Thank you so much for this video! Someone gave me uncleaned porcupine quills when I was a kid and I never knew how to use them until recently. There are a few places to read about how to prepare these, but I'm a visual learner :)
Those look awesome. Wish I had access to porcupine quills. I would make the beads but not sure if I'd make any jewelry with them though. I just like making beads. Lol
are you allowed to import quills to your state from here? this time of year we have tons of porcupines on the roads and i can collect some for you if you like.
You had mentioned in this video that you were going to follow up with another video on making the earrings. I can't find this video on your channel. Did you ever make that video?
BeautyFromDecay I would like to get some somehow. I found your ETSY shop. Could you possible e-mail me at e m e r a l d _ gecko1975@ y a hoo. c o m Thank you!
Hi, thank you for the great tutorial! I found a porcupine the other day, got the quills and realized I don't know how to clean them! lol. I'm wondering... can I just clip the ends, push a needle through to open them up, take the needle out and just store them?
if quills are stored for too long a time after being opened up in that mannor, the holes tend to shrink :( they have a sponge like material inside them. i have found the best way to store quills is uncleaned in a sealed jar, as long as there is no blood or fat on them they will last for years. i clean them as i need them, as they HAVE to be soaked to be able to push a pin thru them easily. it is just a personal preference though. i suppose you could slide them onto a wire for storage, that should keep the holes open until you need them.
Thanks for the lesson. Strange question: If i come upon some dead porcupines ( I mean ones that have been there over a year), can I remove the quills from them and they still be useable for jewelry? Thanks!
+Debra Blaszak i would not chance taking quills from a animal who has been there for over a year. the quills, being a modified hair, will have started to decompose and be quite brittle. on the chance that they have not decomposed, having been exposed to the whole decomposition process of the animal, they will probably not be able to be cleaned thoroughly. i never take quills from a animal who has been dead for more then 24-48 hours.
they dont feel oily or greasy at all.they will sometimes have a tiny bit of fat stuck around the root of the quill, depending on how fatty the porcupine was. i have collected a couple of males though whos quills felt a tiny bit oily, but it wasnt much and washed right off without any left over residule. kind of felt like human hair when it wasnt washed for a few days. something i have also noticed is that in my area, the male porcupines i have been picking up tend to have thicker quills, with a slightly yellow hue to them.
porcupine quills are naturally oily , if your dyeing them they have to be washed several times with dawn dish soap if not the dye won't stick to the quills that good .
just for the record, peroxide bubbles on an open would because blood is a catalyst for the peroxide. even a clean would will bubble with peroxide. bacteria is not the cause of the bubbling.
OR instead of cutting one by one in water....Take a scrap piece of leather and jab the quills into it before you snip them. All the little black ends will stay in the leather, and your feet will be much happier.
this question might be ridiculous, but here we go. I found a dead hedgehog (not the same, I know), and I wanted to try to use it's quills. This Hedgehog seems to have been dead for a while, as all that is left is skin and quills. Can these be used if cleaned thoroughly, or is that too far gone?
if the hedgehog has a really strong decomp smell i would avoid using the quills. quills are very porous, and will absorb odors and colors easily. if the body smells really bad the quills have likely absorbed some of the smell. but, if the body had mummified and there was no liquid rott or really stinky smell, it might be worth a experiment to see if the quills are worth saving. clean them up and then after they have dried for a few days, give them a good sniff.
pretty jewelry, but please don't use precious metals as the pieces do not last very long - people just throw the piece away when the quills deteriorate
Thank you so much for this video! Someone gave me uncleaned porcupine quills when I was a kid and I never knew how to use them until recently. There are a few places to read about how to prepare these, but I'm a visual learner :)
Personally I wouldn’t use boiling hot water as it can deteriorate the quill. Great video though. Miigwetch.
What an informative video! Miigwetch for making it!
Those look awesome. Wish I had access to porcupine quills. I would make the beads but not sure if I'd make any jewelry with them though. I just like making beads. Lol
are you allowed to import quills to your state from here? this time of year we have tons of porcupines on the roads and i can collect some for you if you like.
BeautyFromDecay I tried searching for into on the importing of the quills and I've not been able to find anything. I would love to receive some.
You had mentioned in this video that you were going to follow up with another video on making the earrings. I can't find this video on your channel. Did you ever make that video?
