Shaving a cape...the hard way.

[furhound]

Ok. It's coming into focus. Different edges on the two blades or just "a hot spare".

I've been plowing through all the other reading I can stomach on shaving. There was a few comments about using a drawknife and just pushing away. I tried that and simply found that with a blade sharp enough to slice flesh it went right through in an instant. The difference I see is that I use my fleshing beam which is a chunk of 26" diameter tree. Others talk about 4" PVC. Perhaps a smaller radius beam will focus the cut? Still. It's all a daunting proposition when dealing with a full fur. I'll plug away.

It may be like using a pole lathe. When I first started it seemed impossible to hold the tool, pump the foot up and down and engage and withdraw the gouge with the change in rotation. 3 years later it's still impossible because I just don't do it enough. OK. Bad example.

[Low T]

I know you don't want to poop out the money, but a fleshing machine would solve all your problems, you would thin a tanned deer hide down in 30 minutes. And no sore fingers, just a smile from doing it over the hard way. Buying a car is better then walking for free.

[furhound]

Well.. My needs are limited to about 4 furs for a cloak, 6 for a bed covering and maybe 2-3 for knee high boots. I could just buy them outright for about what a machine would cost. I'm one of those historical re-enactor freaks. The process is almost as important as the result to me.

I'm already into Ritell's for more money in EZ-Tan 100 than I'm comfortable with. It's a good product and Bruce is a good man, very helpful. I'm just really, really cheap.

[John C]

We found out today the best way yet to fform a piece of pvc pipe. As we were cleaning some skulls in a pot of very hot but not boiling water, my son used a piece of pvc to pull out a coyote skull, after he fished around a bit we saw that it was very maliable(sp), we could put a bend in ot without kinks. So did some experiementing and made a couple  small tapered fleshing beams.

You can also flesh a complete cape by keeping  a single edged razor blade at a 90 degree angle and dragging it down the cape, with some practice you can get pretty good at thinnng the hide. tough on hands but it works.

[Marty Dupertuis]

I'm with Mr T on this one.  I wish I had just bought a fleshing machine right away.  Once you get it adjusted right and get the hang of it, it is a life saver.  20-30 minutes and you have a thinned cape ready to mount.  And as I get older, I really like avoiding being hunched over fleshing a deer as much as possible.

[Bobbi Meyer]

 I think since furhound is a reenactor and he said the method was just as important I think the beam and knife would about as close to historical accuracy as you could get...of course you're gonna have to give up the EZ 100 for some brain tanning.

[boarhunter67]

I use a mini flesher.  I've sent some things out, but I've heard so many horror stories about tanneries that I always worry.

[Hudson]

They don`t understand the "art" of doing things the way our ancestors did it. I tanned quite a few buffalo robes by hand and with primitive tools, you WILL have a deep appreciation for our Native Americans and ancestors. Sometimes HOW you do something is far more important than WHAT you did.

[furhound]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and tips. It's not hard labor that bothers me, it's difficult skills. As a Jack-of-all-trades you never have time to master anything. Here's what actually came down;

I made a knife. The edge is the same as a cabinet scraper for those of you who know. For those that don't, the simple explanation is that you sharpen a blade like a bloody razor (people often wonder why there's no hair on the back of my left hand). Then, you do the unthinkable and take a hard steel rod and push it hard down the length of your edge. I use a chromed vanadium steel socket. That burrs the cutting edge over to a small hook. Works the same way on flesh as it does on wood. It cuts in but the height of the hook limits the depth of the cut based on the fact that it gets packed. That height can be from .0005 to .010 inches depending on the steel and how you form it. What is way better about flesh is that the burr lasts seemingly forever compared to Oak or Ash. It's dynamite compared to using any traditional edge. I finally found some pictures of historical currier's knives and what I did is completely different. As far as EZ-100 goes, (chuckle), one hurdle at a time. Once I have mastered the processing skills I'll start attempting to use more traditional tannins. My reenactment period is the Viking age. Probably not brains but Oak I'll go for. The challenge there will be my Massachusetts location. They say it takes 3 months or more to tan using Oak. In that time period it'll be freezing, bloody hot or both. None of which are optimal. All will happen out-of-doors so the temperature is what mother nature ordains. A small shelter dug into the ground could mitigate it if I tan from March to May.

P.S. I'm getting the impression this forum is for professionals not hobbyists. Sorry about that.

[oldterryr]

i have a taxi friend that can do it with a beam and a havel's knife faster than i htot humanly possible - i have watched him do it several times - he predeominantly uses a flesher too but it can be done - also electric  bench grinder works great too

[M.T.]

I've done approximately 700 deer heads over the years and I have never used anything other than a 6 inch oak beam and a Fillet Knife.  Now I made the beam so that the top of it comes to about a one inch radius and it works great for eyes and nose .  I use a  carbide knife sharpener along with a Steel, and you must keep your knife very sharp.  I can flesh, shave, split, and turn ears all in about 60 minutes.  My wife had bought me a Dakota flesher a few back from Vandykes, but I sent it back.  No need for it!  The beam I have is 54 inches long and I just shove the bottom in the corner, throw the skin over it and start to shave.  I wear a plastic apron because I hold it up with my chest.

[paul e]

if your just fooling around 8" pvc and wire wheel
if your even mildly serious get a GOOD fleshing machine
save your money and get one of the quality ones
that means you need at least 1200 or so
if you start saving now and get a good one
youll save yourself a whole lot of misery

ya there more than one way to wipe yourself
corncobs or newspaper
thell both get the job done
but damn
or use the right  tool for the right job lol