Be very careful of what you say about the way other people conduct their business.
Please take into consideration that there are other people on this forum that does conduct their business in Africa and also earn there living in Africa.
If you do not like the way the African capes and items arrive at your shop, then be so kind in putting a sign on the outside of your shop stating that you do not like to receive any African work.
I am sure that you will not do this because you make good money out of your clients coming back from Africa. You do this because you have a very lame excuse in stating that the skinning is shoddy and that there are many holes in the capes.
We have a saying here in Africa "it is easy to go to the toilet with a full stomach).
Return to Lifesize Mammal Taxidermy Category Menu
a perticular person or post in this forum, or are you just rambling?
I have personaly been to africa & hunted & did my own animal studies & have witnessed first hand how capeing & skins are handled several times.
The skinners could care less about being carful to save the whole eye lid, or slitting dewlaps as to get salt to the end or spliting ears all the way or back incisions that look like a chain saw was used to make the cuts.
You know what , They where taught how to do it that way by a PH that usualy never takes the time to make sure the job is done right & from what I have found do not know themselves.
This is an injustice to the paying client.
The man that spends $10,000. to come on a hunt of a lifetime & have the ultimate adventure, then to return home & battle with the Dip & pack place to get his trophy skins in less than a 2 years, Then to find out that half of the capes are not suitable for show in a taxidermy competition because someone got careless in Africa during the skinning or salting proccess.( THE EASIEST PART OF THIS JOB)
Most of us that mount alot of African work know how to deal with most of the problems with the skins coming from Africa so it is just anouther day anouther dollar but a novice in the field is almost screwed from the start.
Let alone the claim that I have personaly IN AFRICA heard that American taxidermist just dont know what the animals of Africa realy look like so they cant do as good as the African taxidermist.
What a load of crap, some of the worlds worst taxidermy comes from Africa because the prices are so cheap for mounting over there that the client doesnt remember to look for Quality & when he finaly gets his mounts shipped for 2-3 times the quoted shipping price he is ashamed to show anyone his mounts because of the POOR Quality job that he recieved for this cheaper price.
So the jist of the point is that if you dont like hearing american taxidermists complaining about the Crap capes that are coming in from your country either start taking more care of the skins or stop advertiseing your cheap hunts to american hunters & we will keep our strong American dollar at home.
We also have a saying
if it aint broke dont fix it
but if it is broke you should have made it stronger in the first place.
I only do a couple safaris a year, but they usually involve more headaches than all my other work combined. It is all due to poor skinning and handling in the field.
I know that proper preparation is possible, because I had the great fortune to hunt with a supurb outfitter in South Africa two years ago. I personally checked each of my trophies as they were being skinned and found his skinners were excellent. The only extra sewing that I have had to do was my fault...BULLET HOLES! On top of the great work they did, I had my capes and horns back in my hands in under 90 days after leaving Africa.
While there are undoubtedly some fine taxidermists in Africa, I have not had the good fortune of being able to view any of their work. Most of what I've seen coming back from Africa finished is little better than junk. You should come to the US and look at the taxidermy that is being done here......You might just learn how an African head should be mounted!
We have another saying, Jaco....."You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!"
their are only very few good taxidermist in AFRICA. As already mentioned, the skinners butcher the skins,as a taxidermist you should know this,most of your work is local ( right African clients )
If taxidermist in Africa where so good,why do they purchase one of each type of manikin from our supplier,you copy them you have good manikins. I've been to Africa many times and been in so many shops it's not even funny.The black man is the taxidermist and the skinner.
So do not take the credit for somebody's work.Use fine salt and skin out the animals properly,remove the meat from the nose ,eyes and ear butts,lipschange the salt often and you will have less hair slipping. Listen guys, go to any taxidermy shop in Africa and look at their work,you can tell what manikin is under the skin,and you will say,that is precisions,that McKenzie's,that Rayline that is Jonas.
So far so good (JACO) now tell the truth! If you guys where so well advanced with technology you would put time into doing your own manikins like we do. Don't get me wrong some of your taxidermist sculpt their own ,but most are copied. You get your foam and (German Eyes) from Bass in Johannesburg , the quality shows.Close but no cigar.I don't blame you for trying to get work from out of Africa
MORE MONEY the Rand is not very good,but when your work get to its destination at a VERY INFLATED PRICE no wonder white South African are millionaires, high profit and next to no wages. Try and pay a taxidermist $5.00 per hour out of Africa and see how long that will last. $5.00 per hour for a black man would be a dream come true for him. I've never seen so much prejudice as I've seen in Africa.They are black people not calfers. No wonder their is so many murders.
To be a good taxidermist on African animals,you have to be a cosmetic surgent. Some skins are ok but a very low persentage.
Now, lets get a couple of facts strait.
My eyes come from the US and some from Germany and some are locally manufactured.
You are correct in saying that most of the taxidermist does use copies. The good ones make there own or alter the forms so that it does look like an African animal. In my humble opinion some of the forms are really crap and needs most than often alterations.
Regarding been advanced we are not, we do not have luxury of picking up the phone and ordering a form or all the nice to have stuff you guys might have. We have to improvise and experiment with a lot of goods to our disposal. I make death masks from all my trophies and mount them from there.
The dollar is not that good my friend. It has depreciated a lot against our currency. And to bring you up to speed, the minimum wage is $6 per hour. I wonder what you are paying your staff? LOL
Please do not use the "K) word my friend, you might have your pale face in a local jail and then I would like to hear you repeating the murder statement.
Especially when your jails are full of blacks.
I wonder why? (Prejudice). What a lot of CRAP you said!
I would suggest that instead of jumping of the Land Cruiser and making a beeline for the Lapa is to spend some time in the skinning
Room and to bring your PH over and ask him to stand there whilst you down a lager.
I will be the first to acknowledge the fact that the skinning in most (90 %) of the cases is a balls up.
If you take it into context. " Your trophies will be field prepared)
What do you understand under the term " field prepared)?
Lastly why should I rip my clients off? Should I charge more just because you are a foreigner? What would you think if my local clients will say if they come into my studio and see that their work is inferior to that of a yank or German just because you pay more.
That's why you have a price list, work according to that, or do you have double standards.
It does not make sense it really does not.
And if it is any consolation I really do not mind to sending trophies overseas. I dip and pack on average 200 animals per season.
I have clients over later this year that will send all their trophies over seas to have them mounted there and you know what I will even make a mould from the leopard and send that with.
Lastly why so aggressive? Don't you like the idea of some one being better than you or is there other problems.
Do what you do best and learn from others. If your work is so good then you should not have any problems in securing any work from Africa at any price.
It seems to me that your origional post was agressive from the beginning. I think Laurier was saying that the quality of skins coming out of Africa is a reflection of the low wages being paid to the skinners- there-by defending the Black Man doing the skinning. I think you missed his point. He said they are NOT the K word, as you said. You missed that too! YOU are the one making the negative racial remarks. If our prisons are racially unbalanced, it is because the crimes are being comitted at a greater rate by those people, What ever race they may be. Seems to me you need to go drink a few lagers, and chill the hell out!
I will have a lager or two.
One should be great full of the blessings that is bestowed upon us every day no matter were we are coming from.
My apologies if I have offended any body.
I just get all hot under the collar if some one gets all " look at me) syndrome.
We all are in the same boat at the end of the day.
You guys let me know if you need any ting from the DARK continent.
Cheers
Where are you from in Africa? I think you would make an interesting addition to this forum! Everyone gets a little pissed once in a while. Whats the most popular beer there?