Handmade Duck Decoys

Early Decoys

• Native Americans produced some of the earliest handmade duck decoys. As many Native tribes existed in difficult environments, hunting ingenuity was necessary, and their duck decoy techniques evolved over hundreds of years. Early Native American crafted handmade duck decoys with items readily available, such as cattails, bulrushes and tule reeds. To make them realistic, they added real duck skins and feathers, making them convincing and productive hunting lures.

Materials

• Often constructed of wood, cork, or foam, the standard length of homemade duck decoys is around 15 inches. Craftsmen hand-carved wooden decoys, putting hours of labor into each one to make it as realistic as possible. Cork and foam decoys, being lighter than their wooden counterparts, are practical alternatives for hunting purposes. Cork and foam decoys are easier to carve, requiring less effort, so craftsmen can abandon improperly carved decoys without sacrificing a lot of money or labor.

Carving Process

• When preparing a block of wood for duck decoys, transfer the pattern onto the decoy's side and top views. According to the Ultimate Guide to Ice Fishing, you need a band saw to cut the pattern onto the decoy. After shaping the wood into a rough outline of a duck, finish it by hand, using different rasps and carving tools. Carving the duck's features, including the tail, head, wings and waterline, is a hand-tooled process. Some decoy carvers use burning tools to accent feather designs and other unique features.

Decoration

• Many craftsmen elaborately paint handmade decoys to replicate plumage styles of various duck breeds. While some decoy makers create duck breeds native to their own region, others paint duck decoys from around the world. According to T. Thompson Bosworth's article "Collecting Decoys: Getting Started" collectors often refer to decoys as "floating sculpture," with their own artistic masters, such as Dudley and Elliston. Bosworth also describes the detail found in these "works of art," such as the cheek profile and broad back structure and patterns, when viewed from above.