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Some beaver Im struggling scrapping. Generally the larger the harder they are for me. Medium and small I can plow thru very easier. But a lot of the larger beaver are very difficult. Anyone got any good tips? I use a nickler
Your sharp side has to be razor sharp. And you don't really push with it. I make more of a side to side slice. Once you get the hang of it it's easy. Beaver hide is thick and one of the more forgiving one to learn to use the sharp side of your knife with. Plenty of utube videos available. But as usual you have to watch quite a few to get the idea. There's always a few yo-yos that make horrible videos that shouldn't be handing out bad advice. . Coon Creek outdoors puts out good ones.
NYSTA, NTA, FTA, life member Erie county trappers assn.,life member Catt.county trappers
I try to skin as clean as possible on the bigger beavers (and otter). The younger ones just aren't toughened up and fat yet so they're easier to work on, you aren't doing anything wrong that's just how they are. Scoring a checkerboard type pattern in the fat can help it come off easier, just make sure you're not cutting into the hide when you score it
Skinning and leaving all the fat and flesh on the carcass so there’s just a bit of clean up once you’re boarding it. A good sharp knife and technique is required. Here’s a vid from a convention.
Somewhere out there in YOUTUBE land is a video of me clean-skinning a beaver in a demo at K Falls, OTC sale from back in 2012 or 13. A gal from the Portland area made the video with my permission and set it with music from Crocodile Dundee. LOL
Advantages of clean skinning include leaving all the meat and fat on the beaver and the ability to shave down heavy leather areas like shoulders and tail while skinning. Clean skinning an adult size beaver takes around 15-18 minutes for most of us that have done it for a while.
I just watched that video for the first time in years. I do things a little differently these days. For one, go to knife is now a 5" Caribou. Second, I don't try to keep the liquid castor in the pods, so there is no tying off with hemp string. That video was shot 15 years ago when I was 52 years old. Wish I still had the energy now I did then! LOL
