The fleshing knife is a tool built for the trapping and fur handling industry. When preparing pelts for the fur market, it's necessary to flesh, stretch and dry the pelts to keep them from rotting and give them a limited shelf life until they are tanned for long term preservation. Fleshing a fur pelt involves scraping the fat and meat from the skin. Although this can be done … [Read more...]
What is a Fleshing Beam, and Why Do You Need One?
If you're just getting started trapping and fur handling, you may not be familiar with fleshing beams and what they do. A fleshing beam is quite simple, but it's a critical tool for processing fur. It's basically a piece of hardwood or pvc in a specific shape or size that holds a fur pelt while you 'flesh' it, or remove the fat and meat from the skin with a fleshing knife. … [Read more...]
Fur Handling Equipment for Trappers: An Overview
Trapping can be a fulfilling and enjoyable experience, matching wits with animals in the wild, learning their habitats and responsibly harvest abundant furbearers. But after the catch is made, the work begins. Proper fur handling - skinning, fleshing, stretching and drying the pelts - is an important process that can be extremely rewarding when done right. But it requires the … [Read more...]
Fleshing Beam Setup in the Fur Shed
A well-positioned fleshing beam can be pretty important when trying to efficiently process pelts in the fur shed. If you're like me, space always seems to be a limiting factor, and so space-saving ideas are always appreciated. Here's one from Greg, a Maine trapper who just built a beautiful fur shed that should last him a good many years. With a couple of hinges and some … [Read more...]
Skinning and Fur Handling with John Chagnon and Dave Cronk
From his trapline in northern Michigan, John Chagnon of PCS Outdoors takes us to Dave Cronk's fur shed for a skinning and fleshing demonstration. Dave is a professional fur handler and has learned to be quick and proficient putting up fur from a number of different species. He shows how to skin fox, muskrat, mink, beaver, raccoon, badger and more in this 2-hour video. … [Read more...]
Tanning Options for Trappers
In years of low fur prices, many trappers turn to alternative methods for marketing their fur. I talk about this a lot in my book Fur Profit, and discuss the option of sending your raw fur out to get tanned at a tannery. This opens up the option of selling tanned fur locally, online, at craft fairs and sportsman's shows, or turning it into garments or other items you can sell … [Read more...]
An Overview of Fleshing Knives
The fleshing knife is a key component to most fur sheds. If you're fleshing muskrats, mink, marten and weasels, you can simply use a butter knife, or a small pelt scraper. But if you've got any amount of meat and fat to clean off a pelt, you need a fleshing knife. Fleshing knives come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and a wide range of price points. The very low end, entry … [Read more...]
Glands: A Trapper’s Commodity – Kyle Kaatz
If you're stacking up the fur on the trapline and aren't saving glands, you're missing out on a good chunk of extra money. Glands are worth quite a bit to the lure making industry, and trappers who take the time to save them can get a pretty good financial reward for a little bit of time. If you're an amateur lure maker, collecting glands from your own animals can save a lot of … [Read more...]