Hi All
Through the usual twists of fate I have ended up in Greenland for the next couple of years. Considering the long winters here I will surely be tying a lot of flies ( and have also met a few who wants a go ).
There is a quite big industry of seal products and consequently ready availability of left-over hide/skin/fur.
My questions are now:
Produces seals useful tying material ?
Which parts for what ?
How should one judge the quality ?
Any other commens are most welcome.
Best regards
Morten
PS. No, I haven't been fishing yet, a broken wrist puts an effective stop to that .
PPS. To the best of my knowledge are all products 100% legitimate under international treaties.
I would have thought that dying, drying and blending the stuff is where the problems are really going to come. I went through a phase of dying my own stuff and i don't think I would ever go back to it. It is messy, smelly and only really makes sense if you are using a hell of a lot of the stuff. Do not do it in the kitchen. Good luck.
Mike Connor wrote:Young soft seals fur is the best for dubbing material. Adult hides are too coarse.
The fur is shorn, washed, dyed, dried ( usually by shaking it with sawdust in a container, and the result is then sieved ).
One may also dye it on the skin if one has hide patches.
Some of it may be used for "zonker" strips.
TL
MC
Funny. I just aquired a good amount of varying colored Seal Dubbing. There are small light colored particles mixed in with the fur. Seems to have settled to the bottoms and sides of half the bags. Just a little but noticable. Guessing from what you have posted that it may be sawdust.
When I first saw those bits the first thing that came to mind was that it was sawdust as well. I looked at some under a microscope though and found that it is actually bits of dried flesh. Bill
Actually, I think Bill is right about the dried bits being flesh. The sawdust, which is mainly used to polish the fur, although it dries it as well of course, is removed by sieveing.
No idea why the flesh bits remain in the fur. Perhaps they are statically loaded, after tumbling, and so dont fall through the sieve? Or perhaps the bits of skin sticking to the hair roots etc. only fall off when the flesh is completely dry?
I have never actually seen the fur preparation process, but have had it described to me on a couple of occasions.
I've had the questionable pleasure of shaving a dried seal skin with an electric shaver (not mine!) for dubbing and the "dandruff" flakes were virtually impossible to avoid. Not that it really matters, though.
Envy time. There are a 'few' products (seal fur, polar Bear) that are seriously illegal here in the States. As an example, Polar Bear fur. You'd better be able to prove you got it from an 'approved' seller or you've had same prior to the endangered spec. act.
Or possible jail time; no kidding! (Add Eagle, blue Herron feathers to that list).
It´s the same in Europe with a lot of things Fred. The specific materials vary somewhat, from country to country, but there are lots of things which it is illegal to possess.
This problem is also slowly increasing, as less and less "wild harvest" is made, and more and more "processed farmed" production takes place.
There are a 'few' products (seal fur, polar Bear) that are seriously illegal here in the States. As an example, Polar Bear fur. You'd better be able to prove you got it from an 'approved' seller or you've had same prior to the endangered spec. act.
Or possible jail time; no kidding! (Add Eagle, blue Herron feathers to that list).
It's my understanding, Fred, that posession of seal's fur/polar bear is not illegal. What is illegal is importing it. Same thing with Alligator skin or ivory, for example. You'd better not be caught bringing it in, but having a pair of alligator boots is not illegal.
WW
"You cannot step into the same river twice. In the flow of time, an opportunity lost is lost forever."
-Heraclitus
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