skailyn that look a bit like the one in the picture. One difference I was told about is that they typically make the end of the blade taper out with a longer (but still flattened) point. The paddle in this pic was modified by it's current owner. I might modify it a bit too maybe by wrapping the ends of the blades with fiberglass to keep from splitting, and then putting 4-5 coats of varnish on them.