Possible market for wild Irish furs??

Grizzly 45

Last weekend,I was in the city by the lovely Lee, and happened to meet a most interesting lady in a local pub. She is a Viking and medieval re-enactor[ess]?
Who has been on numerous episodes of Vikings, which I can confirm, as I spotted her in a few of last seasons episodes.

More interesting, she is Vegan, but out of health reasons than ethical convictions, and would consider it hypocritical as she wears furs and skins and has bones and whatnot in her acting wardrobe,and around the house.:pac:

Anyhoo, the discussion came around to furs and such, and she was saying the reenactor community are having bother getting real furs for their outfits. As they have discovered what our ancestors knew a long time ago, that natural furs are the best insulation against the cold, and that fake furs just don't cut it in look or reenacting when you are living in your Viking hut in the dead of Winter. She was saying even rabbit pelts are hard to get as well, and that there are folks in re-enactment that have a problem with buying in farmed furs from Russia etc, due to the conditions they are kept under. And let's not talk about China...

So, I'm wondering, as we shoot plenty of foxes and the other fur they are looking for is mink and rabbit. Is there a possibility for an, albeit smallish market out there for wild Irish furs that are harvested naturally and cured and tanned with these folks?? Apparently, they can make fox fur look like wolf fur in the props depts these days.

Wolf, being a CITES species is apparently ownable here in Ireland under license,but she was saying the pelt is so mutilated it must be unrecognisable as a wolf skin for film or prop work?

Thoughts??
An input form anyone who is a re-enactor especially welcome.

furandfeather

Good man- great idea. My father is always on to me that there has to be someone that would buy a fine fox pelt. Back in the eightys he was skinning foxes 4 nights a week

Rows Grower

I know a couple who are re-enactors and only for meeting them about three years ago I would have thought you were off your game starting this thread but they are really particular about the realistic clothes/costumes.

It's a very interesting hobby, from what I understand they stage battles all over the world and they plan their holidays around them. I know from speaking to this particular couple they think nothing of spending top dollar on authentic materials and then spend massive amounts of time researching how to and then hand making their own stuff to the exact style that would have been worn at the time.

If they want a particular fur and it's cured right they have no problem paying well. Fox furs were a massive business in the seventies and early eighties in rural Ireland.

Zxthinger

What does one need to get curing. I looked into a little and the chemicals were from uk and shipping costs were prohibitive.

Grizzly 45

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-tan-a-hide-zm0z01on

https://www.thebushtannery.com.au/news/2017/8/26/how-to-preserve-your-own-animal-skins-with-fur-using-all-natural-ingredients-oil-eggs-soap-smoke

Salt, battery acid, bran, baking soda,in the first.
I've used this method and it works pretty well. The American Indians used to use for buckskin the brain of the deer, called brain tanning.[Google it], I've never tried it.
The kits might be more concentrated, but why bother,if our ancestors managed pretty well with what was around them in chemicals.If it doesn't work out properly the first time around, try again with a different chemical mixture or process, or time. with the next critter, you shoot. Fail, fail better the next time.:)

The job is more in the preparation and the treatment of the skins than the actual chemicals. I'd be investing in a flensing beam and a scraper than worrying too much on the chemicals. That's where mine went wrong,i couldn't break the hide down well enough to make it supple without a proper flensing pole.

Eddie B

It certainly is a nice idea, but it aint an easy way to make money. It can be very time consuming, and takes a lot of practice. Yea if you have time on your hands, it would make for a nice hobby, which who knows could turn into something more significant.

Market wise, yes I could see a market for pelts here. You have ebay, etsy, Amazon, game fairs (probably too dear for a stall), medieval fair/re-enactments etc. Plenty on ebay, but mostly sold from America.

As often is said, "if only I was a young man again" id seriously consider going for it. Lots of idea's such as full pelts, fox, deer, rabbit, mink, squirrel. Also fox tails, lucky rabbit foot key chains. Lots of idea's whick are very do-able.

tikkamark

I am only back from a trip to Iceland there a few days,it’s big money business over there a well prepared fox pelt can set you back €600 and a tail -€70.Its crazy stuff!

wexfordman2

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-tan-a-hide-zm0z01on

https://www.thebushtannery.com.au/news/2017/8/26/how-to-preserve-your-own-animal-skins-with-fur-using-all-natural-ingredients-oil-eggs-soap-smoke

Salt, battery acid, bran, baking soda,in the first.
I've used this method and it works pretty well. The American Indians used to use for buckskin the brain of the deer, called brain tanning.[Google it], I've never tried it.
The kits might be more concentrated, but why bother,if our ancestors managed pretty well with what was around them in chemicals.If it doesn't work out properly the first time around, try again with a different chemical mixture or process, or time. with the next critter, you shoot. Fail, fail better the next time.:)

The job is more in the preparation and the treatment of the skins than the actual chemicals. I'd be investing in a flensing beam and a scraper than worrying too much on the chemicals. That's where mine went wrong,i couldn't break the hide down well enough to make it supple without a proper flensing pole.

