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Post by salisburyfur on Mar 20, 2012 8:49:46 GMT -5
Got my first beaver Saturday (38 lbs) 2nd Sunday (32 lbs) 3rd and 4th yesterday (38 lbs, 28 lbs). Skinning got better with each one but fleshing takes me forever. While the skinning was better with each there was still a lot of meat and fat on the hide. IS there a fleshing knife or tool that works better on beaver? I saw an advertisement for the Grizzle Getter. Any opinions on it? I want to get the right tools for the job, just not sure what to get.
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Post by trappermac on Mar 20, 2012 9:48:45 GMT -5
Necker 600, and make sure you got a good fleshing beam you can lean into. If you're not sweating like a race horse in this weather while doing it you ain't pushing hard enough.....
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Post by nyerluvs2trap on Mar 20, 2012 10:57:05 GMT -5
The gizzle getter works nice ,but in some areas on other animals (otter ) is a bit too big .These tools are ment 4 problem areas- head, tail areas.Go with a good fleasher like trappermac stated.What ever U can afford.I have used for a lot of years a double edged fleashing knife that only cost around $20.00.
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Post by papabear on Mar 20, 2012 12:01:46 GMT -5
Dear Friend, For most of us scraping beaver can be a big job, so to even up the odds by use a big wide knife. A grizzle getter for the tough areas, and a very sharp ulu knife for the tight spots, will make short work of fleshing beaver. Regards papabear
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2012 17:25:17 GMT -5
necker 700 for me makes easy work of them grizzly things!!!!!!!! ;D
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Post by bballou on Mar 20, 2012 22:10:26 GMT -5
trapper mac---you mean to tell me that I have spent 50 years learning to flesh beaver and use the least amount of energy ----SO ---I dont sweat ----- that I am doing it wrong-----Boy you have messed up my week---- thanks a lot buddy. LOL
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Post by trappermac on Mar 21, 2012 4:59:25 GMT -5
Bill.....you must be in great shape and have an air conditioned shed..... Went into my shed today (80 degrees outside alot warmer in there)....in this heat, ya gotta sweat rollin on a beaver...
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Post by bballou on Mar 21, 2012 5:35:26 GMT -5
NO ----mac---no where near in any kind of good shape---and no A.C.(I wish LOL)----all the credit has to go to my fleshing knife-----its real sharp-- (when I swing it over my head you can hear the atoms of the air squeeking as I cut then) I do the center part and tail area first---then its jest a light push and the sides disappear----realy very -very little effort is involved.Most of the time I stay ahead of a good man or two putting them on a board.(unless there is a big run on --- big bad blankets and supers.)
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Post by salisburyfur on Mar 21, 2012 8:07:02 GMT -5
Thanks guys for the advise. I think the first thing I need to do is make a better stand for my fleshing beam to allow me to push harder. Now have 6 beaver in 4 days. Each one gets a little easier.
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Post by chiefdave1010 on Mar 21, 2012 11:54:02 GMT -5
i use the grizzle getter on all my beaver ,otter,and coon necks can flesh most beaver in 5 to 7 min tops with the grizzle getter and get them clean with no fat left on the leather at all old faithful is my necker
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Post by milkie62 on Mar 21, 2012 16:56:20 GMT -5
Hey Dave ---- how to you come to use one of them grizzle getters
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Post by slyfox74 on Mar 21, 2012 21:57:08 GMT -5
It starts with skinning them though. Fleshing a Beaver is much easier if you don't have to scrape London Broils off it. I try to skin as close to the leather as possible. Even if it takes me a few extra minutes.
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Post by Clifford on Mar 22, 2012 14:22:01 GMT -5
After I skin my beaver I throw them in the freezer. I'll flesh them later when they are still partially frozen.
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Post by AppleDoctor on Mar 22, 2012 18:03:07 GMT -5
one thing i found easier was to set the fleshing beam up so the point is in your abs... you dont have to bend over as much or extend your arms as far.. and also i find that while using the sharp side of the fleshing knife to shave the fat off you dont want to be reaching far out because this can cause folds in the slack part of the hide you will cut holes very easily.. make sure the hide is flat and tight on the beam
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Post by firman on Mar 23, 2012 9:22:02 GMT -5
Just gettin over a 24hr. stomach bug and had a couple beaver to flesh. Still weak and tired and didn't feel like fleshin with the necker so I broke out the electric knife. Works great once you get the hang of it. Great way to flesh without all the sweat. I will say though that I can do it faster with my necker 600. But if your not in a hurry and don't have alot of furs to flesh, it does work good without the strain.
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Post by slyfox74 on Mar 23, 2012 19:21:25 GMT -5
Does it get them good and clean? Never heard of using one. Any risk of knicks?
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Post by firman on Mar 24, 2012 15:39:43 GMT -5
Yes,It gets them clean. I have used a couple different kinds and one of them worked much better than the other. The one I am using is about 25 or 30 yrs. old. I sharpen the blades with a electric sharpener from cabelas. You can nick the fur near the edges if you bear down too hard. I've had very few problems with that though. I hold the electric knife with both hands. One on the handle and one on the end of the blades, kinda like you do a regular fleshing knife. You don't have to bear down very hard. It's important to keep the pelt flat and snug on the beam with no wrinkles to avoid cuts, same as with a regular knife. The biggest drawback is you can only go as fast as the knife so it does take a little longer. I like it though because I'm only doing a few beaver at a time so the time thing isn't that big a deal.
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Post by chicken on Mar 28, 2012 9:04:23 GMT -5
Why dont ya just clean skin it? ??
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Post by coonduke on Mar 28, 2012 21:05:14 GMT -5
I skin beaver "semi" cased and flesh on a near vertical beam with me in front of it. (As opposed to standing at the point of the beam and pushing forward/downward.)
I start with the belly side facing me and start at the chin with a dull knife and flesh the underside, front legs, and belly down to the skirt.
Then I turn the beaver a quarter turn and use a sharpened (inside edge) Necker 600 and shave that side down to the rear leg hole. I next put the point of the beam through the rear leg hole and flesh around it with a dull knife. While in this position, I use the sharp Necker to do approx. half of the grizzle area above the tail. The other side and leg gets done the same way.
To finish it I use the sharp knife to shave the strip down the back. The miserable grizzle area betweem the two back legs was fleshed in the previous step.
I am not the fastest at fleshing a beaver but I don't usually break a sweat doing one. I would prefer fleshing a medium sized beaver to a coyote.
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Post by firman on Mar 29, 2012 17:38:50 GMT -5
There are two reasons I don't clean skin. First, At the end of the day I am tired and just wanna get the skinning done. I don't like leaving anything too long before skinning it. I can then hang the pelt up to air dry overnight and flesh the next day or roll it up and freeze it to flesh at my convenience. I have tried clean skinning with some success and I try to "semi" clean skin. Second, I trap up north at camp and do alot of my skinning in the woods.It's just faster to rough skin and freeze and flesh later. I also skin some at camp and roll up and freeze to flesh when I get home.
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