It was a good day to grind castors. It was hot and muggy outside, so it felt good working in the lure shed with the A/C on.

I had three five gallon buckets of castors that have been drying since April. When I get castors, they usually only have been dried for four days to a week. Once I get them, I continue to dry them for another three months or so.


I cut the saddles off of the castor. The saddle is the part that connects the two ends of the castor as shown below. Those little handheld loppers do a good job.


I then throw the castor into the grinder tray and the saddles into a box.


These will be put in one gallon bottles and covered with 100 proof vodka. It makes a mild tincture. There's still some castor remnants in saddles. I use this tincture in some of my lure formulations. This is not the tincture I sell. The tincture I sell is made from pure ground castor.


My grinder does a fairly good job. It will grind about as fast as I can feed it. This sure beats the old way dad did it with a hand grinder when he started out. I add some 100 proof vodka at about the 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% mark as the bucket is filling from the grinder. This is to inhibit mold growth. Castor is very susceptible to mold.


The two buckets on the right contain the castor I ground today. The one on the left is castor that I ground a few months ago.


The castor from a few months ago went through a process. I place the freshly ground castor on trays to dry more over night with a fan on them. The next day I run the castor through my ninja food processor to break it up. Here's the end product ready to become Backbreaker, Tinctured beaver castor or some other uses.


I have two gallons of the saddles from a few months ago that have been soaking in the vodka, and is ready for grinding. I first drain them.


I then ground the saddles that have been soaking in the vodka for the past few months. I use the ground saddles as an ingredient in some of my canine and cat lures.


None of the castor is wasted. It's something I really enjoy doing, but when done, I'm instructed to strip down on the deck and head for the shower. While I really love the smell of castor, my wife despises that odor.

Thanks for the info and pics.

Awesome Paul, thanks for sharing the process

Thank you Paul, I really like all the pictures! The finished castor looks nice and mellow, easy to work with.
Your grinder just Crunches right through those dry castors. Might be a little noisy? I like the smell of castor also.

That aged castor smells amazing. Like you said, it's nice and mellow. It has lost all the acrid sharp smell.

Thank you for sharing a glimpse into professional lure making.

I really enjoy working castor. I will be starting this week. I also love the odor. Just something nostalgic and attractive about it. One of my favorite parts of this business.

Thanks for the share Mr. Dobbins!! I'm supposed to be getting a large quantity of castor, and I really like the saddle tincture you do! Your experience certainly shows how to maximize your products. I see the 22 on your grinder, I assume you're running a 1hp grinder, are those pods dropped in as pictured after the saddle is cut, or do they require being cut into a few smaller pieces? I have an LEM 1hp grinder that really chews up the meat, so I can imagine castor wouldn't be much of an issue, other than maybe a few cleanouts from the shells getting wrapped up around the blade.

I don't have to cut up the castor, and I don't have to do clean outs. The grinder is a Weston Pro Series.

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but when I am done, I'm instructed to strip down on the deck and head for the shower.


I think you just need to put on your big boy pants and sit the wife down and explain that she is smelling the odor of $$$ in the air. And that you resent her behavior to you. Tell us how it works out for you.

I think I'll pass on that. After 52 years, we know the dance that works.

Great post Paul,thanks.

Paul can we get a pic of you running for through the house for the shower....lol

Cool process...always wonder how you and Charlie made such a good lure...time intensive for sure.

I really don't think that is something you'd like to see - lol.

Very good Paul, thanks for sharing.

My wife likes Castor smell, she even jar's it for me.

Now the call lures I'm on my own

You left out the part of what you add and how much to finish the back breaker

Oh, you must be referring to the fairy dust, where to get it, when to get it, how to get it, and how much to add to a gallon???? I've explained the how in the past, the where in the past, but I'm not sure if I discussed the where. I'll have to work on a map of sorts.

thanks Pavel ! great photos

That Will make you money.

Paul, is that all there is to Backbreaker?