What About Those "Arm Holes"?

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katievictoria

katievictoria

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Hi All. I'm working on my first batch of rabbit hides, using the alum and salt pickling solution I read about in "Mother Earth News." Everything is going great so far....just finished fleshing the skins today after letting them soak the first few days. My pelts are still inside out, and they've been easy to work with that way. But here is my question.When they are done soaking this time I will start cutting them open. The instructions I have say to cut straight up the belly side from bottom to neck. But there is nothing said about how to cut those little front leg skins (arm holes LOL). Do I start at the neck opening and cut down the "front" of the legs, or do I start somewhere on the "belly slit" and cut the arm hide down the "inside" of the leg? I've done a pretty good job so far, even keeping some with tails on. I hate to ruin them now. I have 20. I suppose I could just "experiment" and see what looks good, but I assume there is a "right" way, and that's what I want to learn. Thank you in advance!
 
Thank you. I was beginning to wonder if I'd get any replies. Thought I had asked a really dumb question or something. LOL

That does make a lot of sense. Maybe that's what a lot of folks do. I can see that no matter how I'd cut them, it would take away from the overall size of the pelt with areas that didn't have cuts in them. Unless someone offers up some other idea that seems to work better (which I can't imagine) that's the way I'll do mine.

As I said, I have about 20 pelts right now, and my use for them this time will be to make Christmas gifts for the grandkids, (mittens, purses, etc.). So I don't really have to be too particular, but just wanted to learn the right way for future reference.

Thank you again!
 
I just took a look at some of my pelts where I did it, and some where I didn't. It doesn't actually make that much difference, and you need to take care with these spots when breaking the skin - so, give it a shot, but reconsider if it's worth the effort. :)
 
I cut up the inside of the legs towards the belly.

Not sure if that's the proper way, or if there even is a proper way. :lol: More, like, whatever suits your needs.
 
I case skin them and after fleshing decide where to split the hide. Main reason is that so often during fleshing you get a tear here or there , this allows you to make cuts between those points rather than having random holes in the belly of a finished hide.
 
Thanks everyone! Preitler, I'll probably try some that way and see how it goes. I can see these would be delicate areas during breaking, so I'll take care. Zass and Ramjet, my hides are still cased, and I found it really easy to flesh them that way. I've never tried it any other way, but seems to work good so I won't need to fix it since it's not broke. LOL As for the cutting, both ideas make sense. I do have a few small tears that I made during fleshing, so makes sense to work with what I have rather than making whole new cuts.

I'm waiting until after the Thanksgiving weekend this week and then I'm going to start cutting them open and drying and working the skin. Since I really don't know how much of my time this is going to take, I figure I'll start with just a few at first. Its my understanding the hides can stay in that pickle a long time if need b, so I'm not going to get in a hurry. LOL

Thank you all for your ideas. I will likely try all of them! :bunnyhop:
 
I cut them tward teh belly cut as well but I also dont try to save much of that area anyway. Its just too delicate to be of much use to me.

Any way you do it, thats pretty much the right way! :D
 

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