Do you think this pelt will dry OK?
Or should I scrape it a bit more?

Looks ok... for a beginner!! LOL!

You're really trying hard to sell me on frost scraping boco

Looking good Boco!!

Pretty work, Robert.



Charlie

I tip my tuque to you sir. As usual exceptional work.

How cold does it have to be for frost scraping Boco? I don't think we get the cold temps down here like you do up there.

Moosetrot

Looks like perfection to me!

Chris

We had a couple days of relatively cold weather so I put a few of the fall beaver pelts out to scrape.Its getting warmer again tomorrow,so will have to wait for another cold snap.Hope the next one lasts a bit longer,I got a couple wolves and a bear in the freezer besides the beavers and a few otters to do.The first pic is an older one,here is one of the ones I did this morning.

That looks awesome.

If your scraper is good and sharp and you get at them early in the morning and keep them out of the sun,it works at around minus 25c.It was minus 27c this morning here.
The colder the better.

Looks very nice, so you cut the nose and lips off an inch or so in front of the eyes?

Yes flipper,and I remove the ears.

C'mon man. Look at the nails to the left of the left rear leg. They're crooked. I think you need to pull them all and start over. Looks great!

Really Beautiful

I’d scrape it a little more and put a couple extra nails in the ear holes...lol

Very nice looking work Boco
But it only has to be -15f
-25. Drama Queen. Lol

Our cold is to last till Thursday so you better have some more ready to go, west goes east in the artic fronts,
Too bad not more are done that way
always like the feel of the mink that are -40c dried on the grading floor. soft and supple.

Beautiful! Will it become a hat?

Beautiful work. More details on tools and techniques please.

Looks great Boco.

Osky

Hard to argue with that kind of put up. Did you give the shavings to you dog at least?

Beautiful work, shave hair and scrape a little more and you could use it for a cabin window.

Looks ok for a decrepite old man

You can do mine anytime....excellent work

Great job.

Wow.
So what's the next step.

You'll make a fine squaw for some lucky trapper.

My friend you baited us in . . . . you know that pelt is perfect and wanted to show off a bit. That is definitely headed for folk art. Please hoop it and save it for me.
You are certainly entitled to show off to people who not only understand and appreciate your skill, but also people who dream about having a registered trapline, the great talent and skills, and the equipment and gear to work and enjoy it.
We are still planning on making the drive up to visit you and explore your part of beautiful Canada. We want to see James Bay and Hudson’s Bay. Hopefully the people now in charge will not make it impossible to do that.
Keep enjoying life!

Hopefully the covid BS will be over soon.
Willy,if you want to,shoot me a pm on here when you are ready to head up here and I will give you my contact info and maybe we can get together for a coffee at least.

Frost Scraped ?

w

So do you finish up by freeze drying them? Or take them in and dry with room heat? I love the looks of freeze dryed pelts.

Very nice work. Did you use a nail gun or tap them in by hand?

That's dern NICE!!!

I dry the skins normally at a cool temp around 10c.They dry in 2 -3 days at that temp.At room temp a frost scraped beaver will dry overnight.
Dont have extended periods of cold enough weather anymore to properly frost dry the skins.
Need about 10 days to 2 weeks of minus 40 to do a proper job of frost drying.
I nail by hand,nails are the standard 1 in apart.



A stack of frost scraped beaver.

You pound all them nails by hand???? I tried that for a while, but my thumb was so swollen and black & blue, I bought a nail gun. Also, I don't have the patience to pound that many nails. Exceptional job!

Those are pinning nails,they go in with one tap with a small tac hammer,no pounding,lol.When I am boarding a beaver I take a couple handfuls of the nails,spread them around the perimeter of the skin and just tap them in One tap per.Only takes maybe two minutes.
The nails are standard 1 inch apart.

Nice !!!!

... is that a walrus hide

Here comes Texas !!!!!-

Lefty will b next with some humor too.

Looks great.

I see a couple spots you missed LOL...........I wonder if a wood plane could be modified to shave frozen fat off?

Awesome job Boco , makes me want to do beaver again .. :-)

Thats the nails I put in to start then I start at the side and nail all the way around up to the head,and right around nails 1 inch apart.
Of the nails I threw around the perimeter,I had about 8 nails left over after nailing.

To add to my previous comment

Amazing!