deer skin??

[seanie]

A friend of mine who shoots deer offered me a skin recently.Can anybody tell me which part of the skin is best for tying with? I certainly don't want a whole skin.
sean

[T.K]

Hi seanie,

Have it all cut it into squares, and you could dye it a couple of different coulor's

Just a thought.........TK..........

[sweenytodd]

Has the skin been treated or is it still raw ??

[seanie]

Originally Posted by sweenytodd

Has the skin been treated or is it still raw ??

Still raw I'm afraid.

[sweenytodd]

Originally Posted by seanie

Still raw I'm afraid.

Then the first thing you need to do is take however much you are going to keep and treat it . I have no idea what you need to do to the skin though , sure someone will tell you shortly .....
As said above , why not cut into bits and dye it ??? ( once you get to that stage )

[stevekale]

Take the bits you want. Scrape off any residual fat on the skin. Pin to a board - hair down, skin up. The hide will shrink as it dries and you don't want it to curl into a ball. Cover it with copious Borax (see eBay) and leave for a week. Tip off the Borax. Scrape away any Borax stuck to the hide. Cover again for another week. Repeat once more. After that it should be fine. No need to tan it.

[dun09]

a whole skin wiil last you more than your life time so its worth doing properly as for which part is best
it really depends on what flys you want to tye?


jay

[stevekale]

Make sure you take both some coarse hair for spinning and some fine hock (leg) for comparaduns. There's some good guidance in Chris Helm's Spinning With Deer Hair DVD.

[seanie]

Thanks Lads for all the advice.
Sean

[stevekale]

Sean

I finally found a written version of what I was alluding to in Chris Helm's DVD.

See here:

Tips for selecting deer hair - Choosing the right hair will make your deer hair flies - Comparaduns, EHC´s, Muddlers, bass bugs - much easier to tie. - Global FlyFisher

You will want to read the whole article but the second page has a "hide chart" that is probably what you're looking for. It's a guide only as each type of deer is different. You really need to look at and feel the different parts of the hide. The third and fourth pages of the article will also give you some guidance.

When you come to use the hair for spinning (one use) then this article will be helpful also:

How to Tie Better Deer-Hair Flies | 13 tips to cure a bad hair day| 1

One last thought, if you keep the tail, make sure you cut it open and remove all the flesh all the way down.

If it all works well, send me some cuts!

Cheers

Steve