Uses for Turkey Beards

[sleepingbear]

I have been gifted with two nice sized Turkey Beards. What can be made from them?

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Pan brush. I use a small antler tip. Drill out and glue beard into it. Then decorate the antler if you want. Dan.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Small beard or part of it couple inches is plenty. Dan.

 

[jrmflintlock]

My experience is as they dry out they become brittle. They are actually a type of feather. If you expose them to much they break.

They are beautiful to display! Hope you find something useful for them! Good luck and let us know what you do! Pictures!!!!

 

[jrmflintlock]

So I started writing the last post and got distracted before I submitted it.

Does the beard hold up to much use as a pan brush? Or is it mostly decorative?

 

[Stony Broke]

They do dry up fairly quick and aren't really going to last if you plan on using them for things like a pan brush. I have hung them up as trophy type stuff in my shop and one day look over and pieces have fallen off onto the floor. You are dealing with feathers, and no way to really keep them from getting brittle.

 

[sleepingbear]

They do dry up fairly quick and aren't really going to last if you plan on using them for things like a pan brush. I have hung them up as trophy type stuff in my shop and one day look over and pieces have fallen off onto the floor. You are dealing with feathers, and no way to really keep them from getting brittle.

That's what I was afraid of.
Thanks for the information.

 

[Zonie]

Has anyone ever tried spraying clear lacquer on a beard feather?

I'm thinking a good dossing of lacquer (or three or four or six or eight coats) might dry into a invisible plastic film that could hold the feather together so it wouldn't fall apart.

It wouldn't be very durable so the feather couldn't be used in a hat or something that's going to get a lot of shaking but maybe it wouldn't fall apart?

 

[renegadehunter]

Rearview mirror ornament.

 

[Brent]

You can whip-finish the base of the beard to keep it together. The same way you would finish tying a trout fly or that you would use thread to prevent the end of a rope from fraying can be used on a beard. Leaving a loop to hang it from is easy to do too.

 

[seaguy]

Tie some flies?

 

[jrmflintlock]

beards getting brittle over time has been my experience too. SO when folks suggested a pan brush I was skeptical. But apparently some folks do make pan brushes with them. Maybe it has something to do with climate, cause out west where its dry, they don't hold up.

For flies, I don't know what good they would do. Maybe as legs??

Pictures of uses??