Was making a hat and I took a pic of a piece of hide to show what goes into making felt.
An avg late winter beaver from here.Underfur is about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches deep.

Looks very warm!

Chris

Southern beaver underfur on the coldest January day isn't close to that quality.

You yanks are getting ripped off with the current beaver market.

You wish.
I supply quite a few local fur sewers with good quality pre blocked skins to work with.
I just send poor quality and smalls to the hatter market.
But the long underfur makes the strongest felt.

You bite your nails?

No,trim them with a Victorinox beaver skinner,lol.

Trappers in the north could supply lots of pelts of that quality again if they wanted to pay for it.
Until then you wont see many pelts with winter underfur like that going to the raw fur market..
They seem happy with fall beaver and springy goods.

And thank God for that! LOL

Do you store them in a freezer or just hit them in fall & spring until the market changes? I know I’ll be setting this winter, got some new tricks I wanna try.
I’m dropping off some fur tomorrow instead of buying another freezer or rolling the dice with them until next winter. The smalls I might just call FGW Dave if he’s interested.

That's mighty clean fingers for a trapper...

But all those other northern beaver trappers ain't doing what you're doing. They're selling high quality beaver (like in your picture) for the same price I'm getting for sub-tropical beaver.

Swamp, now you're just being mean! LOL

Canadian’s should not sell their fur to Groeny.

Yeah ok. Good luck with that

You dont see winter beaver on any raw fur market anymore.
The price has to come up if they want trappers to trap numbers in winter in the north.
Trappers in the north trap beaver in the fall since last 10 years or so.The ones that do have alternative markets.
The fur sewers prefer the long underfur winter beaver for their mitt trim and moosehide hats for the northern markets so some trappers like myself will supply that market.
But like I said,no winter beaver from the north on the raw fur market anymore.
Nobody will supply primo goods for the same price as inferior goods.

If he paid as much as FHA Canadians would sell to him,but his price is too low.
For those hard up for ready cash for a couple bottles of wine, he will get some fur.

I do this thing called washing hands before sewing tanned fur.

The bottom line is the beaver fur market stinks still, as Boco is claiming. The trinket trade has nothing to do with the fur market.

But the last couple FH auction avgs (after deductions) were comparatively similar to lower 48 avgs (with no labor, other than skinning, involved.)

Those wino/alcoholic trappers got gouged!!

I need some of the hand cleaner you use...lol

I did way better at FHA than what the groney buyer offered when he was advertizing on the CNTA forum.
.
Groeny stated $25 and down.
My Avg (which was about half small sizes,to clean out the freezer) At FHA was way higher than his top.
Just facts buddy.
Here is what people wear here when its 40 below. Those thin felt things wont cut it.

That's a nice beaver hat, Boco.

I have one very similar that I bought from a student who made them years ago. Long flaps with ties , nice lining inside. It's the warmest hat I have. A sheepwool cap is right up there for warmth too.

I don't think there's anything nicer in feel than hand plucked and shorn beaver hide. Everyone wants to pet my coat , it looks so soft. The furrier who built it cringes , he says keep hands off the fur, he's right, but it is hard to do !

I noticed that too. Wonder why FGW has such a price difference?

FGW Dave in Winnipeg says he shut down until next season so my LM & Mediums are in the bag with the others heading to FHA in the morning. Gave them a quick brush & inspect before piling in the bag. Got lucky. Even after storing inside & conking once a week. Lard beatles ate about 1/2 a square inch of one of the mediums. There’s room in their cooler this time, but I’m gonna invest in a spare freezer this year for the late spring catches.

Shakeyjake,
Who is FGW?

Kinda like comparing apples to apples for the prices people are getting but.........one apple is ready to eat and the other is still on the tree.

Believe Swamp Wolf was selling his beaver green and to ship to FHA it needs to be put up. If I had a market for green beaver paying close to FHA average would seriously look at it. Time is money and for some a huge consideration. For others who have time to spend, it is not a major consideration.

Nothing fluffier then a Medium/Large beaver from under the ice.

GFW….opps

Groney buyer was not taking raw skins,so with the big difference in price just for the dried skins I cant imagine how much money you will lose if he starts buying green
I'll nail and un nail beaver all day long for 10-15 dollar difference.

Prime beaver from under ice in March definitely look like big round balls of fur when brushed and dried before skinning.

Last I checked. FHA doesn't buy anything.

You fellers don't think there is a groenwold buyer purchasing fur at FHA?

They buy and sell there.That shoult tell you how much they are underpaying trappers if they can buy higher at FHA.

GFW bought green frozen beaver in the southern and eastern US for $40 & down/$20+ avgs, but not buying raw Canadian beaver?

Same thing I thought. GFW prefers to buy them green

Everyone situation is different.I sold green beaver to Gary in April and was happy with the prices he paid for NY beaver.

I sold GFW large put up beaver for $45 this spring, didn't have any shipping or other fees. For green beaver I got $40 and below based on size. Walked away happy, isn't that all that matters? Lots of arguing on here on who to sell to and who not to. Also was paid above prices I was seeing on here for castor by GFW. People ragging GFW on here all the time, if he were to go away our options for selling would be very limited around here.

That’s what I was wondering about too. Why the huge price discrepancy? Unless its the guy that you’re selling to, maybe storage issues? I believe the Ontario fella on here was paying $25CA and down. Maybe the Gibbster will chyme in.