Fleshing ?

Fleshing is'nt that easy for me either.I dont really think theres a trick to you just have to keep scrapin the meat until its all off.I dont even mess with the stuff around the eyes and stuff but I probably should.I'll get as much as possible off with a pocket knife buts its almost impossible to get every bit of meat off of the eyes,gums and nose.At least for me it is anyway.I hate fleshing I need a machine that does it for me.I'm not good at it at all but this guy made it look easy.
 
Lay your skin with the head at the top of the beam,stretch it out and make sure there are no wrinkles in it.Place your body up against it to hold in place.As you push the knife,pull it to the side so that you are making it slice as you go down.It's all about the angle and amount of pressure you apply and like anything else it takes practice.Fattier animals are a little harder to do.When you get to the face you would do yourself a favor by buying a scalpel and a box of blades.I like #22's.Split the lips and eyes and flip them inside out.Take a tennis ball,stretch the skin of the face over it and pull it tight and use your scalpel.The tennis ball helps alot.You can also purchase a small set of ear openers for opening the ears up.Practice makes perfect and the speed will soon come.Buy one of the yellow Smith sharpeners at the hardware store and keep your fleshing knife sharp.
 
I watched the video and all I can say is when I first started taxidermy I was very slow at fleshing, now I'm as fast as this guy ,actualy faster because I think he was doing it slower to show how.I can tell you his knife is very sharp!Keep your knife sharp and use a scalpel for your detail work.There is nothing to soak it in as was asked and a deer is a little easier to flesh than a yote.
 
Thanks for the info. started reading about my knife from other distributors (where i bought it wasnt much info) Its basically sold unsharpened.Thought thats the way it suppose to be but i am almost scared to use a sharp one on a yote they sure do cut easily.
 
you really don't need a sharp knive to flesh a yote, there isn't much to take off one. with the pelt on the beam, start at the behind the ears and push down. you will get a think layer of muscle and fat that will come off, keep working it all the way around and keep pushing it down til you get the tail then just push it off,

honestly theres not much fleshing to do to a yote or fox, unlike a deer or coon.
 
I got a video from T&M outdoors on fur handling. It was great! It is 5 hours long and shows you everything you need to know on skinning and fleshing coons, coyotes, fox, mink, muskrat, bobcat, marten, beaver, otter and skunk. It was worth every penny I spent. Just go to T&M outdoors.com and get it there, or Ebay.
 
Your probably doing it right you just need to practice and gain confidence in your ability. If your fleshing on a concrete floor put some cat litter down. When you flick fat on the concrete floor it soaks in and makes your garage like a skating rink.The litter soaks up everything and cleans up easy.
 
i just started fleshing my hides,in the pass would just skin and brush out hide then freeze them, i have found when you skin the animal try to skin close to hide and leave fat on the body, in the pass i would leave an inch of fat on the pelt,seems to be a little easier saves sometime fleshing
 
thanks guys i will have to get a few more and keep trying these words of wisdom i already found out they do seem to flesh a bit easier partially frozen or after they have been pickled for a while.
 
I dont flesh any of my fur, then again, our critters probably have a lot less fat then other places.

After a good skinning job, there is usually no flesh left on the hide. The trick is more pulling then cutting.
 


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