Hello!
Yes I am a beginer and It seems like whenever i get to the head par of takeing off the hide everything goes bad! It seems like when ive done it The Eye wholes always have huge wholes! Like the eye wholes are way to big! I watced someone skin a hide off a hd once and the eyes were just fine.
What am I doing wrong?
I just keep skinning the best I can on the head just like you do the rest of the body..?
? Thanks
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Matt,
Three secrets - practice, practice and more practice. Seriously, taxidermy requires a lot of patience and the willingness to take whaver amount of time required to do the job right. Working a hide off the body of any mammal is easy because it simply separates the muscle and the skin. Once you get around the head, you have lots of smaller muscles, ligaments and the like that allow the animal to control movement of the ears, eyes, lips and nose. The secret is to use a scalpel or other extremely sharp knife. Make small cuts with the blade directed more toward the bone than the skin. Don't worry about the occasional small tidbit of muscle that may stay with the skin. They can be removed more easily later. Use extreme caution around the earbutts, lips and eyes. Before any skinning and after taking your measurements, skin around the upper and lower gum lines to separate the skin from the upper and lower jaws (much easier than doing it blindly at the end of skinning the head). When you get near the eyes, insert your GLOVED finger through the eye opening and pull the hide gently away from the skull. You will find a thin membrane that sems to pass from just inside each eyelid to wrap around and behind each eyeball. Pull the eyelids out to create a "tube" of that membrane and cut it to leave lots of excess membrane behind the eye. Your outer eyelids should be completely intact. Go out and smack a bunch of squirrels and go to practice - toes and heads. In no time, you'll be up to speed. Again, practice, patience, and oh yeah, persistence. Good luck. You'll be fine.
There are a number of good videos on skinning.LH's response is right on target! But a visual aide may be just the ticket for you. Good luck and keep skinning, you'll get the hang of it.
Thanks Lh and Happ!
Ill practice practice practice!
Thanks youve helped a ton!
Matt