Turkey leg knife?

[Dubie]

Has anyone here ever tried to make a knife out of your turkey leg/spur, like a small skinner? I've seen some pics online. I thought it would be a cool way to show the spurs and get to carry in my vest when I need to skin a bird.

[EZ]

Try giving a shout to my good friend Andy Snair, of Rockhill, Pa.

He makes all kinds of cool stuff including turkey leg bone knives. I'm sure he could help you out.

https://www.facebook.com/AndySnairCraftsCalls/

[Treerooster]

I've made a few for myself and friends.

I bought the blades. Hollowed out the led inside with a drill, file and wire brush (thats the hardest part). I used plumbers Epoxy Stick Putty to glue the knife blade in the leg and also to form a cap over both ends. If you dampen the Epoxy Putty a little it is easier to form. The stuff dries pretty hard, almost like metal and is dark gray color.

The instructions I had said to peel the outer scales off the leg as the scales will dry out and turn white. I did that on one knife and didn't like the look of it. Made the knife handle kind of thin too. I don't think peeling the scales is really necessary tho. I have left some natural and sprayed several coats of satin polyurethane on the handle and it seems ok to me. I have also painted the scales and that works too if you want to go that route.

A smallish blade is best. I made one bigger blade that is sort of a fish fillet knife but the blade is a touch big for the handle. Still works ok tho.

[Turkeybutt]

Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing.

[Sir-diealot]

Andy Snair makes some nice looking ones. He is also on Facebroke if you are there.

[Tom007]

Real nice...

[G-dub]

Love the way those black ones look!

[Moore]

 

[jhoward11]

Do you use epoxy to hold it in? Does that work? Let me ask this...is this really usable or more for show, cause I really like the looks of this. Great job!

[Treerooster]

Do you use epoxy to hold it in? Does that work? Let me ask this...is this really usable or more for show, cause I really like the looks of this. Great job!

The plumbers putty is an epoxy, see link. It comes on a sort of stick, you cut off the amount you need and mix it together. You got about 5 minutes before it starts to stiffen a bit and become harder to work. Like I said, if you dampen it a touch, it forms easier to make a smoother surface. There is enough in a tube you can practice with a small piece.

The link is to Ace, probably cheaper at Home Depot, Lowes, whatever. It comes in white also but I would avoid that.

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/plumbing/solvents-and-cements/plumbers-putty-and-sealers/48526?store=14666&gclid=Cj0KCQjww4-hBhCtARIsAC9gR3YKJ3D3KzQDEoinxoA8vd55qjtErNh3rY1RtIryEX-vwuhHA0cpSNsaAheSEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

One thing I forgot to mention (and it wasn't in the instructions I had, just thought of it on my own) is I took my grinder and put 3 notches in the tang of the blade. Could be done with a file. This was to hopefully get some of the plumbers putty to squeeze in the notches and have a better grab on the blade.


Yes the knife is good to use. The spur fits nice between my index and middle fingers. I think a smaller (and duller) spur like 3/4" to 1" works better. Save the 1 1/2" for a trophy display.    There is a slight difference between the left & right leg of a turkey. Just cut the legs off at the joint and see which one feels best for you.

By the way...the knives are a bit lighter than the pic shows, more of a dark gray not black. But you can paint whatever color you like. I used a hammer type spray paint on mine. Put blue tape on the blade to avoid getting paint on it.

[Dubie]

I've seen some pics of the skinner type blade. I think a Damascus blade would look cool too. I was thinking, I can hang 1 spit on my fan mount and make a knife if the other. If I get tired of the knife, I can just cut and drill everything back to the spur. I like sentimental stuff, though the knife would be cool for skinning my future gobblers.