Otter stretching?

[hardkorrhunter]

So i printed off the charts for building stretcher boards for otter but It doesn't give a measurement for how wide to make the tip of the taper. Any tips?

[hardkorrhunter]

So I just used the tip of one of my wire stretchers and traced out tip. So again I'm in a bit of a pickle and need a little advice I need to get this dude skinned out before the fur fully dries or starts to taint but my draw knife won't be here til Monday or Tuesday. What should I do?

[bob maier]

Roll it put fur out going from the nose to tail stick it in a plastic bag seal and freeze. When you gear is ready thaw it out.

[dbfalls]

You want the fur dry before you skin him.

[Humptulips]

I would not suggest rolling the hide. Fur out, put the tail inside and pelt inside a bag. It will thaw out better if layed out flat.
If you were going to have it the freezer a long time I would say roll it.
I've put a lot of them in the freezer wet so I don't see a problem there. When you finally get it fleshed if the fur is still wet put it on the board fur out for a few hours to dry the fur. Then stretch it fur in.

[bob maier]

Bruce knows a lot about otter and how to trap them. I haven't seen mentioned is when fleshing to keep the fur slightly damp to prevent singe, I use a spray bottle of water to mist the fur as needed. I think bruce will agree.

[hardkorrhunter]

Yes bob that is why I wanted to get it skinned before the fur dried. And thank again Bruce ive watched loads of videos on YouTube and and read through the NAFA wildfur manual learned a lot but never mentioned what to do if your not fleshing them right away. Thanks again everyone.

[Humptulips]

Bruce knows a lot about otter and how to trap them. I haven't seen mentioned is when fleshing to keep the fur slightly damp to prevent singe, I use a spray bottle of water to mist the fur as needed. I think bruce will agree.

Dang Bob,
I hate to be disagrreable. I know NAFA suggests fleshing with the fur damp to prevent singe. I have tried it both ways and I can't see the difference. It won't hurt if the fur is wet when fleshing but anymore I don't pay much attention.
I think what will cause singe when flesing is going over and over to scrape off a tough spot. Better to have a sharp enough knife so it ends up being only a couple strokes in a spot.

[hardkorrhunter]

Is there any thing special that I need to do with the nose, ears or lips?

[Humptulips]

Is there any thing special that I need to do with the nose, ears or lips?

Not really, they don't use those in the fur trade. I try to trim the ears so they'll dry a little faster but if the head looks a little rough it should not effect the grade.