my girlfriend wants to know the best/easiest way to extact quills from the porcupine.. for quill work..
any suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks,

J-

a burlap bag run from the tail to the head is a quick and easy way to remove quills. The quills stick to through the bag and are easy to remove.

yeah was thinking along those lines.. thanks for the tip..
have a great night.

J-

Try taking a fine mesh screen and bending it into an arc. Rock this through the quills, when they stick in the screen, pull them out and then just shake them off.

I use a piece of styrafoam insalation. Just gently tap the back and sides. Then wipe the quills off.

Yep. Styrofoam.

great advice.. thanks.. thing weighed 17.lbs got a bunch off but definetly not all.. is there a market for them?

thanks

Yes, There is a market for porcupine quills. You can sell them to a dealer for up to 6.00 per ounce for good clean quills (no underfur or hair mixed in). An average porcupine will have a couple of ounces of good quills.

Or if you have a place to sell them directly to a quillworker - the going retail price is 15.00 an ounce and up.

Quills will dry out and loose weight over time.

I assume you are also saving the guard hair. The long hair that sticks up above the quills. Well handled long hair is bringing up to 15.00 per ounce.

What are they used for? Never heard of a quillworker.

Jeff

The Native Americans use them for craft and decorative purposes.

They flatten them and then use them sort of like beads -

Here are links to some pictures of finished products using porcupine quills -

quilled medicine wheels - http://www.red-eagle.net/Wheel/W228.html

quill decoration on birch bark boxes -
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/aboriginal/quillbox.html


Some times they are used natural. Lots of times they are dyed bright colors (medicine wheels).