this sight is awesome.i have two questions.
1)i have been working on a whitetail cape i shot 11/05.it has been frozen accept when i pull it out to work on it.normally 1 day at a time in a cold michigan garage.probably 3 times now.i just pulled it out and used "stop rot" on it but noticed when i pull on the hair it comes out somewhat easy.the cape does'nt have a foul odor and appears to be in good condition.is it worth mounting?or is it ruined?
2)after pickling a whitetail cape what exactly is shaving?is it different from thinning?thanks for your help
Return to Beginners Category Menu
not to freeze, thaw and refreeze capes any more than you have to. plan ahead and set aside the time you need to do everything at once. Thaw the cape, flesh it, turn ears, split lips, and salt. Two freeze cycles is the most I would ever try to do. I will do this if a frozen head comes in. I will thaw it, cape it out and refreeze. After that it will not go into the freezer again until it is tanned. As for the cape you have It is hard to say. Get it into the salt and see what happens.
Shaving and thinning are the same thing. The pickle helps plump the skin allowing for easier shaving/thinning.
There are a lot of praises for Stop Rot on here and from what I have heard it appears to have value. It should not however be used in a way to avoid or skip or prolong essential steps in the process. In my opinion when an animal is on the ground, the "bacterial clock" starts ticking and does not stop ticking until the animal is in the salt. Good luck.
george has always said "dont pull on the hair"!shaving is getting skin thinner,ethier using knife or razor blade,ula,bench grinder wire wheel or a flesher machine(in which i dont own one yet). tim