According to the latest fur fish game fur market report, borax on your furs is a no no. I've personally never used it in spite of some pretty good trappers recommending it. I always figured it messed with the ph of pickles during the tanning process. It might prevent problems for the trapper but cause problems at the tannery, like naked pelts.

I assume their speaking of borax on the leather side? I haven't seen buyers discount for it on fur out critters. I know I'm not the only one that boraxes so I don't have to flip the fur out furs.

Strange, I've had pelts tanned where I've used it liberally on the leather side and everything always has been fine. Any tannery worth it's salt should make sure their PH is always right on by testing and/or adjusting
I've also used it on the fur side to clean blood etc...
I'll have to read the article my FFG just arrived today

According to the report a bunch of high dollar bobcat slipped because of the flesh side being boraxed fresh. I assume they were using it to skip the flip.

When I'm gonna tan the pelt myself ill sometimes use salt, especially in the ears on canines. It's just insurance.
I got a beaver hide to "fix" once that had been heavily boraxed and kept for years. I couldn't do anything with it except clean up the fur. The leather had no stretch.

Some guys think it is a substitute for fleshing. It's not. A well fleshed hide, with all fat removed, won't slip

Maybe that's what happened with the high end cats that slipped.

They probably used borax to buy some time for an existing issue……taint. That hair was going to slip no matter what.

Think you hit it on the head, I've been using little bit on armpits for long time
If I remember correctly a fur buyer is the one that told me that

I could buy that explanation. Also if too much faith was put in the borax and the drying room conditions were subpar.

Amen

I don't buy this either. It had to be a different issue. I have aggressively used borax on the feet of several animals that I had tanned and none have had any slipping issues. One i tanned myself and the others were sent to a tannery. Also, last year I used some borax on the hide side of my badgers as I turned them and put them back on the boards to try to reduce the chance of molding between the board and the hide that had been an issue for me in the past. They sold for the most I have ever gotten at the FHA auction in March last year. I didn't try to hide it and the graders should have been able to see it.

Schmattz

high humidity here. helps a bunch if dusted on and around the face of yotes and cats. I do not skip the flip an still feel it is necessary to use borax.

High humidity here too which is why I use fans and dehumidifiers in an insulated enclosed drying room.

boraxx is the problem ...skip the flip is, sometime pelt wont dry properly taking to long to dry

I have used it without issues.

You can watch and adjust the PH on a pickle solution. It's not rocket science.

The only time I have used it and very sparingly is if I have a light green belly coyote.

I use it on red fox armpits, ears and heads (leather side) so I can flip a little sooner. I’ve used it to dry blood on the fur side so it could be brushed out. Never had any issues.

Like anything else used properly works properly

I have tanned hundreds of skins I used borax on and there was no slipping. Borax dries the skin. Drying the skin sets the hair follicle in the skin until rehydration. Borax has been in use for 25 years. Tanneries know how to address it in the pickle.

Back road,,,That's when I use salt

My Dad fleshed and put up ranched silver fox in the 70's by the hundreds, they used borax on them all. The same guys who don't know how to use it end up with "gamey" venison, but everyone got to see their deer before it got skinned.

I never had any problem with that borax. Hides I send to the tannery come back fine.

If you have an issue with "green belly" but it has not yet started to slip, rub alum powder into the flesh side of the skin. Most times that will stop the bacterial action and tighten things up without negatively effecting the dressing process. Borax has a pH that is pretty high on the alkaline side of the scale, this is a big no-no unless you intend to remove hair or fur from a skin.

Used to be a big no-no that furbuyers really didnt like. Not so much any more, a lot of buyers don't seem to mind it, but some still don't like it and won't offer as much for a boraxed hide. A lot of this is for the reason Wallfur posted, too many people use it to skip flipping hides, and if not done properly the hair will slip. Especially if the put up is at all questionable the borax is a red flag to those buyers that the guy putting it up may not have been confident in his drying process. The borax isn't the problem, per se, it just alerts them to the possibility there might be a problem.

I know of one fur buyer in particular who will not offer as much on cats put up with a Nevada stretch and borax unless he knows the guy putting them up and has had previous experience with his hides. In particular if he knows you use the "no flip" method he is going to offer significantly less unless he has had a lot of previous experience with hides you put up.

No buyers to my knowledge mind borax being used to clean fur. . . Unless you don't blow it out of the fur and they get a face full of borax when they snap the pelt.

Geesh, after several decades of working in the taxidermy industry, and dare I say, using plenty of borax along the way, I should probably know better. Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Borax is a regular in my fur shed. I dare say that it's SOP with most trappers putting up quality western cats. In 35 years of putting up fur in the northeast I never used it, but in the 20 years since I moved west, it's a staple for me, just like a splash of flake salt on a rare seared ribeye. I flesh my cats very clean, but still powder them, because it does let me skip the flip. And after my pelts are dried, they get a fresh borax bath to remove any blood and grease (I use a Ketch-All so blood is minimal) This year's borax bath goes into next season's pre/post dusting fleshing bin. Alum is a long standard in tanning because of it's acidic level (thought being, less time in the pickle). My experience, personal in-shop tanning as well as sub-contract accounts with commercial tanneries over the years, is the end results are the same. With modern commercial tanning chemistry, a hide is quickly brought to the proper ph level whether borax was used to assist drying or not. If you have a cat buyer that wants to dock you on that these days, I'd suggest to seek another buyer. When used properly borax is a fantastic aid, both in fleshing and cleaning up dried pelts. If you're trying to clean up green belly, borax will help accelerate drying, but there are better alternatives to stop the bacteria. Of course the best is not letting it get started to begin with. As to the original post, I've heard the PH talking point for years... It is what it is, and I personally equate it with the Super-Tick-Devouring Possum posts I see on Flakebook. As always, IMHO

I'd also throw this out there.... #1 Hide slippage in tanning WON'T be because of the use of borax in your handling. #2 You're Cat Buyer isn't going to have a clue about any slippage (other than looking for red flags while buying cats) #3 The "End User" has factored in slippage & loss, and that rolls down to the offer you've received from your buyer (#2) . Not to preach, our job is to present our pelts in the best to our abilities, whether it's a $25 southern cat, or a $500+western tom.

Never had a problem with borax either, green bellied pelts got white vinegar wiped on them. Cats and otter's here in the deep south were the worst if you were running a long line and not getting in till later in the evening. Keeping them out of direct sunlight helped or just stop and skin them out on the line and roll the pelt up and put in a tool box or such to keep out of the sun.

Poor handling or defects in the animal are about only time ive had slippage after being tanned. You will have less issue's with pelts that were boraxed than you will with one's that weren't!

This is exactly it , when I flip my cats and marten sometimes if work gets in the way I have to rehydrate the skin a little with a damp rag wrap so I will dust the boards with a little borax when slipping the fur over the board fur out then when fully dry and before I ship off to the market i polish the fur by rubbing borax briskly through the fur to brighten and clean then a good brushing and air spraying to make them top notch

Who wrote the article?

It's from Gary Schroeder's fur market report.

Thanks

Great looking cats !