This thread made me think of the old joke about a bear and a rabbit.
This thread made me think of the old joke about a bear and a rabbit.
Personally, I'm not fond of rabbit fur. I like the look but as stated they aren't very strong. The other problem is they shed pretty bad. I've gotten hair on the meat before just skinning and it's a pain to get it off.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Never had a problem with that, it normally gets stuck in the fatty tissue which comes off the rabbit. I love it because it's all year, no limit, plentiful, and there's nothing else really for me to hunt. Fun to hunt and plenty of it to practice brain tanning and making something when I get enough.
When I read the title of this thread the first thing I thought of was that joke about the bear and the rabbit.
Go on......
Oh, man. Don't set him up like that.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Too easy I tell ya.....
OK - quick and PG version.
A bear is in the woods doing his "business" when along comes a rabbit.
"Excuse me Mr. Rabbit, but I need to know - when you do your "business" do you have a problem with it sticking to your fur"?
"No Mr. Bear. I do not have a problem with it sticking to my fur".
"Thank you" says the bear as he picks up the rabbit to wipe his butt.
LOL that poor rabbit, well at least he didn't get eaten. LOL
I've used rabbit fur for blow gun dart fletching. A small piece is all that's needed, to much and the dart will be too heavy.
You could make me a bikini for my next venture into the Fairbanks -40 Polar Bear Club!
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LOL, that's sort of like "Save a tree, wipe your butt with an owl"
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Or is it "save a tree, eat a beaver"?Originally Posted by woodsman86
Do NOT brain it with fleshing still needing to be done. Personally I prefer wet-scraping over a beam with a towel or something between to reduce damage to the hair side. Seems to get it a lot cleaner with no washboarding like you get with dry-scrape. You should be able to see the indentions where the veins were attached to the skin, but NOT see actual veins. No fat, meat, or veins should be on the hide. If you miss a little, it's not that big of a deal. Just do your best.
Rabbits are thin and delicate hides. Probably more suitable for undergarments than outer layers. I have a friend who promised me some bunny furs, but I have yet to get them. Anything that won't be under tremendous stress should be a suitable use, like gloves or a hat, or even a bag or face warmer. Rabbits are so small, like squirrels, that it takes a lot of them to have enough to actually make anything useful. Half a dozen, I would probably use as a liner for a vest or shoes as H suggests.
I would weave up a blanket. Most white trappers would cover it with cloth to control the shedding hair.
I'm looking at my dry scrape hides and don't see any wash boarding. I wonder if wash boarding is a result of technique.
Cuffs, Collars, and Hems.
The only place I have ever tried it was on a field jacket hood, I considered it a failure. The hood was too flimsy to support the flesh and fur for daily routines. It was nice when battened down in a deer stand.
I have since dreamt of adding it to jacket cuffs. I hate to pull them down with velcro, too confining. I hate even more the Northwest winds up a sleeve though.
Sleeve cuffs, jacket collars, or jacket hoods. A mid waist belt along the cinch of a field coat? The bottom hem of a field coat, belted inside so as not to subject it to as much wear.
Stuff your pants? The hem of your boots.
Stuff your boots? The hem of your pants.
I sure wish you were here next to Martha's Majic Stitch machine, we'd go through those pelts in a heartbeat.
"They call us civilized because we are easy to sneak up on."- Lone Waite
This rabbit I put up in the picture is not a jackrabbit like i'm used to. It was a much bigger and thicker farm raised rabbit. I could NOT get the veins or and more flesh off. I even tried slightly cutting in to make an edge to scrap. It would simply not separate. It seemed as if it was a single layer attached to the skin. I've never had a problem like that with jacks.
The head guy over at Chehaw teaches dry-scrape and has been doing it for years and his washboarding really tells on his dry-scrape. It doesn't happen with wet-scrape, but I'm getting off topic.
I would think wild rabbit would be thicker than domesticated, and respetively tougher to scrape. Without actually getting a good look at the layers you are talking about, it's hard to make an assessment. Is there a way to get a close-up pic that shows it better?
When framed and dried, skins get a layer that forms on the outside. I really just consider it a "crust" of sorts. It should seperate from the skin and peel away like onion skin. I wouldn't think you should still be able to see actual veins, so I ask, are you sure they are veins and not just the impression left in the skin? Sometimes blood stains in those little grooves can look like veins are still there. It really sounds like you've got it scraped down good. If you are pretty confident you got it scraped good, then have a go with some brains. Either the crust will allow oil penetration or prevent it and then you'll know. WCS you stop working after the brains go on and have to scrape some more..
Keep us updated!!
It's all done and taking down. Just have to break it today. I dont know how much good that will do . IT's not as stiff as a board but uh, close. Definitely not like my chemical tan ones. I actually like it if it was to be used as a rug/blanked, it seems tough as hell, not like a jack that would tear easily. The stiffness is hard to describe, cardboard like? It folds with a crease.
I'll go snap a few pictures. While i'm doing that do you mind looking over this tutorial I used and seeing if it's accurate? http://www.vnnforum.com/showthread.php?t=1757
RR - you should check out YCC's info on tanning. Here's a thread that he did http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...mplicated)-way He also has some great youtube vids.
After looking at it in the morning sun it's a definite no go. I can see a thick clear/transparent layer. Here's a pic. I circled some obviously terrible areas in red. But the area in black were the areas I got to what I felt was a really good and sufficient fleshing, but it still came out stiff like the rest.
suck.jpg
Last edited by RandyRhoads; 01-17-2012 at 01:28 PM.
That is an awesome thread! Now I feel even worse though. The layers you separate are only held together by a hydrogen bond! Why can't I get it....
Well, after reading it I see a major problem with this. The guide I used said wash/soak it after braining, So I guess that didn't help lol....
EDIT: YCC can you look at that picture and comment please? I read more of your post and the "waxing" you decribed seems to be what's going on here. It has a waxy appearance, can stand on its' own. I poked at it with a knife tip and it came off almost exactly like wax.
Do you think I did flesh it , but I just didn't follow the right steps? Looking at your post and the guide I was using ....that guide was crap....Flesh, rinse,brain,rinse,stretch....wtf..
Last edited by RandyRhoads; 01-17-2012 at 01:49 PM.
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