Fleshing out a deer hide - Update 12/31/08

[Katera73]

Looks good so far Al I have two skins in the frezer fleshed out. Im wanting to buck skin both of them (hair off). I made my own fleshing beam it was easy if I get a chance I'll post a pic. I hope mine comes out good its my first attempted at it . I want to make a arrow quiver for my recurve.

 

[Al33]

I read where you can take off the hypo dermis while the skin is dry so I decided to give it a try. I did not read anywhere how to do it so it was the trial and error method for me. I peeled some of it after raising ends with a knife s I could get a grip on a piece to pull on but scraped most of it off with a large blade that was very sharp and held it at a right angle to the skin. Seems to have worked pretty well but I still need to go back and work the edges a bit more and I plan on doing that after i take it out of the frame. The piece of skin in the last photo was a piece i pulled off.

 

[Nicodemus]

Al, be very careful as you pull it off dry. Sometimes it wants to take a nosedive and go too deep.

A little trick you can use to clean up small areas where a little bit still hangs on, is to buff it VERY LIGHTLY with fine grit sandpaper. Be careful not to cut through though. Your hide is lookin` good, and you did a real nice job of stretchin` it in the frame.

 

[choctawlb]

I'm gonna leave ya'll to that "dry scrape method", it and me just don't get along. I've done 25 or so hides by the wet scrape method with no problems, and ruined two good hides by punching them full of holes attemping "Dry Scrape". I know Nick preferes the "Dry Scrape Method" but it so far has not worked well for me. Find one that works for you and stick with it.
Ken

 

[swampstalker]

That looks great Al. My brother has a hide he is stretching right now. I gave him a few Flint Scraper Blades to try with the fleshing and he said that they were the way to go. He said that coastal chert peeled the flesh off like butter.

 

[deersled]

how's it coming Al?

 

[HuntNTails]

That's neat... I've thought about doing one just have got a point of doing... I used to have a piebald doe that was around that I wanted to save her hide, but never saw her the next year. Think someone else stuffed her in their freezer.

 

[hawgrider1200]

Brain tan hair on

I dont know but I imagine the Native American brain tanned hides with hair on. I think you'll be fine with that.