Fox skins Wanted

robp

I am looking for fox skins, really fresh or frozen ones for some tanning projects.

I live in Waterford/ Cork, so if anyone is shooting foxes in this area could you save the skins or whole animal for me.
They have to be frozen very quickly to avoid potential rot. It would be much appreciated.

Rob

CJhaughey

Sorry I can't help at the moment, still waiting to collect my .243.
Out of interest what are you tannig them with?
Chrome alum? or potassium sulphate? or vegetable?
I am curious because I have a lot of dried rabbit skins ready to be tanned with potash.

robp

I have tanned a good few deer hides with egg yolk and smoke but any emulsified oil will do. Its a very labour intensive method but the result is a real light and soft material and well worth it.
This site describes the process using brains.

http://www.braintan.com/articles/furs/george1.html

E. Fudd

That is unbelievable..... never knew you could use a brain to tan a hide! I wonder what's in the brain that's so good??

CJhaughey

E. Fudd wrote: »

That is unbelievable..... never knew you could use a brain to tan a hide! I wonder what's in the brain that's so good??

Fat, thats what works.
Every animal has enough brains to tan its own hide, strange but true.
I have tried tanning skins using natural methods but you really have to be very quick or you can suffer a lot of hair loss (skin hair loss not yours!)

spideog7

I tried this once but failed to get any of the chemicals necessary. Another problem I had was cleaning the skin, I got alot of fat and some "meat" stuck to it and wasn't sure how to get it off.
I'd like to be able to start with rabbits, how do you dry them CJ.

Regards

CJhaughey

Only try this in the summer unless you want rotting skins! The winter here isn't cold enough or dry enough to dry skins properly.
Skin the wabbits making sure ALL fat and other stuff is removed, make sure that you cut the skin when skinning as tearing will give an uneven edge to the skins.
I used nails and a big sheet of dense polystyrene that was left over from building.
Pin the skin to the board making sure that it is evenly taut work from the neck back working out to the legs first and then back in to the belly .
You will then need to put the sheet out of the sun but in a draft if you can, the skins dry quickly once they are completely dried they can be stored in a dry place.

spideog7

Thanks I hate shooting them and leave them go to waste, plus I'd say it'd be an experience too, to use them for something
I saw some for sale in the US this year, they had been done by Native American's not sure what they were but between the size of a rabbit and a fox they had the hair all still on and were lovely and soft, just for sale as material for whatever use.

CJhaughey

I saw a thing a few years back about a rabbit skin blanket, basically you tan a lot of skins and then cut them into a strip by going round in a spiral to produce a long strip of skin.
these are then woven into a blanket.
Also a native american tradition, I guess we could learn a fair bit from them when it comes to this kind of thing.
Oak bark is also used for tanning and gives a lovely brown colour to the skin, maybe I might give it a go this year.

robp

Those rabbit skin blankets are awesome, I was hoping to somthing like that with fox skin.
I think they made originally made with raw dried skins but that was in the really dry climate of the south west usa Ireland where they couldn't rot if they got wet unlike Ireland.

Rob

spideog7

Yes I remember seeing that blanket they used different coloured rabbits. There are lot's of wild black one's near me actually !
I tried that with bark before, I recall having a large bucket of water and bark soaking in it (to extract the tannins) but I don't ever recall doing anything with it
My father often tells me that he used to get almost £20 for a fox skin if it was properly skinned, not cleaned or dried or anything just frozen :eek:
Foxes are one thing but if I was every shooting deer I'd definitely like to use all of it, particularly the skin.

CJhaughey

I am surprised that gun shops don't carry much in the way of tanning equipment.
I know that in other countries there is a strong tradition of home tanning and tanning kits are widely available.
Maybe the time is right to start bringing these kits in?

bunny shooter

Ya, we should encourage all d'women to start weraing animal skin again, really annoy the animal rights crowd:D

mamona

Hi
Does anyone have any idea where I would get Potash Alum. I have 2 lambs that I have hand reared and they are nearly ready for the freezer. I would like to have a go at making sheepskin rugs.
Thanks

inkoholiks

hey mamona i just ordered some this week on ebay from this shop http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/apcpure

clivej

inkoholiks wrote: »

hey mamona i just ordered some this week on ebay from this shop http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/apcpure

Thread is 5 years old

inkoholiks

oops! sorry i didnt see that!

Grizzly 45

mamona wrote: »

Hi
Does anyone have any idea where I would get Potash Alum. I have 2 lambs that I have hand reared and they are nearly ready for the freezer. I would like to have a go at making sheepskin rugs.
Thanks

FWIW on an ancient thread
Try your local chemist,if they are one of the more "older" type of country chemist or ones that deal in vetinary supplies as well.

inkoholiks

thanks thats good to know actually! i might try some back home!