I've done the brain tan on two deer hides, worked quite well for me. Did it in a 3rd one, but lost the run if myself when smoking it, and burnt the crap out of it

Grizzly 45

tikkamark wrote: »

I am only back from a trip to Iceland there a few days,it’s big money business over there a well prepared fox pelt can set you back €600 and a tail -€70.Its crazy stuff!

Right lads!Who's for a trip to Iceland?:D

Working class heroes

Donkey jacket?

Zxthinger

tikkamark wrote: »

I am only back from a trip to Iceland there a few days,it’s big money business over there a well prepared fox pelt can set you back €600 and a tail -€70.Its crazy stuff!

Thanks for the info.

That might go down easy with punters over there but if you offered fur for sale here you'd be taking your life in your hands. The crazy s would come after ye.

clivej

tikkamark wrote: »

I am only back from a trip to Iceland there a few days,it’s big money business over there a well prepared fox pelt can set you back €600 and a tail -€70.Its crazy stuff!

I would think that in iceland fur is worn more as a necessity and not a fashion item

solarwinds

Zxthinger wrote: »

tikkamark wrote: »

I am only back from a trip to Iceland there a few days,it’s big money business over there a well prepared fox pelt can set you back €600 and a tail -€70.Its crazy stuff!

Thanks for the info.

That might go down easy with punters over there but if you offered fur for sale here you'd be taking your life in your hands. The crazy s would come after ye.

Just tell them you found the poor animal dying in a field whilst you were out hugging a tree. It suffered a heart attack and after 30 mins of CPR you pronounced it dead, it spirit still lives with me in my nice fur coat.
Surely you cannot get more ethically sourced than that.

solarwinds

Bullet hole nnnoooo thats a BUTTON hole.

Benny mcc

solarwinds wrote: »

Just tell them you found the poor animal dying in a field whilst you were out hugging a tree. It suffered a heart attack and after 30 mins of CPR you pronounced it dead, it spirit still lives with me in my nice fur coat.
Surely you cannot get more ethically sourced than that.

SOLD ;-)

Grizzly 45

Zxthinger wrote: »

Thanks for the info.

That might go down easy with punters over there but if you offered fur for sale here you'd be taking your life in your hands. The crazy s would come after ye.

<MOD SNIP>!! quite frankly, they are a bunch of <MOD SNIP> gutless pussies who make alot of noise in the media or outside fur shops and talk a good fight on the internet. In real life, my 84-year-old mother could beat what passes for "hard men" of the animal rights front, and who have to import mercenary thugs from the UK or ex Loyalist bombmakers to do their dirty work for them here.
Their greatest weapon is the internet and social media, where they can doxx or expose you...Trouble is if you don't have a social media profile, or one in a name totally different to yours and giveth not a <MOD SNIP>what the permanently offended and downtrodden think...It's useless.

Don't be afraid of them, or their hard man noises. You start thinking will it offend them, you are already on a back foot.

clivej

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

<MOD SNIP>!! quite frankly, they are a bunch of <MOD SNIP> gutless pussies who make alot of noise in the media or outside fur shops and talk a good fight on the internet. In real life, my 84-year-old mother could beat what passes for "hard men" of the animal rights front, and who have to import mercenary thugs from the UK or ex Loyalist bombmakers to do their dirty work for them here.
Their greatest weapon is the internet and social media, where they can doxx or expose you...Trouble is if you don't have a social media profile, or one in a name totally different to yours and giveth not a <MOD SNIP> what the permanently offended and downtrodden think...It's useless.

Don't be afraid of them, or their hard man noises. You start thinking will it offend them, you are already on a back foot.

No hiding you under a brick.
I've had me share of people giving out me about my deer hunting to whom I say when asked "why do you hunt". To them I say 'cos I like killing animal's'. See the look on their faces then.

Grizzly 45

Just waiting to use the Atypical paraphrased Vietnam US door gunner classic.
"How can you shoot innocent Vietnamese women and children?" "Simple really,don't give em that much of a lead!"
TO
"How can you shoot an innocent deer running in terror from you?" Simple really,give them enough lead!":D

Zxthinger

clivej wrote: »

No hiding you under a brick.
I've had me share of people giving out me about my deer hunting to whom I say when asked "why do you hunt". To them I say 'cos I like killing animal's'. See the look on their faces then.

I must you that one on my next application form. Lol

John_Rambo

John_Rambo wrote: »

Those viking, prehistory historical reenactment gangs would pay proper money for native Irish furs. I mean it, I was at a festival a while ago and they were there, they had a few scabby furs (which they were very proud of) and I KNOW they'd love some genuine ones to make cloaks and other stuff with. They had one fox fur that they displayed and it was a centre piece.

That's my post from four years ago. Of course, I was a bit ignorant of the amount of time and skill it takes to go from a shot mink to a nice pelt. But there's a bit more money knocking around now and these guys take their stuff seriously, proper blacksmiths and forgeries, traditional leathercraft etc... I'd say it's still a runner. I'm unsure of the process, maybe they'd take on the tanning and curing of the pelts. I'm still a bit ignorant, maybe frozen pelts could be sold?

