i listen to a lot of people talk about borax on here and i was skeptical,but it was a lot on good experienced guys talking about it,so it was kind of hard to ignore and i did have a fur buyer tell me once to shy away from it...but as i said there was just to much experience here saying positive things about it,so i tried it on the last 2 cats and foxes i put up,all i can say is ..AWESOME!!man it makes for some great put up furs and good drying time...never to old to learn new things,sometimes i`m just to stuck on my old school things for my own good

so how did you use it on foxes ? don't wanna get set in my ways lol..

I have used Borax for years in the taxidermy field for moth proofing, bug proofing etc. I have bird mounts including lifesize turkeys that are over 20years old with nothing but borax used as a perservite. I washed the birds fluff dry the skins in borax and mounted them.

Now all the local fur buyers said to never use it on raw fur to be sold at auction. It was so nice to work with I did anyway. They never new the difference, still don't. As far as it effecting the tanning process, I cant see where it would hurt anything. It just soap more or less.

In the early days of taxidermy arsneic was used as a moth proofer. It was killing taxidermist one after the other. I believe it was in the 1920's or so They found common borax with do an even better job of bug proofing and also eleminated grease and oil in the hide prep. It made the fur shine after tumbling in a fur drum. IMO Borax is a good thing. I love it.

just used it in the spots that are slow to dry,rub it in and brush it off

use it on all my hides!!!!!!!!

i was tought to use it...so you dont have to turn...

this is with adjustable wood stretchers...and not talking about coon.

For those of you that use a lot of it, where do you buy it, can you get it in bulk?

On fox coyotes and cats I use it In the arm pits and around the face and ears. This lets you turn your skins a liille quicker and you don't have to worry about those areas tainting. Works great.

Its usually found in the soap dept. of grocery stores....here its called 20 Mule Team, I think. Never looked for it in bulk.

lol two boxes goes a long way.......

If you put up any amount of fur.It is as necessary as a fleshing knife.

I heard that!

I use it quite a bit. About like beave said, arm pits and head/ears area.
If I have excess blood in a coon and just can't get it cleaned up or dry enough to do the finish work, I rub a little into the fur, allow it to dry and then brush it out. Cleans it up real good, especially if I follow up (in the case of blood) with a little laquer thinner on a rag after brushing it all out.
It doesn't hurt a thing in my opinion. It can be found in the detergent department at any Super Walmart (that's where I get it), and a little goes a long way.

If you want to buy it in bulk,try a fertilizer dealer or fertilizer applicator. I'm not sure why/what they use it for but the fert company that I drove truck for last fall(Ag Business)had some in 50lb bags.

50 pounds of borax would last several years for me and I am a fur buyer and trapper. Most of what I buy is on the carcass or in the grease. I don't know why anyone would buy any in bulk, but that is a great tip "Dad".

I asked about bulk, cause I was under the impression you guys were tumbling the whole pelt in the borax.

I'm not, but some might. Still, it doesn't take that much even if you do. In fact, I have never done it, but I wouldn't use much more than a handful or two mixed with some fine saw dust if I were tumbling with it.

What's borax????

LOL Lynx, you probably don't have a humidity problem, otherwise you would know. It is actually a laundry detergent additive.

DUDE...I buy borax by the FREAKIN CASE!!!!! LOL It's a VERY important part of my cat put up..PERIOD.
lynx

I know Lynx, I was just pulling your leg. You know what they say, smart aleck posts begats smart aleck post.

bad karma,, while fleshing your fox sprinkle some on the area your working. You'll be amazed at how it helps you. Also as others have stated,when your done just rub some all over the leather side.I think it speeds drying somewhat(especially when humid).And for those that don't use belly boards I think it also aids in removing from streachers when dry.

if you borax the whole pelt on the leather side, you dont have to turn the fur. just borax, and stretch.

Very interesting Charles.

i didnt turn ANY of my coyotes or cats. just borax the whole pelt, shake, and stretch.

this is on adjustable wood stretchers, a FAN and kept the shed about 55-60 degrees witha little heater.

i wish i would have been using it 30 yrs ago..thats when it would have really come in handy for me..lol

I'm sure going to try it. Do you just sprinkle it on the skin side after fleshing or do you rub it in before shaking it off.

i keep the borak in a 5 gal bucket. flesh the pelt, then stick the whole pelt in the bucket, and use your hands to cover the pelt with borax...then shake off.

Very nice charles, going to try it later today.

I have 50# bags for sale.