Decoy Carving

J

John Harkrader

Member
Two years ago I finished my first boat and I am getting an itch for another project to take me through the long winter nights. So I figure, lets get some "real decoys".

I was hoping some of the carvers on the site could chime in on what they believe may be the best place to start. I hunt the Ohio River in the Cincinnati area. I hunt mostly puddlers in back water areas until they are frozen. We see a majority of mallards, wood ducks, teal and blacks with occational others thrown in. As the season progresses more divers show up partially due to my relocation to the big river as the creeks freeze.

I'm not sure if there is a preferred type of decoy for this type of hunting but I thought I would toss this out there if it helped.

My initial inclination would be cork for no other reason than I like the texture and perceived weight.

I wish there was a group to get together and carve locally. I've actually thought of making a treck to a weekend class but have not due to schedule conflicts.

I know there is no right or wrong answer regarding material and style but I would like to hear a few opinions of the "brain trust" that makes this page what it is.
 
John,

Your in the right spot for lots of good info this website has a wealth of info.I started off with a couple of kits which makes it easy if you have no access to power equip.

Get yourself some books on carving and painting,then dive in.
If all else fails there is rumor that a ol guy up in Delaware left over from the market gunning era still carves a little.He's probably made as many cork decoys as anyone I know, goes by the name George.He could give you some info as well as the other 100 or so carvers on here
 
John

The best, if available, is to get together with someone local (or semi-local). You can learn to carve from books and internet, but you will pick up things fasterin person.

There are a couple of internet how to's that come to mind:

MLBob's:

http://www.mightylayoutboys.com/domino/mlb/MLB_resources.nsf?OpenDatabase&Start=1&Count=50&Expand=5.2

Willy's:

http://www.theduckblind.com/cyberclassroom/index.htm

Books...there are hundreds, many good, some not so good, my favorite at this moment is 'Making Decoys the Century Old Way' by Grayson Chesser and Curtis Badger

Tools...try not to break the bank right out of the gate. If you've got a bandsaw, great, if not, do you know anyone with one and can you use it to cut out a couple of decoys? If not, you could get precut blocks for a couple of decoys and make sure you like it. As far as the rest of what you need, I started with a couple of rasps, a $10 hobby store knife and sand paper.

More questions...fire away right here. This site has some of the best gunning decoy carvers around.

Chuck
 
John,

If 5 hours each way isn't too far then why not come up and spend a long weekend at the Institute with us.
 
I knew he was old...but :-)

If you can get with another carver it would benefit you greatly. I have been carving cork and planning to switch to cedar at some point. You will need to seal the cork very well, cork is great for big water, but unless you hollow it out its pretty heavy. Problem is alternatives such as hollow cedar or balsa are more costly. These class's rutger's and others put on seem like a real good way to get your feet wet.

good luck
 
Bill. Give me a call some time. I lucked into a source for White Pine blocks that seem like they work pretty well. Cheap. Might give you a cheap "kick the tires and see if I want to buy" way to go. I'll give you a couple of blocks to try. Going to be in Annapolis one night this week, just bought a small bandsaw to do heads and top profiles and I need to pick it up. I can drop the lumber by.
John. If you'll give me your addy, I'll send you a kit. Give me a call at 256-655-3716, I have some other stuff to discuss with you (tutorials and other materials). I owe ya for being so generous and picking up that portable garage for me.
 
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