There's a few viking reenactment outfits in Ireland if you google them.

LeVaterIzVet

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

<MOD SNIP>!! quite frankly, they are a bunch of <MOD SNIP> gutless pussies who make alot of noise in the media or outside fur shops and talk a good fight on the internet. In real life, my 84-year-old mother could beat what passes for "hard men" of the animal rights front, and who have to import mercenary thugs from the UK or ex Loyalist bombmakers to do their dirty work for them here.
Their greatest weapon is the internet and social media, where they can doxx or expose you...Trouble is if you don't have a social media profile, or one in a name totally different to yours and giveth not a <MOD SNIP> what the permanently offended and downtrodden think...It's useless.

Don't be afraid of them, or their hard man noises. You start thinking will it offend them, you are already on a back foot.

You seem to have quite the chip on your shoulder <MOD SNIP>. There is no need for a person to be walking around wearing a fur jacket in this day and age.

Bogwoppit

LeVaterIzVet wrote: »

You seem to have quite the chip on your shoulder Anyone who enjoys killing/harming animals is a psycho in my book. There is no need for a person to be walking around wearing a fur jacket in this day and age.

I enjoy eating them too

LeVaterIzVet

Bogwoppit wrote: »

I enjoy eating them too

As do I! However there's a difference between killing an animal humanely to eat it for survival, in comparison to killing it for the sole purpose of skinning it and selling its skin to some nutters who think they're vikings.

Bogwoppit

LeVaterIzVet wrote: »

As do I! However there's a difference between killing an animal humanely to eat it for survival, in comparison to killing it for the sole purpose of skinning it and selling its skin to some nutters who think they're vikings.

I have never come across a hunter who kills just for the sake of killing, it doesn’t happen with genuine hunters. We hunt for food and we hunt for pest control.
This thread is about using furs from animals that are being shot anyway, surely it’s a good thing to make more use of the animal after it’s been killed.

Please refrain from the insults or you will get some responses that are not quite as polite as mine.

Eddie B

Bogwoppit wrote: »

I enjoy eating them too

LeVaterIzVet wrote: »

As do I! However there's a difference between killing an animal humanely to eat it for survival, in comparison to killing it for the sole purpose of skinning it and selling its skin to some nutters who think they're vikings.

Jesus, the hypocrisy of your post. Fact is, we don't even need meat for survival. We eat it because it tastes nice. Your ok with farming and killing animals for their meat, but not their fur. Fine! Your choice. But why the big outcry? Same bloody thing. Have you even any idea where your food comes from? What country? How humanely it was raised? Do you even care? It's laughable really.

O yea, any idea where your clothing comes from? Synthetic clothing comes from non renewable sources, while fur comes from very renewable sources. Think about the harm your doing spreading this drivel. Look at the bigger picture, and seek some proper information on the subject.

Cass

Ok Folks

Lets keep this civil. Enough of the name calling from both sides. Put across your argument or rebuttal, but leave the insults at the door.

Cass

Alright.

People seem to think a Mod Note is something to be read but largely ignored.

Now i'll put it a little more bluntly.

First one to breach the forum rules AND ignore my warning will get a permanent holiday from the forum. No warnings, no infractions, simply gone.

Keep it civil or i'll remove your ability to be ignorant.

its_steve116

Not going to happen now. The Irish Examiner is reporting that fur farming is to be outlawed in Ireland.

Del2005

its_steve116 wrote: »

Not going to happen now. The Irish Examiner is reporting that fur farming is to be outlawed in Ireland.

They are hunting wild animals not farmed ones.

Grizzly 45

its_steve116 wrote: »

Not going to happen now. The Irish Examiner is reporting that fur farming is to be outlawed in Ireland.

Good that re opens the market to fur hunting again.:P

meathstevie

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Good that re opens the market to fur hunting again.:P

Might have to reinvest in a .22 Hornet. Nice, quiet and excellent fox medicine....

dodderangler

I was in the tv show vikings as an extra. I certainly don’t call myself a bloody Viking 😂😂

Grizzly 45

Were you the guy in the 14th row back on the 20th left behind Catherine Winnick in one of the battle scens?? Thought I recognised you!!::D:D:D

[Old Hollywood joke from the time of Cecil B DeMille films]

TombstoneT

solarwinds wrote: »

Just tell them you found the poor animal dying in a field whilst you were out hugging a tree. It suffered a heart attack and after 30 mins of CPR you pronounced it dead, it spirit still lives with me in my nice fur coat.
Surely you cannot get more ethically sourced than that.

Thanks Solarwinds, you gave me a good laugh first thing this morning!

dodderangler

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Were you the guy in the 14th row back on the 20th left behind Catherine Winnick in one of the battle scens?? Thought I recognised you!!::D:D:D

[Old Hollywood joke from the time of Cecil B DeMille films]

I actually got a selfie with her mate. Decent bit of stuff she is.