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Post by slowpoke on Mar 29, 2012 18:42:12 GMT -5
Can someone explain what '' singed '' means , and how it occurs. Does it happen to land based fur as well as water based fur ?
Thanks ,Bob
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Post by walleyed on Mar 29, 2012 19:23:20 GMT -5
Singe refers to the curling of the end of the guard hairs on furbearers such as Otter and Mink.
If you look closely at the end of the guards hairs on these species, they will appear J-SHAPED when they have acquired SINGE. The fur with these curled or J-shaped hairs appear shiny in appearance making the fur less desirable to fur dressers as Tanning AND/Or dressing the pelt will not eliminate the condition. singed pelts have less value than straight haired pelts.
singed fur manifests itself mostly in the spring and is mainly a naturally caused phenomenon, although having mink or otter too close to a heat source or drying out the fur and rubbing it or stroking it can also cause singe.
walleyed
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Post by slowpoke on Mar 29, 2012 19:48:44 GMT -5
Walleyed , thanks for the discription...SINGE I am preparing to send my furs to NAFA , and wanted to brush out beaver pelts , with hair brush... Do I risk damage , or singe...If so I'll leave them as is.
Thanks Bob
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Post by erict on Mar 29, 2012 20:06:51 GMT -5
I was curious myself, and found this - Below is just part of the full information on singe at at this link: NAFA Pelt Handling Manual - go to pages 25-26. WHAT IS SINGE ?We have all heard of singed Otter, but what is it? How can trappers avoid singeing Otters? What causes it? At times trappers lay blame for singed Otter and poor prices on the fur graders, yet in virtually all cases, except for naturally singed Otters, it is the trapper/pelt handler who singes the Otter. Simply explained, singe is the curling of the tips of the guard hair. It is caused by excessive dry heat, strong direct sunlight, artificial heat sources, stroking of dry fur, fur coming into contact with sub-zero metal and lastly by the Otter itself in late season.
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Post by walleyed on Mar 29, 2012 20:34:49 GMT -5
Walleyed , thanks for the discription...SINGE I am preparing to send my furs to NAFA , and wanted to brush out beaver pelts , with hair brush... Do I risk damage , or singe...If so I'll leave them as is. Thanks Bob I brush out all my Beaver pelts prior to shipping. If they are matted, I spray some WD-40 on the matted area and they comb or brush out nicely. To my knowledge, you only have to worry about singe with OTTER and MINK. If My Otter come off the board matted or scraggly, I spray them with water from an atomizer spray bottle till they are damp. Then I brush them out against the grain of the fur to make to fur stand up or un-matt. Mink I just brush against the grain of the fur to make it stand up. hope this explains things better. walleyed
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Post by Lonny Mattison on Mar 30, 2012 4:20:16 GMT -5
GOOD INFO BOB
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