Earliner Shaping

How to customize the shape of Natural Choice ear liners

A unique feature of Natural Choice ear liners is their ability to be easily custom shaped to your specifications.

Many preferences and naturally occurring deviations from the norm can be reproduced due to this ability.

Instead of all your mounts looking like clones you can now offer customers an individual customized look with only a few minutes work. Only you have to know how little effort was involved.

Before undertaking these alterations it is recommended that you first trim your ear liner following the steps outlined in the Selection and sizing of Natural Choice ear liners tutorial.

The following are just a few examples of what can be done with Natural Choice Ear liners.

The process of shaping Natural Choice ear liners is a simple one.

1. Hold the portion of the ear liner to be re-shaped under hot running water until it begins to soften. Be cautious to only heat areas that you would like to shape.
2. Shape the ear liner with your fingers as it cools until it holds it shape. This should take about 10-30 seconds.
3. Hold the ear liner under cool running water to lock the shape in before moving to the next area to be shaped.

• It is recommended to make changes starting at the notch and work your way forward to avoid reheating and distorting the work you have already done.
• If at any time you get off track, submerse the entire ear liner in hot tap water and allow it to warm sufficiently. It will then will return to its original shape.

 

Adding or removing "flip"

• One of the most common and simplest changes is in the amount of flip the ear tip has.
• Using reference for the species (or individual specimen) you are mounting you can duplicate the amount of flip desired giving your customer that custom look.

 

Straightening the upper ear edge or Narrowing an ear - method #1

• To some degree the upper ear edge can be pushed downwards to give a straighter look to the top edge as well as narrow the ear without reducing the circumference.
  • Submerse the upper half of the ear in hot tap water.
  • Press down on the furthest point forward on the upper flap of the ear.
  • Hold this in position with one hand and shape the upper edge of the ear liner and the lower edge of the flap so that they are not distorted.
  • Once cooled evaluate shape and address any areas that may have become slightly "wavy".

   

  Narrowing an ear liner - method #2

  • This method will narrow an ear liner without changing the upper profile.
    • Submerse the lower half of the ear liner in hot tap water until soft.
    • Press forward and upward about 1/4 of the way up from the lower edge of the ear liner at the mid way point until it is the desired width.
    • Hold this in position until cool with one hand and shape the lower edge of the ear liner so that it is not distorted.

   

  Widening an ear liner Method #1

  • This can be accomplished 2 ways both yielding different appearances.
  • This method will Give the profile of the top of the ear a more curved profile.
    • Submerse the upper half of the ear liner in hot tap water until soft.
    • Lift up under the forward most portion of the upper flap until it is the desired width.
    • Hold this in position with one hand and shape the upper edge of the ear liner and the lower edge of the flap so that they are not distorted.

   

  Widening an ear liner - method #2

  • This method will widen an ear liner without changing the upper profile.
    • Submerse the lower half of the ear liner in hot tap water until soft.
    • Press backward and downward about 1/4 of the way up from the lower edge of the ear liner at the mid way point until it is the desired width.
    • Hold this in position with one hand and shape the lower edge of the ear liner so that it is not distorted.

   

  Twisting an ear split

  • Sometimes an ear that has been split while fighting will heal crooked and not align with the edge of the ear. They may even appear to stick out or hang down from the ear.
  • This can be duplicated very easily to match your specimen and highlight his fighting nature.

   

  Rolling ear edges back

  • A phenomenon that seems to affect some animals as they age and is especially noticeable in some very old animals is the area from about 2/5 to 4/5 of the way from the notch to tip starts to roll backwards creating a more curved look to the ear edge.
  • Simply heat this portion of the edge and start the slight backward curve from about 1/2" to 3/4" from the ear edge.

   

  Cupping the ear forward

  • Another phenomenon that seems to affect some animals as they age and is especially noticeable in some very old animals is a forward cupping of the ear.
  • Submerse the entire ear liner in hot tap water until soft. Curve the front half of the ear forward using your reference. The ear will widen a bit as you do this. Watch your edges as it cools to avoid waves.
  • Combining this alteration with the Rolling ear edges back alteration can create an ear shape often seen in geriatric deer, especially whitetails.

   

  These are only a few of the many possibilities when using Natural Choice ear liners.

  We want to hear how you made Natural Choice ear liners work for you. Thank you.

  
  

Antlers West Taxidermy
c/o Steve Tait
7592 S. 2350 W.
West Jordan, UT. 84084
Phone#: 801-694-1553
Email: awtaxidermy1@hotmail.com