Shaving without a machine

Well dunno if ya consider a dremel or drill a "machine" but you can buy a wire brush or a sander type blade that will fit a drill and use that...The trick to this is to "clamp" the hide to a board at an angle and use smooth light strokes... I have in the past done well with full sized deer rug hides in fleshing them like this and it only cost about 25 bucks (board, big plastic clamps, and drillbit all bought at Harbor Freight Tools)

Sometimes when I have a large hide to do say an full elk rug-piece, I will use this as a basic de-flesher before sending it to a tanner

 

Well you could use that technique as a shaver as well...although i'd probably use a sander of some sort on a semi dry hide

 

you shaved an entire cape down with a skife... I feel for ya. no way I would ever do it.

 

Hell get a old hickory butcher knife and learn to use it. did 65 deerheads one year with one.

 

You're supposed to learn from stupid mistakes. Send your hides out it you want them shaved. Elkie, stick to Krowtanning.

 

I use a grinder with a rough grit sander. I haven't had any problems with slippage yet. I only use the grinder on the neck area though then a skife for the head area. Hopefully I'll get a fleshing machine soon!!!

 

shop around here and find a good used mini flesher to start with.i feel your pain been there

 

shop around for sure, got my mini flesher at a flea market type store for 10.00 yep, ten

 

You paid $9.50 too much for it.

 

LOL you got that right

 

Hey Muddobber,

Are ya ready for the Vikes coming to town and whoopin' the Saints A**? ;D ;D

 

If you're tanning with Krowtan, the hide doesn't need to be shaved?

 

The skin will need shaving if you use Krowtann, or any other tan out there.

 

I started out thinning with single edge razor blades. Then skife knife. Then razor sharp fleshing knife and beam, then fleshing machine. I fleshed with those and then thinned the tanned hide with those. Now, I flesh and thin the raw cape with the fleshing machine and I'm done.

 

If you believe that I have some ocean front property in Arizona I’ll sell ya .
Thinning has a lot more reasons then just excepting the tan .

 

Yes, I have done it with a skife knife after pickling. No, it is not fun. I broke down and bought a fleshing wheel.

 

Can you explain why that is?

 

keep your knife sharp and hand shaving is not that hard