Does anyone still use Turkey Feathers here? I use my turkey feather for quick clean out,

and I use my oboe swab after practice. What about you?

No one?

I'm thinking of getting a turkey feather for my clarinet, are they any good? :3

Turkey feathers are great!

They clean out all the moisture out of my oboe, and my turkey feather also gets the pads dry too.

I sugest getting one.

I had a band teacher who was crazy about turkey feathers, and he didn't even play the oboe, lol. I've thought about getting one before, but I have no idea where to get one from. Any ideas?

Hmm, I'm not sure.

I got mine as a present from my oboe teacher.

Check your local music stores or turkey farms I guess.

Hmm, I hadn't thought about turkey farms... I wonder if there are any in my area. Maybe I should look into it.

Yeah, I'm not sure.

They might sell them directly at the turkey farms, but I think they need to be sanitized...

Ask your band director/instrutor too.

Yes, turkey feathers are great! They absorb well and they're also softer on the bore. It sounds strange going to turkey farms to get them for your instrument though..

You can purchase them online. (Buy other things you need also. Don't pay $6 shipping & handling just to ship a turkey feather!)

Here are a couple places:

http://www.rdgwoodwinds.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_63_68_214&products_id=366

http://www.mmimports.com/catalog.cfm?Action=ShowProduct&ProductID=277

http://www.forrestsmusic.com/swabs#feathers

And I'm sure there are plenty of other places to find them too!

Ooh, ok. Those are some good links. Thanks.

How do you store a turkey feather when it's not in use? I just throw my swab into a pocket attached to my case, but I don't know if that would work for a feather.

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Also, when my swab gets dirty, I can either hand wash it or throw it in the washing machine. How do you clean a turkey feather? Or do you just get a new one when the old one gets too yucky?

With my swab I just hand wash it with a little soap, and then rinse it.

Then I let it air dry.

I'm not too sure about washing turkey feathers though.

I just store my turkey feather in my case, across the center, going length wise to my bell.

I hope that helps.

I use feathers to clean my oboe. They're they same size as a turkey feather, I believe, but i dont think they are. My teacher doesn't want me to use swabs because they can get stuck (it happened to my friend 2 times)I think feathers work great though.

Ahh that's not good. I've gotten my swab stuck, but I've gotten it out.

Well, there is mixed feeling on the use of a turkey feather. It does not really dry out the moisture completely. It rather spreads it around the bore evenly. Some oboist consider it more "delicate" sound when the moisture is spread evenly over the bore. Personally I'll be staying with a silk swab. All it takes is one particle to come off and get stuck in the instrument and mechanism to start causing major problems. IE, collecting moisture, dirt and dust. This will slow down the mechanism and deteriorate the life of your oboe. Swabs also have their downsides too. Over a long period of running a swab through the bore, the bore with widen slightly. This may or may not really change the instrument gradually. Personally, I'd rather take the natural wear and tear of the swab, vs the chances with the turkey feather. I took a feather into my first oboe lesson at UNCC and was immediately told to never use it and not to keep them anymore.

Well I mainly use my turkey feather for fast clean out, but mainly use my swab.