Mentor

[Ryan P]

Hey everyone. I'm new to trapping and hide tanning. I've only caught a few coons and one otter and I need some help. I'm proficient in skinning because I've hunted my whole life but fleshing, well that's another story. Watching videos makes it look so simple and in return makes me even more frustrated.  Anyone willing to help a newby learn?

[3nails]

 If it's the fleshing part that you are struggling with learn how to clean skin. Lot's of videos showing how. I think the only trappers who still flesh are ones wanting to hold onto the old tradition of it.  No other reason for it.

[Ryan P]

Maybe I'm using the wrong term? Getting all the fat and flesh off the leather without cutting holes everywhere.

[Blacktail Sniper]

You are using the correct term, what he is saying is to learn how to be more effective at the initial skinning and leave the fat & extra flesh attached to the animal from the start. 

Takes a little more time and attention to detail, but with all manual tasks, speed will come with time.

In the end, you will have a much cleaner pelt that will need little or no additional fleshing before being put up to dry or begin the tanning process.

[JakeLand]

I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters

[Loup Loup]

 Otters are tough for me. And coons aren’t much fun!
There’s nothing that compares to watching and listening to an experienced fur handler while they work.
I recommend you join WSTA, then contact your regional director and ask him or her for a mentor in your area. Come to the fur sale in March that I mentioned to barehunter. This alone will speed up your learning curve.
Story told to me at last years fursale:
Last year I picked up fur at the WSTA sale for transport to the Intermountain furharvesters sale in St Maries ID.
A young man consigned 17 or 18 very nice otter with me. He told me he had attended a WSTA demo by a Master Trapper on how to trap otter. Young man realized Hey, I could do that. And he took what he learned from the MT and started catching otter. The next year the MT put on a demo on how to put up otter pelts. The young man paid attention and put what he’d learned to work the next season.
So he brings me 17-18 beautiful otter pelts. Master Trapper also consigns 17 or 18 otters with me.
At the St Maries sale, MT’s otters were high otters at the sale. Young man’s otters were less than $2 average under MT’s. The difference in price was not because of handling differences, just different otters.
All the experienced trappers I know never stop learning from each other new tricks and techneques to produce the nicest end product possible.

[3nails]

I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters

Nope. I'd smoke you! 

[JakeLand]

I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters

Nope. I'd smoke you! 

ok

[CastleRocker]

There is a reason that "real trappers" flesh their hides.  It's WAY faster, and you have a higher value pelt.  I used to trap, and have friends who still do.  They ALL flesh their pelts.

When I say "real trappers", I don't mean to offend anyone.   I trapped a lot when I was young; in the early '80's.  I was never a real trapper.  I'm using that term to describe folks that make a living doing it.  A friend of mine up in AK processes several hundred pelts a season, and doesn't consider himself a Real Trapper, because he has a job, and doesn't earn a living trapping. I read about a couple guys several years ago that average 12k racoons a year...that's real trapping, not to mention a LOT of work!  I can't even imagine that!  My son-n-law sent me a link to a young man on youtube who caught 3008 'coon, and all the assorted incidentals in a season.  People don't realize how much work that is.  Putting up over 50 pelts a day, after running the line(s) would make most folks stop trapping!

[Humptulips]

I clean skin beaver, rough skin and flesh everything else. I think beaver are about the only animal anyone clean skins. Gives me some ideas for demos for the future.

[Jonathan_S]

Fleshing is too easy to spend time clean skinning. Beaver notwithstanding.

[Blacktail Sniper]

I’ll tell if you have a dozen beaver to skin and put up and you clean skin and I’ll skin and put a fleshing knife to it I’ll beat you by half the time . And even when you “ clean skin “ you still gotta touch up when boarded or hooped there’s no reason to clean skin unless you’re only doing one or two critters

Nope. I'd smoke you! 

ok

[ouchfoss]

Took me a couple seasons to figure it out but having a very, very sharp fleshing knife will make your whole life better! If you can buy a Post fleshing knife, it will hold an edge for almost all of season skinning lots of animals and it's worth every penny in my opinion. I put far more holes in my hides when I used a dull or sub-par one versus the Post knife. Once you get a feel for how easy it cuts through grissel and fat, you won't force the blade through as much and you'll get a nicer result. When you get to fleshing those giant, super grisselly otter and beaver, you'll appreciate the knife. That's my 

[Jonathan_S]

For coyotes I prefer a non sharp fleshing knife, I use the Green English. For coons, I'll just use the same knife since I don't put up many coons but a good sharp one is great too. Also a sharpened scraping tool for around the armpits  and ears.

[JakeLand]

For coyotes I prefer a non sharp fleshing knife, I use the Green English. For coons, I'll just use the same knife since I don't put up many coons but a good sharp one is great too. Also a sharpened scraping tool for around the armpits  and ears.

arm pits and ears really the head I got the post one handed flesher and it’s slick