Fur Handling Tips

[Unreal_tk]

Dean made a strong point, those auctions are a great spot to reap fur handling information. Locate the best handle cats and find the handler. When you sell your cats at such a sale, always lot them individually. Some buyers are looking for specific cats and wont pay top dollar for others.

[CRA]

A good rule of thumb is to have your front legs cut long enough to touch the cheek tuffs. Just above the front paws there is a small pad, cut just above those. Those front legs have a lot of white stripes and rosettes on them that the garment manufactures use on collars and other items like gloves. Same goes for the back legs as well. Cut them just above the back pads. Back legs are also used in the garments. All parts of the cat are used in some form. Sure the wide, white spotted bellies are what the fur industries want, but don’t think for a second the rest gets discarded. The only reason to leave the foot pads on is if you were planning on selling the fur for taxidermy. The lower lip can be left on, or removed during skinning. I would advise that if you leave it on, pin it down so it don’t roll all up. It just looks better. Fleshing the head can be a little tough but do your best to get all the fats removed. If the fats aren’t removed from the hide properly it won’t dry correctly. The hide will dry in only the spots that the fat is removed from. If there is still fat left on the hide oils will leak through the leather side and out into the fur and make your fur greasy looking, no matter how hard you try and clean it up. A properly fleshed hide will dry greaseless. It will be stiff and crispy. If it’s stretched too wide it will dip (like a waving effect) in the back.
The best advice I can give someone new to fur put-up is to just take your time and use caution. Cats are just too valuable of a resource to make many mistakes on without costing you money. As far as fur buyers, I would recommend always selling to your state organization. Part of the sells commission goes to help fight for your rights to harvest fur, whether it be through trapping, calling, or hounds. We are all in it together and all should respect each other’s methods. Most Western state sells draw a lot of different fur buyers and makes for a lot more competition for buying fur lots. This will give different buyers a chance to make a fair offer on your furs, and it will increase your odds of getting maximum dollars for all your time and hard work. Just remember the fur industry goes hot and cold. It’s just like the stock market. If you don’t think you are getting a fair price for your fur, simply don’t sell it. Fur can be stored until the market comes back up.
I sure hope I’m not sounding disagreeable with anyone. I guess that’s where the saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”.
Merry Christmas all.

[Unreal_tk]

CRA,

What would you recommend for time left on the stretcher? I usually give them a week, or so then remove and let them hang to finish drying the head better to avoid any chance of slipping. I do use heavy borax on the head and front legs because its still a little wet in those areas when I turn em. I saw a buddy rip a cat once flipping it, told myself I would never take that chance.

[Bluebill]

Thanks Dean,
I've been meaning to re-join the CTA. I know they did a lot of work putting mink and martin back on the menu for us. I assume they will have a booth at the auction. Have the cat prices been competitive? I'll check out the web site for the auction information.

Andy,
thanks for the leg information. I've been cutting the front legs at the pads. They get in the way when I roll them and put them back on the stretcher.

[Bluebill]

CRA,
Some how I missed your post (@#$ windows . Thanks for the good advice. I'll be making some changes this winter. I've got a lot from this post.

[Marshall]

One other quick little trick I've learned is when you are fleshing you can take a razor knife and gently drag it from the head to the bottom of the cat ( while on the fleshing beam ) cutting through the membrain. Make 2 cuts like this a few inches apart and now you have a 3-4 inch wide section that you can flesh from top to bottom without turning the cat on the beam. Once you have done that section then turn the cat and make another cut a few inches from the edge of the last cut and you have another section ready to be fleshed and so on. I've found this is a lot easier and less time consuming then if you try to tube the cat. Be careful though because its pretty easy to cut through the hide if you apply to much pressure but, if done right it takes time off of the fleshing process.

[jasonrinebold]

If you have to shot a cat with anything bigger than a 22mag or 17hmr, the bullet singes hair at the entree and exit holes. When stretched these spots are easily seen even when the holes are sewn. To fix that cut the holes out or take another 1/8 inch to a 1/4 inch all the way around the origenal bullet hole with a scalpel. You might have to make a few extra stetchs but you won't be able to find your damage once your cat is put up.

[Unreal_tk]

I was bored, and thought of a neat idea. Normally we hang fur from the ceiling with a fan on it. I thought about making a fur box. Fit it to stretchers, and basiclly make it a organized rack to hold them with a airway directly under it with a fan at the head, leaving the top open for circulating air. Any suggestions?

Going to throw a rough one together tomorrow after work if I can.

[Unreal_tk]

Found a post on Trapperman that has excatly what I was mentioning above, thought id post a link so other folks can build some if they like it.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthre ... ost3598327

Cagey cats setup is the one I was talking about.