Beaver skins at home: features, recommendations, processing steps

Hunters like to use pelts of fur-bearing animals for the production of hunting trophies and, of course, for sewing fur products. But in order for all of them to last a long time and please the eyes of the owners, you must follow certain rules. And the most important of them is: the dressing of the beaver skin at home should be of high quality, otherwise after a short time the product will simply fall apart at the seams.

About how to properly conduct the process of dressing, we will discuss later in the article.

The technology of making animal skins

To become the owner of a luxurious beaver coat, you must first successfully descend to the hunt, then properly remove the animal's skin and process it with technology, without forgetting the important details - the process of dressing the beaver skin, as well as other fur-bearing animals, leads to its shrinkage almost On 25% of the total area.

It is very important therefore from the very beginning to correctly calculate how much it is necessary to make skins to get the desired fur coat. The dressing itself goes through three stages, which we will talk about in detail:

1. Preparation of the skin.
2. Dressing.
3. Processing of dressed skins.

So, let's get started!

Skin preparation: preparing for dressing

Furriers with serious experience claim that the process of dressing beaver skins should begin as soon as possible, but this is probably not always the case. Hence, if the beavers were slaughtered a few days ago, or even did wait for the end of the hunting season, their skins need to return a state close to the pair. That is, from the fresh-dry method of storage (with it, the smudge is sprinkled with about half a kilogram of salt, leaving it for two weeks), the skin needs to be unconscious by its soaking.

How it's done? Skin is placed in a special solution, the preparation of which the following relationship is observed:

• 5 liters of water,
• A glass of salt,
• Furacilin in tablets (3 pcs.);
• 2.5 kg of any detergent or detergent (both liquid and powder).

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that about 8 liters of the finished solution will go for a kilogram of skins. If it is less, then the wool will be knocked down in lumps, and if you overdo it, then rapid growth of microorganisms can begin in it.

We continue to prepare for the dressing:

Dressing the beaver skins at home takes more than one hour, which is why furacilin and salt are added to the solution described above. They disinfect the liquid, not allowing it to multiply bacteria, provoking the process of decay.

Washing means is an excellent component, helping to clear fur and dirt from all sorts of dirt and speed up the process of soaking. By the way, we should pay attention to the fact that the powder included in the solution does not contain biologically active substances, otherwise the process will be protracted.

Remember that the preparing solution for soaking should be diligently mixed until the salt and furacilin are completely dissolved, and only then the pelts can be lowered into it. In order for them to get wet thoroughly, you need to spend about 24 hours. True, sometimes this process lasts longer, then you need to prepare another solution for soaking.

Meat of beaver pelts

When the skins are sufficiently sealed, they need to be walked again with a blunt knife and cleaned of the fat, meat and tendons left on them. In this case, you need to be extremely careful - do not cut the roots of hair and avoid tearing or cutting the skin.

The process of dressing the beaver skins needs to be continued, even if it already seems to be clean, because the skin tissue breaks up during the skinning process. As a result, its permeability for those substances about which we will speak further increases.

By the way, if the masdra turns out to be thick, the skin will have to be cut off a little so that the skin does not remain rough, otherwise later it will be too uncomfortable for sewing.

After the described process, the skins are washed. This must be done in any case, even though detergent was present in the detritus. Wash with usual shampoo and warm water. If the fur is too greasy, a liquid detergent can be added to the water, which will help to degrease it.

Dressing the beaver skins at home with vinegar

Let's move on to the main process of dressing-pickling. With this process, we can achieve the elasticity and softness of the skin tissue in the beaver skin.

The solution of the pickle, which is needed for this, is prepared as follows: 50 g of salt and 70% of acetic acid (in a ratio of 10 g per liter of water) are added to the pure water.

Remember, you can not use hydrochloric or sulfuric acid instead of vinegar. They can harm not only the pelts of the beaver, but also your health!

The dressing of the beaver skin with vinegar lasts throughout the day. If for some reason you need to speed up the process, the concentration of acetic acid can be increased by adding it at the rate of 20 g per liter of water. This is enough to shorten the process to 10-12 hours. True, with this ratio it is possible to reduce the strength of the skin, so it is worth considering whether the process should be accelerated.

