Well, I'm gonna find out, gonna try my first attempt at clean skinning. Any tips, especially when I get around the legs, would be appreciated. Otherwise, I'm gonna give it my best shot, and will post pics later.



UPDATE:

Well, here it is. No holes in the hide, but I had to finish it up with the Necker. I think I am going to stick with the beam and flesher for now. The dark line in the middle of the hide is where the jaw of the 330 was holding him.

I like a sharp knife..take your time and relax!!!!!

The first 60 go slow, then you will pick up speed!!!

Like chicken says just take your time until you get through the first 50-100 the speed comes with practice.
I have never fleshed a beaver in almost 30 yrs of trapping.
It helps if you have something holding the beaver from the opposite side you are skinning wire or tie the legs off in some manner so when you pull on the hide you have more tension. Also razor sharp knives I start a days skinning with a dozen or more knives as soon as one starts to drag too much I set it down and grab another. Sharpen them all when done or the next day before doing more. Keep a separate knife for cutting feet or use a limb lopper and another knife just for splitting down the middle when you get started.

I would recomend for learning...to NOT use a razor sharp knife you will be sewing alot...let the beaver cool down,it makes the fat easer to come off get started on the inital cut and and once you get enough fur loose get a grab of it and make short strokes keeping the back of your fingers as suport for the knife and when you get around the leg holes the fur is thinner,and I just use one finger,as backing for your knife,if you leave a little fat ...stop and back up,dont get ahead of it or you wont be able to get it later,its nice to be done all at once and with prcactice you can do a big one in about 45 minn..learning will take an hour or two,untill you get good,I know this explanation is clear as mud,you just have to try it,would recomend starting on pups first,and also is the way to do otter..Good Luck

Jerry props his at an angle by putting a block of wood under the front edge of the beaver so there is a constant tension on the back which allows him to skin without assistance from anyone else. he applies pressure with his left hand as he skins it with his right hand.i cant explain exactly how he does it without pics but with his set up he can skin 3/4 of a beaver before he has to turn it.

he holds his razor sharp knife at a 45 Degree angle and can clean skin one in 15 minutes and he dont have to touch after hes done skinning except to board them.

come on ya'll southern guys thats seen how he does it, sound off, LOL.

Thanks for the tips. I didn't do terribly bad, at least I don't think so for my first one. My problem is not wanting to go to deep. I didn't put a single hole in it, but I had to fininsh it up a bit with the Necker.

My biggest problem is, whether clean skinning or regular flesshing, getting the last bit of "membrane" off, especially around the belly area where the hide seems to be quite a bit more delicate. I either end up getting too deep and tearing the hide, or not deep enough to get that membrane off. I think I have my knives pretty sharp, and sharpen them quite a bit throughout the process with a steel.

Anyway, I'll get the pics uploaded later this afternoon, and you guys can be the judge. I've got two more to practice on.

Pics added.

Not bad....did you keep time to see if it's quicker than skinning and fleshing?

No, I didn't. Lets just say it took a looooooonnnnnngggg time. Either way takes me well over two hours from start to finish, but in my defense, this was only my fifth beaver ever. This job actually took quite a bit longer, because after all the time it took to clean skin, I still had to finish it up on the beam.

Kay Bachman a MN gal and World Champion womans Beaver skinning champion has a DVD available on clean skinning.

I have seen her skin and board a Beaver in under 15 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcj-tUBy88E

That's good to know...

...I always thought it was the first 100 that was the hardest!

JoshG come down to my place with your next beaver I'll show you how to rough skin a beaver In 10 min . Any one can do It. Fleshing about 15 Min

Looking good.

The tension keeping method using the non skinning wrist spoken of by both Kay Bachman and clint locklear is something to pay attention to for those just starting out.

I made a trough to lay the beaver in. The weight of the body helps to put resistance on the hide as I lift. (Does that made sence?)

i can clean skin a blanket beaver in 25 to 30 minutes .thats with a smoke break and watching tv at the same time.i use heavy duty clamps on the legs.big secret is a sharp knife.all i use for a knife is a old timer muskrat jack knife.i cut with the tip and the rest of the blade rides on whats already skinned.i usually pull the hide over my knee and skin on my knee.when im done there is no fat or meat on the hide or floor .

The advice about not using a razor sharp knife for clean skinning in poor advice imho. I have mounted a skinning trough on a barstool (rotatable) at just the right heigth which works great for me. Eventually what will speed you up is just getting the feel of things so that your knife strokes become larger and you seperate bigger swaths per stroke. The advice about how Jerry clean skins is almost identical for me. I also average around 15 minutes. The guy that used to skin for me, however, averaged about 10-11 minutes... with perhaps one knick per 100 beaver.

The trick for around the legs is how you hold the pelt with your non knife hand. (It needs to be held taught without wrinkles). Finally, don't worry about a few blobs of fat on the belly. Clean the pelt while boarding with a paint scraper or other pull type flesher with a quick going over to clean off the grease.

in yukonjeffs defense I think he was referring to while learning it might help to use a knife not so sharp. But I think from all the comments you can get the general idea as to how it is done. I use to sit on the floor and skin all my fur using my fingers as Yukon describes and holding the critter on my lap and using my knee as mark describes. Now days I stand at a table thats what busted tail bones do make it hard to just plop your butt anywhere for a length of time even 10 yrs later. My quality as a result went down for awhile until I figured new ways to support the beaver. Next fall I plan on using a trough to see how that goes and if it makes a difference either way I think you will eventually find a way that is comfortable for you. It can be a daunting task no matter how you skin beaver especially when you have 40-50 looking at you from a 2 or 3 day catch.

Thanks for all the tips. Just like anything, practice practice practice, I suppose. I have one more to do so far, I might give it another shot.

thanks agian, guys!

Thanks for clearing that up otterman...yes I was talking about the LEARNING! aspect...once you get the feel of it you can use a razor sharp knfe and go alot faster...looks pretty good for a first time beaver,and later you wont need to go back and scrape at all....Good Luck.