# Wood Decoys



## FINNFOWLER

Is there anyone else that has thought about or actually carves decoys?

My dad and I went to a antique decoy show in a town just north of N.O. Louisiana. My dad has been into carving decoys for several years now and has made several himself that are beautiful and has made a few friends in the business. I met several guys that carve their own decoys to hunt over. I personally thought it was very impressive to carve your own decoys to hunt with. The pictures attached are from Cal Kingsmill personal collection that he hunts over and a pair of pintails that he was displaying. I believe that I am going to try it out and see if I have a little talent to make some decoys of my own. I also saw some awesome antique decoys from Louisiana and the great lakes area that were hand carved in the late 1800's and early 1900's.


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## CopanoCruisin

Awwesome talent! I once had a ald man describe how to carve out a duck decoy, He said first get you a real sharp pen knife, and a block of good wood. Next you carve everything away that doesn't look like a duck. He really suckered me into that one. LOL


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## FINNFOWLER

I have just thought that it would be an awesome experiance to kill ducks over decoys you carved out of a block of wood.


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## Slip

My dad used to carve them. Mostly small versions but looked very realistic. He carved, them, burned in the feathers with a woodburning tool and painted them to look realistic. Many had wings open as in flight and most were decay like. I however, didn't inherit that talent. I could never figure out which part of the wood didn't belong there and keep what is good as in the post earlier. I wish I have a smidgent of that talent. Neither of my brothers got any of the talent either.


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## Tortuga

FINNFOWLER said:


> I have just thought that it would be an awesome experiance to kill ducks over decoys you carved out of a block of wood.


You'd have to be ambitious FF... Back in my quacker killin' days we always set out about a *hundred* decoys...:smile:

Had a great lease down around Baytown..and part of my job as a kid was taking all the wooden decoys that had been shot up and wouldn't float right at the end of the season and BURN them all... Gawd !!!.. I bet I burned a thousand decoys over the years not knowing what I was doing. They were just 'tools of the trade'.. Final year I finally got enough sense to bring a few dozen of the better ones home with me and re-finish them. Got them all over the house...and every one of them brings back some great memories of hunting with my Dad...and later with my Son...

Go for it, Men !!!.. Would be a fascinating hobby....:cheers:


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## Viking48

I love decoys and would love to have the talent to make them but alas, an odd shaped piece of wood wouldn't look good covered in blood.







I remember going in a shop in N.O. years ago and drooling over some decoys they had on display. They almost looked alive and the feathers could pass for real. Wanted one real bad but my wife said we had enough duck stuff around the house (it was furnished in Early Duck and Goose at that time). Give it a try - worst you can do is ruin a piece of wood and slice yourself to ribbons.







Let us see your work when you get going.


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## FINNFOWLER

I think I will start out with those safety scissors they give the kids in the first grade.  I will post up my progress.


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## specks&ducks

FinFowler, did you get a chance to start carving a decoy? I've been thinking about doing it also. What kind of wood should be used, and tools? Any info you could pass along would be helpful.


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## SetDaHook

specks&ducks said:


> FinFowler, did you get a chance to start carving a decoy? I've been thinking about doing it also. What kind of wood should be used, and tools? Any info you could pass along would be helpful.


I don't carve decoys, but I carve other stuff and I know people that do the decoys as well. Almost all the decoys are carved out of either basswood or Tupelo Gum wood. Big blocks of either are hard to find around here, but I have the names and numbers of some suppliers that I order from that have larger stock. Most of your serious decoy carvers are out of Louisiana, and as a result, most of the suppliers are located there too. It's actually cheaper to order from them than to find it around here. As far as tools go, Woodcraft has some basic carving tools that are pretty good and will get you started. They also have pattern books and some basic "how to" books to get you started. If you need more info PM me or leave me a note on my profile page and I'll help the best I can. I can give you the links for the suppliers that have the wood, books, or whatever you'll need.


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## baytownboy

This is one that my decessed father-in-law carved a few years ago. 
P.S. I have some old bird carving books from his estate if anyone is interested and some shore bird metal decays from around 1895 to 1900 for sale and a very old duck call.


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## johnmyjohn

Came across this old read and brought back memories. In 95 I wanted to carve some fish and pine 2x4s was getting old. A cajun friend told me where to find some wood to use for carving. He sent me to a man in Thibodaux to get some of the wood that had the same town name. The elder man , Legaudre I think, had some stories and some wood duck carvings. It seemed like he was the local guru where the local carvers gave some of their sample carvings to him. They were beautiful, the detail was awsome. He told me they were detail duck, competition carvings. I bought two decoy ducks from him and he said he could carve one of those in about an hour, he said he wasn't as young as he used to be. What was really amazing was he went out the morning the day I arrived and cut my order of about 25-30 pieces. They were chain saw cut, 4x up to 30'' long and 8-10'' tall, it was July folks and it was hot and if can I remember the man said he was 72 years old. I don't know if things have changed but they took their duck carving seriuos down there.


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