Wood decoy carving

[drcoastline]

As a kid I enjoyed Carving my Pinewood Derby car for Scouts and whittling wood with my pen knife. I carved some neat things like the ball in a box and I tried to make a few fishing lures. Like most things we do as kids I slowly grew away from those hobbies. As an adult and an avid antiquer, I find my self drawn to hand carved decoys. From the crude decoys carved from cork used for hunting to elaborately painted show decoys used in competition. Even fish carvings. So much so I am now looking around for carving tools. Traditional carving tools. Knives, chisels, shaves, etc. to once again try my hand.

Do we have any wood workers on the board? If so show your work. No matter what.

Here are a few to start. These are NOT mine. Just some pics I plucked from the internet.

[70SATMan]

I carved in the past but, haven't picked it up in about 20 yrs. To many other hobbies and some drop by the wayside.

I saved two decoys that my grandfather carved before my dad was born. Working decoys of Mallards by the way so, they aren't fancy paint or overly detailed. They have a lovely patina and I clear coated them to preserve them for future generations. I guess they would be considered Americana Folk art.

He was a sign painter by trade. He also painted oils, pastels, carved ivory, Pen and inks..

I was once offered crazy money (I thought) for the pair before I knew that collecting them was pretty big..

[jshape]

This is a wood duck I carved and painted in 1983. Sits on my windowsill at work.

[70SATMan]

Nice John!

[Evans, Marv]

We had a wood shop teacher at school in the mid '70s who carved decoys. The were absolutely beautiful and carved & colored in minute detail. He even carved the texture of the feathers. At the time I just admired them & told him how beautiful they were. It didn't occur to me at the time to ask about buying any of them. I have since wished many times I'd offered to buy some. They were of the quality that would bring huge money now, but I'd most likely have kept all of them because of their beauty. I have three on the fireplace mantel carved in the '80s now. Although I like them, they don't begin to compare to the ones he did.

[recycled sixtie]

We have this wood decoy actually a loon that usually sits above our fireplace. It was carved by my wife's sister's husband. He is now deceased and got many firsts in carved wood competitions.
Note it is a solid piece except the join just below the head.