I used to put up beaver for some of the local trappers so they could ship them to auction. I used a 5 ft. section of 8 in. popple log split in half and rounded and taperred to a dull point on one end. The butt end was anchorred solid to the floor round side up and the pointed end was propped up to just below my sternum while standing. The nose of the fur to be fleshed was hooked over the point and held in place by pressing against the piont with my stomach and a a draw knife was used to flesh the hide. work the draw knife away from you with bevel side of the blade down so edge doesn't dig in. As you finnish a few inches of fleshing move the hide up on the point and start fleshing. for beaver a very sharp knife is reguired, for fox, coon, rats and mink a dull knife will work. Try not to cut into the hair folicles as the hair will slip in the tanning process.
For breaking hides durring the tanning proccess I took an old single bit ax and welded it blade up to a pipe stuck in the ground and worked the hide over the dulled edge of the ax.
Old ax heads and draw knives can be found at farm auction really cheap as they aren't in big demand as working tools anymore.
AWS
