[Dick F]

I have recently started carving decorative duck decoys and other birds. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to carve and burn feathers?

[wade clark]

I need to burn heron and egret feathers soon and would appreciate input on that too.
Wade

[Ashbys]

WCI had an excellent article as well as a feather pin which used burning and showed the tools and the instruction for doing it. Was in their last release.

Ash

[Hugh]

Carving and Burning feathers is a broad subject. Is there anything in particular that is needed?? Carving feathers starts with drawing feathers, proper shapes, the progression of the feathers from small to large. The feather flow is very important, by feather flow I mean the direction of the feathers. Ducks have different feather patterns, for example a diving duck has a tighter feathering than the puddle ducks. For Carving feathers, study each individual area on the duck that your carving. Reference is everything when it comes to carving feathers. I very seldom leave a sharp edge when carving feathers. The Tertials Tail feathers, and the Primaries are the exception. Shape each feather individually. A feather is tent shaped, not flat. Burning in my opinion should be done with a cool burning tip, a tip that is clean of buildup, and with a Razer Tip burner.

[wade clark]

Ash,
I subscribed to WCI about a month ago and requested the woodburning issue but haven't got it yet.
Hugh,
I got the Razer Tip dual unit about 3 weeks ago, now I've just got to take some time and figure out how to use it! I got 14 or so tips with it too, probably more than I need, but I figured better to have them than wish and wonder. I may leave the herons and egrets on my chairs un-feather-detailed until later when I have more experience.
I spent the last 3 days chainsaw carving the second oak bird chair. This one won't take near as long as the first! (Learning curve)
Wade

[decoycarve]

One of the best tips on burning feathers given to me was a piece of strop on the bench and strop the tip as you would do a knife. Keeps the carbon buildup down and the burner edge nice and clean. I could actually feel the burning become smother once I started doing this.
Goody

[wade clark]

Goody,
I'll remember that one!
Wade

[Hugh]

Wade, I do my feather burning, almost exclusively with a skew tip. I own a tip for fish scales, and another shape. Other than the skew tip, they both hang there in the case they came in, never used. Goodys tip is a good one, that is the secret to burning pen control. Keep the tip clean, and burn lightly, try not to char the wood. Something else that you might want to try. Burning on the left side of the feather is more difficult for me, I like to pull the pen from the quill out on both sides. I burn the left side of the feather first, then when I do the right side, which is easier for me to do, it is easier to follow the flow lines that you've created on the left.
The tip of the burning pen will become slightly curved while I'm burning on the right side. When I shift to the left side of the feather I gently flatten the tip before shifting to the left.
Get a few feathers, tear them apart, count how many barb lines are in an inch, note the direction and texture. Some feathers are coarse, some fine. Flight feathers have way less splits, and are a stiff feather, compared to the breast or belly feathers. Reference is everything. Practice on a piece of wood, practice getting the lines close together, the right angle etc, before you start burning on the carving.
Try not to look at other carvers feathering, look at the real feathers and do your own thing.!!!!

[wade clark]

Hugh,
I printed this message from you, and will put it in the box with my burner!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll read it again. Sounds like I may need to get my kayak out and follow herons until I can pick up a feather...without harrassing them....
I could tell you'd seriously studied feathers when I saw your work, but had no idea the depth of study.
Thanks again!
Wade

[LCorbett]

Dick...I have a basic tutorial on my site for carving and texturing feathers. It'll get you started. I'll post up here some more of my methods & tips later on, but Hugh has given SOLID advice...can't add too much more.

Carving & Painting Demos