Deer Skinning -- Splitting the Lips, Nose and Eyes

[summitsitter]

I set out this morning to skin and flesh my first whitetail..  The skinning was pretty easy.  Fleshing the cape EASY, but splitting the lips TOTAL HELL.  The is no possible way to get all the red meat outta there.  There's nonthing to skin the meat to.  Your skinning, and skinning red meat back then bam it hits you like the plaque, you just cut though.  I got 3 video but none of them are clear enough to see actual detail in the process.  I got the lips split but just not fleshed.  Am I the only one with this problem..  Even if I could flesh the lips out I honestly beleive it would take 12 hours to do it.  Any body got any pics out this process, or what they are suppose to look like after they are fleshed..       Thank you

[bill@hogheaven]

Maybe you should find another hobby.

[KevinH]

I split mine and take all the redmeat off.  I use one of those fleshing balls (ice cream cone looking thing) And put it on the "hair" side and cut all the meat off with my scapel.  You could do it like Gina said but it takes the same amount of time for me either way.  I do the same thing around the eyes and the nose.  Its your first attempt yur arent gonna be speedy at it.  Just keep tryin and it will get faster.  good luck, Kevin

[John C]

Yes, all the red meat must be removed!!! It takes time to learn but if you don't you are leaving a meal for the bugs if you are not tanning.

Then even if you are tanning you will have a bumpy lip line.

So remove the red meat and even thin the skin where there is hair.

Yep it is your first time and for some its the last time, learning to do it correctly, thats why some of us charge more.

[Greg Waite]

summer - the best way I can tell you is to take a soft rubber ball and place it under the lip. Then as you are turning, get as close to the skin as possible and keep rolling it off. Just keep following the skin and when you reach the end you will know. It's the easiest way I know. IF you can wait a few days, I am getting ready to start another one and I'll be able to post pictures. You should end up with just a thin piece of skin with no meat, or less than a 1/16". From the voice of experience, please join your state taxidermy association, they can get you in touch with someone local who can help you. Best money I ever spent, great friends and leaned a ton from the more experienced members.

[WilliamHansen]

I split the lips and then use a skive knife and a fleshing ball to get the red meat off. Be patient, it takes time at first, but once you do a few it gets easier. Be careful, because you can put holes in the hide with this method, also. It takes me about 3 or 4 hours to cape, flesh, and turn lips eyes etc. and I've done about 50 deer in the last two years.

[summitsitter]

Bill that just really not what I wanted to hear, but thanks for your 2 cents.  As for the rest of yall thank you for the ideas and methods you use.  I have got an old spike head in the freeze I can pull out and get some more practice on .. That's what I should have done in the 1st place.    Last of all how to I go about joining my state taxidermist asso. I live in Louisiana  Again thanks

[Craig R]

I hold the lip with one hand and while applying upward pressure with my fingers, thumb on top rolling the skin towards me as I cut into the meat of the lip with a scalpel. The pressure helps separate it and the fingers guide me so I don't go through and cut myself. A little borax assists with the slipperiness of it all and gives you control. Just go around the entire mouth opening like this. I get it close then use a floor mounted fleshing beam to cut/scrape the lip meat off with the same scalpel. The nostrils and eyes are handled the same way. I have all of an hour and a half in a cape, from skinning to first salting. That's beaming all the meat/fat off the cape, too. 

[mr.T aka mr. friendly]

summitsitter, up to the top , on the right, in the quick links box, click on Conventions, and find your State on that list, there is a phone number there. Dial it.

[summitsitter]

I believe if I just has some kinda visual to undestand what it suppose to look like then I could get it.  Just sent LA taxidermist assoc. an email about joining maybe they can help. 

[KevinH]

im done turnin all my lips on everything or Id take a pic to show you.

[booker81]

When i turned my first one, it took me a LONG time. Like all day, with breaks to throw it in the garage to keep it cold. I'm sure I'm going to have some slip to it.

When Mr. T let me watch him turn lips, I saw I had done pretty well, other than I was about a thousand times slower.

I didn't try to take all the meat off in one swoop - just took the big stuff off at first, then worked slowly at the little stuff. Buy the time I was at the end of doing lips, I had a decent system. Too bad it only took me hours to learn.

There's a reason folks pay good taxidermists a pretty penny - this stuff ain't easy!

[GGT]

If I remember correctly, the bobcat video from Jan VanH. does a really good job of showing how to split lips, eyes, nostrils. It's not on a WT but the principles are the same. Check out the video.

[summitsitter]

I think where my problem started was I just cut inbetween the top and bottom of the lip instead of starting with one or the other.  I ended up with meat on both,  If yall can understand what i'm saying.....Instead of skinning the top fold down to the bottom fold. I jsut cut inbetween them untill I got to the lip edge then when the lip was split i had meat on both instead of just one to get off...still probly doesn't make any cents

[cremmick]

Summitsitter,

I fleshed my first one a few weeks ago, after watching a video from Bill Atkins, and he showed how to split the lips, eyes, and nose very well.  I did what he showed and it went great. He stressed to take your time and remove all the red meat. As far as splitting the lips, it sounds like you have done that pretty good. I had meat on both sides as well, but I just kept working at it untill it was all gone and the lip skin was thin.  He shows to use a scissors for better control, allowing for less error and cutting through skin.  Like everyone else said, use your fingers as a guide and upply pressure to the hair side. Hold your scissors parallel to the skin and start cutting. Let your fingers be your guide as to how much you cut. Just work your way all the way around the lips taking off all the big chunks at first. Then go around additinal times until you have it thinned down. Make sure you leave at least 1/4" of lip skin to tuck into the form. For your first time, I think you will have less error using a scissors vs. a scalpel. A scalpel can be used later on I think once you do a few. You can use a scissors to flesh alot of the face around the eyes and nose as well.