Does anyone know where I can have my spurs done? I live in TN. I have seen folks that clean, bleach and ever paint spurs. Thanks
I guess everyone is thinking the same thing I am, why not just do them yourself? Fairly easy to do really. Plenty of methods if you will search a little but I am glad to tell you how I "preserve" them.
Cut leg section off above and below spur, can shorten later if needed so don't cut too close and damage sheath.
Use scapel or sharp knife and cut around base of spur sheath.
Peel off scale and underlying red skin. Dab borax on as needed and it will help removing tissue, will clot it up sort of.
Use a piece of wire or nail to push out/clean out bone marrow and tendon sections. Again, dust with borax to assist this.
Scrape remaining tissue off with knife. I use an old dull bladed pocket knife for this task.
Place spur/leg section in a cup of borax and let dry for a week or so.
Dust off spur leg section. Shorten/cut/grind bone to desired lengths as needed.
If you want to whiten the bone you can let the bone section sit in salon grade peroxide overnight. To do this I wrap the spurs in a section painters tape and place them in a cup/bowl with a shallow peroxide bath, just enough to carefully cover the bone sections. I'll use the tape to secure the spurs upright and to the side of the cup so they don't get in the mix, to protect them from bleaching.
After the bath I rinse them off and let them air dry.
Lastly, I'll apply bees wax or similar to rehydrate the spur sheath and bring the color back. Drying them will make them scaley looking.
Once in blue moon a spur sheath will come loose during the drying. If it does I just wipe the inner bone portion of the spur off (can be oily) apply super glue and replace the sheath. Have never had any come back loose or any instance of degrading, smell or discoloration. Have seen others doing all sorts of painting, boiling and such but to me that is a bunch of overkill. Good luck with whatever method you choose to use.
Thank you for sharing this process.
I do these all the time, if you are looking to have them done for you shoot me a PM. You can see some of my work on my page.
https://www.facebook.com/FanaticTurkeyDisplays/
I do mine a bit different as I like the "Color" of the spur to show. I cut, shape then polish them.
MK M GOBL
Quote from: Pluffmud on April 08, 2020, 11:42:19 AM
Thank you for sharing this process.
:agreed: Thank you
It's not hard .. takes a little time
Here is a great thread on preserving spurs. It is in the DIY section.
http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,19047.0.html
I wish I'd seen this when I got my first, I was under the impression I had to use formaldehyde to keep the scales on the legs. I wound up removing removing the scales.
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