I cut them before cleaning can I still soak
Hello! Do the quills stay soft after you soak them?
where do you purchase your stainless steel snare wire ? Thanks.
That was a great tutorial! Thank you for sharing your knowledge! Is there any way I could buy some quills from you for making earrings?
EmeraldGecko1975 i could do a listing on etsy for you, or a private sale with pay pal if you like :)
BeautyFromDecay I would like to get some somehow. I found your ETSY shop. Could you possible e-mail me at
e m e r a l d _ gecko1975@ y a hoo. c o m
Thank you!
EmeraldGecko1975 i have tried to send you a email but it keeps bouncing back... i sent you a private message on here :)
@@BeautyFromDecay hi am shekar i have a porcupine quills a lot of but where it sell i don't know
You have to clean them with washing liquid if you dye them to remove the oils that they DO HAVE!
Really cool! Thanks for all the tips! Just one question, how long do the quills need to soak, so that they are soft enough? :)
May I have the link to your Etsy site?
Hi, thank you for the great tutorial! I found a porcupine the other day, got the quills and realized I don't know how to clean them! lol. I'm wondering... can I just clip the ends, push a needle through to open them up, take the needle out and just store them?
if quills are stored for too long a time after being opened up in that mannor, the holes tend to shrink :( they have a sponge like material inside them. i have found the best way to store quills is uncleaned in a sealed jar, as long as there is no blood or fat on them they will last for years. i clean them as i need them, as they HAVE to be soaked to be able to push a pin thru them easily. it is just a personal preference though. i suppose you could slide them onto a wire for storage, that should keep the holes open until you need them.
BeautyFromDecay
Nya:wenkowa for the wonderful advise!!! I will just store them as is and clean/soak them as I need.
Thanks for the lesson. Strange question: If i come upon some dead porcupines ( I mean ones that have been there over a year), can I remove the quills from them and they still be useable for jewelry? Thanks!
+Debra Blaszak i would not chance taking quills from a animal who has been there for over a year. the quills, being a modified hair, will have started to decompose and be quite brittle. on the chance that they have not decomposed, having been exposed to the whole decomposition process of the animal, they will probably not be able to be cleaned thoroughly. i never take quills from a animal who has been dead for more then 24-48 hours.
ok thanks so much!
are those things super oily?
they dont feel oily or greasy at all.they will sometimes have a tiny bit of fat stuck around the root of the quill, depending on how fatty the porcupine was. i have collected a couple of males though whos quills felt a tiny bit oily, but it wasnt much and washed right off without any left over residule. kind of felt like human hair when it wasnt washed for a few days.
something i have also noticed is that in my area, the male porcupines i have been picking up tend to have thicker quills, with a slightly yellow hue to them.
porcupine quills are naturally oily , if your dyeing them they have to be washed several times with dawn dish soap if not the dye won't stick to the quills that good .
just for the record, peroxide bubbles on an open would because blood is a catalyst for the peroxide. even a clean would will bubble with peroxide. bacteria is not the cause of the bubbling.
I have porcupine quills a lot of but where it sell i don't know a lakhsof all sizes available any want MSG me
Your so cool
OR instead of cutting one by one in water....Take a scrap piece of leather and jab the quills into it before you snip them. All the little black ends will stay in the leather, and your feet will be much happier.
Where do you live, U.S, Canada.....? :D
canada
this question might be ridiculous, but here we go. I found a dead hedgehog (not the same, I know), and I wanted to try to use it's quills. This Hedgehog seems to have been dead for a while, as all that is left is skin and quills. Can these be used if cleaned thoroughly, or is that too far gone?
if the hedgehog has a really strong decomp smell i would avoid using the quills. quills are very porous, and will absorb odors and colors easily. if the body smells really bad the quills have likely absorbed some of the smell.
but, if the body had mummified and there was no liquid rott or really stinky smell, it might be worth a experiment to see if the quills are worth saving. clean them up and then after they have dried for a few days, give them a good sniff.
what about the hairs what do you do with them ??? im looking for porcupine hairs bigest to smallest
toks tokohopie wtf are you wanting to do with porcupine hairs
Porcupine hair roach
pretty jewelry, but please don't use precious metals as the pieces do not last very long - people just throw the piece away when the quills deteriorate