# fleshing



## gunther274 (Oct 24, 2006)

how do you flesh critters. i want to make a fleshing beam for *****, but i need to know how fleshing is done. what kind of knives or scrapers and what not do i use. my birthday is coming up and my parents want to know what i want so i was thinking maybe some kind of fleshing knife? any tips any suggestions any beam sizes and tips how to make one is apreciated.

thanx everyone

Gunth


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## smitty223 (Mar 31, 2006)

Gunth, one of the best investments you can ever make as a beginner to putting-up you fur, is to buy a book by Hal Sullivan called "Fur Handling 2000" (get the book, not the video. It'll be easier for you to "read as you go"). It will explain everything from your skinning area, tools, skinning, fleshing, and drying.

Fleshing is nothing more than scraping the fat & excess meat off the hide. If you're going to be serious about trapping, buy a good knife. I use a Necker 600, and they're around $55-60. Don't buy a $10-20 cheapie.

Get a **** stretcher, trace it onto a (knot-free) 5' piece of 2"X6" trim it, and round the edges with a belt sander. Look at one first & get an idea of what they look like. Buying a beam is $25-35.

Look-up some of the trapping supply houses online & browse through some furhandling items, as most will have pics.

Smitty


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## gunther274 (Oct 24, 2006)

thanks smitty 
G


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## chasesdad (Jan 3, 2007)

i went to traps4kids.com it has a wealth of information


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## M*F (Nov 3, 2006)

Great advice smitty. I would like to reinforce the statement about cheap fleshing knives. I used an $8 cheapo for a long time, then I picked up a sheffield. There is absolutely no comparison. You owe it to yourself to get a quality product right away. I've never used a necker, but I believe theyre pretty much the industry standard.


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## smitty223 (Mar 31, 2006)

M*F- I'm selling my Scheffield, like the Necker (600) better.

Gunth-Seriousley consider the book. You can't run to the computer or VCR when you run into a question skinning your first few critters.......and you will.

Smitty


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## gunther274 (Oct 24, 2006)

yah my birthday is coming up and i told my dad i wanted it.


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## xdeano (Jan 14, 2005)

I'll second the Necker 600, they are great knives. But the cheapies are still great for doing fox and coyote. The 600 is prefered for the greasiest of critters. 
Beams can be bought or if you are hand with woodworking tools you can easily make one in a day. It just depends on how much time/money is worth to you.

here is one place among many that has fleshing products. just look around the internet for the best price.

http://www.minntrapprod.com/

If you want i can pm you a site to visit to watch a few videos and see a few different knives that I've used and what they look like. 
xdeano


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## gunther274 (Oct 24, 2006)

yah please pm me with the site xd.

thanx

G


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## weasle414 (Dec 31, 2006)

A cheap fleshing knife is better than what I had avalable when I fleshed out two deer this year... a fixed blade hunting knife. Took me 3 days working 3-4 hours a day to finally get the first one fat, meat and membrane free, and even longer with the 2nd one that was a little bigger and fatter.


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## carp_killer (Nov 24, 2006)

a necker 600 has got to be the best thing i ever bought for fleshing i remember back when i first started trapping we used a short bladed fillet knife


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## LAtrapper (Feb 5, 2007)

man i just use my benchmade fixed blade for everything. maybe you guys are right but i've never acually used one of those fancy things.


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