https://www.facebook.com/146333509167175/

AV Skull Creations

Home
United States
Tomahawk, WI
AV Skull Creations

Offering quality European mounts on a variety of animals at affordable prices and with a quick turnaround.
(4)

Quality European mounts at 1/2 the price, in 1/2 the time

03/09/2024

Well here’s one I can confidently tell you I never thought I’d see in my shop, and likely never will again. One of my repeat customers was flying in a bush plane over a remote wilderness area in Alaska when she and the pilot spotted this walrus deceased along the shoreline. The pilot safely landed and, with permission from the USFWS the head was salvaged and the tusks later tagged. It was rotten, the bone was stained, and the ivory tusks were badly pitted and worn, but when a loyal customer has the confidence in you to do a restoration AND promises fresh Alaskan seafood to go along with it…well, there’s no saying no to that. Regrettably I didn’t take any “before” photos but the end result was really something. The skull was cleaned, the teeth and tusks were secured, and everything was whitened before a LOT of elbow grease went into sanding and polishing the ivory tusks back to their original beauty. This was truly a once in a lifetime project, the results of which I was very pleased with, and I think the customer was as well. Thanks Heather!

02/08/2024

Zach had a good season in 2023. Not only did he get his FIRST buck ever, but he got his SECOND one as well! From the sounds of it, he’s hooked! It’s always fun hearing stories like that and I’m happy to be part of memorializing the experience for the kids AND the parents. Here’s to many more years of traditions and memories for Zach and his family! 🍻 🦌

12/31/2023

Add Colin to the list of happy kids at Christmas. He got this awesome buck, his first while hunting solo, during rifle season. Could there be a better/more appropriate hydro dip pattern for a hockey kid than carbon fiber?!?

12/26/2023

For awhile now I’d been wanting to try a technique known as “Shou Sugi Ban,” at least when it’s used in terms of preserving wood by charring it with fire. Would it still be known by that name if doing it on something other than wood? I have no idea. But more importantly, would it even work on a skull? TBD.

When I was contacted by a friend of mine about doing a skull restoration of course I said yes. I’ve done a number of those in the past and I always enjoy seeing the before and after. When he said the final product would be mounted on a wood plaque done by Steve Taskay at Smoldering Wood I knew if there was ever a time to try Shou Sugi Ban on a skull, this was it.

The first step in the process was to undo who knows how many years of weathering done to the skull itself by cleaning and bleaching it back to a natural bone color. There’s a fine line between that natural color and the bleached-white look of a “normal” European mount, so great care was taken to not overdo it to the point it wouldn’t retain a rustic look. ✔️

The next step was to restore the antlers to their natural beauty. ✔️

Step three was the Shou Sugi Ban finish. I practiced a bit on another skull I had lying around until I was comfortable enough to do it for real. There’s only one chance to get it right, and I think I did. ✔️

Last but not least was the finish coat to help protect the skull from dust and dirt. ✔️

All in all I’m very happy with the finished look, especially when paired with the pyrography on the plaque, and I sincerely hope the customer (and the recipient) would agree. I think the whole project came together exceptionally well. What a cool, gift to preserve some of the rustic history of “The Farm!”

12/25/2023

LOTS of finished mounts went out the last 2 weeks, just in time for Christmas. Looks like Alex was surprised to see his under the tree this morning! Congrats on a nice buck Alex, and sweet choice on the USA hydro dip!

Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄🎅 🎁

11/21/2023

New swag! Send me a message if you’re interested!

11/14/2023

Did you see da turdy pointer?!?

Ok…so maybe not 30. But a LOT. I counted the points on this one about a hundred times and 26 was probably the most consistent result.

The story of this buck was it was found dead a few days after it was seen fighting with another buck last year. That being the case one has to wonder what the old saying “you should see the other guy” might look like. 😳

This is by far the biggest buck I’ve had the privilege of working on. I didn’t even get any decent pics because honestly none of my normal mounting/photographing places fit it properly. The challenge for YOU this season is to see if you can get a bigger one. I’ll make a whole new place to take the photos if you do. Good luck!!!

04/27/2023

How about this young man?!? Miles had an outstanding 2022 season as he took his first ever deer with the crossbow during early bow season. He made a perfect shot but, being unsure, he and his dad elected to wait till the next morning to track. He opted for a white camo to remember the frost from where they recovered it right off the edge of the field. Then, a couple short weeks later he was lucky enough to harvest his second ever deer, this time with the rifle, during the youth hunt in October. For that one he wanted an orange camo to remember his first successful gun hunt. I think the smile means he’s hooked for life! Way to go buddy!!!

04/04/2023

New pattern alert!!!

🇺🇸 🔥 🇺🇸

03/26/2023

I don’t get a ton of requests for swirl dips anymore since I started doing patterns, but I think this request for a red/white/blue swirl on a white base turned out 🔥. Congrats on a nice buck Brandon!

03/23/2023

I’m looking at checking out a couple new dip patterns. What does everyone think of these options…are they something you think would be cool on a skull? Toxic Camo? Covert Digi Camo? Forest Ghost Camo? Vote!!!

11/22/2022

I’ve gotten quite a few messages and calls inquiring as to whether I’m still doing skulls this year. I’m terrible at keeping up this page but the answer is YES!

Pricing this season is the same as last:

White - $70
Paint/Swirl Dips - $100
Pattern Dips - generally $130 though some are more

Full disclosure…the cold weather is backing me up a little so it will almost certainly take a little longer than usual for me to get your mount back to you. That being said, I have more than enough freezer space to handle whatever you bring me until I have a couple days of nice weather when I’m off from my real job and can catch back up.

If you’ve been lucky enough to get one already, congrats! If you’re still trying, good luck! Either way I look forward to hearing from you.

09/23/2021

How cool is this carbon fiber dip?!? I’m not going to lie…it was a MAJOR p.i.t.a. to get the pattern to come out right. Unlike the camo and other irregular patterns that naturally hide small imperfections, this one actually accentuates them. Because I refuse to return an imperfect product it took three tries to get it right but…once I did? 🔥👍🔥

Address

Tomahawk, WI

Website

facebook.com

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when AV Skull Creations posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.