Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo

Post Reply
User avatar
letumgo
Site Admin
Posts: 13345
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:55 pm
Location: Buffalo, New York
Contact:

Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by letumgo » Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:46 pm

I recently purchased a new kit muskrat skin from Blue Ribbon Flies and when it came in, there was a mothball in the bag with the skin. I decided that I wanted to examine the skin very carefully and remove some of the naphthalene smell. I washed the skin twice with warm water and a little dawn dish washing liquid soap. The first time I washed the skin, I could tell that quite a bit of dirt was coming off in the water. I rinced it out, repeatedly squeezing out all the water, resaturating the hair and hide, squeezing it out, until the water ran clean. I then washed it a second time, just to be sure, repeating the rinse process.

After squeezing the hide, to remove as much of the water as I could, I then rubbed it with a bath towel and used a hair dryer to completely dry out the fur and the hide.

Freshly washed kit muskrat hide:
Image
Partially blow-dried hide. I used a comb to help unmatt the fur, as I blow dried the hide.
Image
Image
The skin-side of the hide was also dried. You could tell the skin dried out, when you dragged you finger nail across the hide. It sounded sort of like scraping the crisp outside of a fresh loaf of italian bread.
Image
That dark strip down the center of the hide is the back region of the muskrat, and is where most of the guard hairs are located. This section of the hide makes beautiful zonker strips.

Close up of the belly and side of the muskrat skin. The fur has a beautiful coloration similar to honey-dun.
Image
One of the beautiful things about the kit muskrat skin is the guard hairs are extremely fine and glassy.
Ray (letumgo)----<°))))))><
http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php? ... er=letumgo

"The world is perfect. Appreciate the details." - Dean
DUBBN

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by DUBBN » Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:51 pm

Gorgeous pelt! Hope to see some patterns from it in the near future.
User avatar
tie2fish
Posts: 5072
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:11 am
Location: Harford County, MD

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by tie2fish » Sun Jan 19, 2014 1:24 pm

Fantastic-looking dubbing material there. Thanks, Ray, for sharing your source and the prep process.
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
daringduffer
Posts: 2195
Joined: Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:11 am

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by daringduffer » Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:09 pm

I have it's kid brother, Ray. It is nice to pat them now and then...

I also have a skin from the wild hamster, Cricetus cricetus, but I prefer the muskrat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_hamster

Image
narcodog
Posts: 1224
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 11:44 pm

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by narcodog » Sun Jan 19, 2014 2:10 pm

I have been thinking about ordering one to add to my collection. I think I have two whole skins now.
You did a beautiful job. You most likely could get you hairdressers lic now.
"I like beer, do you like beer, I like beer a lot."
User avatar
Kelly L.
Posts: 2908
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:09 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by Kelly L. » Sun Jan 19, 2014 3:09 pm

That was a gorgeous pelt alright! You did a great job cleaning it up!
User avatar
swellcat
Posts: 461
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:37 pm
Location: Cowtown, Texas, US

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by swellcat » Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:35 am

You did a beautiful job. You most likely could get you hairdresser's license now.
Yes. I'm reminded of the 1970s campaign, "The Dry Look".

_____
User avatar
chase creek
Posts: 1381
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:00 am
Location: Ohio

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by chase creek » Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:42 am

HEY swellcat! I used to wear my hair that way! :D

"I also have a skin from the wild hamster, Cricetus cricetus" DD - GREAT! ANOTHER thing to watch out for when walking thru the woods to the stream. :shock:

Ray - great job on that pelt, and thanks for the pics.
"A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and
beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise"
Aldo Leopold
User avatar
hankaye
Posts: 6582
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: Arrey, N.M. aka 32°52'37.63"N, 107°18'54.18"W

Re: Washing Kit Muskrat Skin

Post by hankaye » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:10 am

chase creek, Howdy;
chase creek wrote:HEY swellcat! I used to wear my hair that way! :D
I used to hair too!!! :D 8-) :lol:

hank
Striving for a less complicated life since 1949...
"Every day I beat my own previous record for number
of consecutive days I've stayed alive." George Carlin
Post Reply