I've only done a few, if the tail is big enough to make a handle wrap out of each side I started on one edge and remove the skin from the meat/fatty part, then flipped it over and repeated the process on the other side. Then using a knife or similar object as a scraper, clean off as much of the fat and membranes without cutting through the leather part of the skin. You can fit them to the handle of the bow by making a pattern out of stiff paper. Make the paper pattern fit nice and snug to the handle, then trace it off on the tail. Forgot to mention that these steps are for using a freshly skinned tail. Cut the tail to match the pattern, check for fit. I stitched mine with artificial sinew, using the baseball stitch and two curved needles. It turned out pretty good, as it dries it sort of shrinks to fit the contours of the handle. Mine was a fairly straight handle though. I understand that tanned tails gives a much better job, but have never done one of those. Hopefully this all makes sense, and good luck.....Dan
Topic: skinning a beaver tail (Read 596 times)