To understand whether the pickering is over, you need to bend your fingers with your fingers and squeeze it hard in this place. If a white strip appears (it is called a "sushinka"), then the process has come to an end. By the way, the skins need to be stirred from time to time with a wooden stick, and after 12 hours fill them with a new pickle.

Prolezhka and breakdown of the pelts of the beaver

To penetrate into the leather part of the acid evenly distributed throughout the surface of the fabric, it should be left to lie still for another 24 hours.

• After that, the skin is thoroughly washed under running water and squeezed (but by no means twist!)
• Then knead, that is, stretch both in length and width.
• Put the skin in a soda solution (ratio: a teaspoon to a liter of water). This is necessary to neutralize acid residues, which can damage the surface.

And to fix the result, tanning is carried out.

Tanning of the skin

The dressing of the beaver skin at home can not be considered complete without tanning. Since only this procedure makes the material impermeable to moisture, resistant to fluctuations in temperature and various chemicals.

For tanning, you need potassium or sodium chrome. They differ in color, but this is not essential for the further process.

Approximately 5 grams of chrome is added to the water heated to 40 ° C, salt is also put there (at the rate of 50 g per liter of water) and starts the procedure. It will last about nine hours; To understand that the process has come to an end, you need to separate a small piece from the skin. If it turns out to be uniformly colored, tanning was successful.

In this case, the skin is removed from the solution and laid out with fur outside, leaving it for 12 hours. After that you need not forget to wash it again with shampoo and pepper.

Fatting and drying

The recipe for making beaver skins implies mandatory fatting. It is necessary in order to give the product elasticity. Conduct it with the help of pastes and mortar, which you can prepare yourself. To do this, use a transformer little and economic soap, which is cooked in a water bath until the density of sour cream is obtained.

The skins are spread out with fur outside, dried a little, and then again turned upside down and begin to crumple and pull them. When the masdra becomes dry, paste is applied to it and continue to crumble until the skins are completely dry.

How to give the skin a "presentation"

After all the above stages of dressing beaver skins have been passed , the fur needs to be softened, shiny and able to crumble under the hands. To do this, grind the leather fabric with a piece of sandpaper, then use sawdust of deciduous trees to degrease the skin and finally comb the fur of the beaver.

As you can see, the procedure of manufacture takes a lot of time and effort, but the result is obvious: your product will not be inferior to the factory skornery production.

Dressing of beaver skins in Moscow

However, at home it is difficult to compete with the opportunities for smooth production, which not only correctly treat and make fur, but also tonsure or color it depending on the customer's desire.

It must be said that beaver fur has recently become more popular. Previously, it was used only in the men's wardrobe, as it is quite heavy and dense, but modern technology allows you to process beaver pelts so that they become light and comfortable - suitable for women's clothing.

By the way, fur is especially valued in this respect from the abdominal part of the carcass of the beaver - there it is much softer and at the same time, denser than on the back and sides.

In general, such a fur is characterized by high wear (it can be used for 18 seasons!), A density that can protect from any cold, and beautiful shades, due to which the outer clothing has a luxurious appearance and is perfectly combined with other types of fur and fabrics.

In Moscow, you can find a lot of studios, which are engaged not only in professional dressing and preparing skins for sewing outerwear, but also making stuffed animals. Beavers are no exception here.

How much can the costume of a beaver skin cost

It is not always possible to process the hunting trophy yourself. Then people are interested in how much it can do to make beaver skins. The price for this service varies depending on the size of the animal. So, in the event that the beaver is large, it will be necessary to give about 1400 rubles. And if small, then 900 rubles.

The freshness of the animal costs approximately 1500 rubles, and the shearing of the skin is 200 rubles.

By the way, remember that for improper preparation of skins, which led to the appearance of cuts, holes or rotten areas on them, a premium is charged from the customer in some studios, amounting to 15% of the order amount.

It will seem more convenient - to try to do all the stages of manufacture on your own or to pay specialists for it, you can decide only. But whatever this choice is, we wish you good luck!