zonker strips

[cwn]

Can anyone tell me the procedure to cut strips from a rabbit pelt. also how do you dye the fur.

[tcarroway]

I've bought whole pelts to cut to shape and dye up myself and found that the center rectangle of the pelt (usually about 4-5 inches wide and 10 inches long) is typically the straightest fur (hairs run same direction) - this is where you can cut your zonker strips lengthwise. Use a new razor blade and start your cut lengthwise on the skinside (lay it flat, fur side down) at your desired width - not from the very edge of the pelt, but just inside (keeps the strip attached as you cut down the length. Cut from the skin side to avoid cutting/wasting the hairs nearest the strip you're working. You can use a guide (metal ruler - available at most art stores) to keep the strip straight. Another tool that artist use is an Exacto blade, can be purchased at the art store for a few bucks also and gives you a pencil-like handle with a triangular razor blade. Cut the entire length through the bottom edge before you snip the last connection where you began your cut.

To cross-cut (as the name suggests), cut along the width of that section and the hairs should be coming off the skin perpendicular - this can be used for palmering. You can also use the pelt areas that surrounded the "prime" piece to cut cross cut and different shapes, but the hair tends to go in many different directions and doesn't give you many long pieces with consistent hair direction.

To die them, buy RIT dyes, dissolve the colors in a bowl of nearly boiling water with a couple of tablespoons of table salt(a quart of water and just a half teaspoon of granular dye will give you enough to dye an entire pelt). I haven't used the liquid concentrates, but I'm sure they work the same, just probably need less to get desired colors, and they're much more expensive. The salt helps set the dye, and the color of your dye bath should be many times darker / stronger than your expected color. I use a chopstick to swirl the pelt around and ensure even dying (make sure all the dye is dissolved before dunking the pelt - undissolved crystals will cause dark spots that bleed later). Test the pelt occasionally (lift out of bath) to see if color is what you expect. The longer it's in, the darker / more saturated the color. That wet color is how it will look in the water on a fly, even though the dried and dyed pelt will look paler / lighter. When it's done to your liking, pull it out of the bath and run under cold tap water, wringing it out until no more color runs in the tap water. Then squeeze in an old rag or paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Some color might still bleed - if too much, rinse again.

To dry, you can pin it down with thumb tacks (fur side down) on a piece of cardboard to keep it from shriveling up into un-cuttable pieces. A hair dryer speeds up the process. It might look clumpy when dry, but just a few strokes across the fur will fluff it up and neaten it up to look like the store bought strips. (also, look for the pelts with heavier skins for zonkers, and thinner skins for cross-cut rabbit strips).

Tips: try mixing colors of dye to get different shading, and use scrap pieces from the pelt to test the die strength and color before you put in your "good" pieces - there's usually a few areas around the legs that are mucked up with sawdust that was used in the drying of the pelt originally that are good candidates for dye testing.

When done, cut as above.

Hope this helps.

Tom Carroway

[cwn]

thank you I will give it a try.

[JustinCFT]

I fond a vary easy tool to mack a boat load of zonker
strips, all perfect and uniform.

Supplies Needed...
1 bolt 5" long 1/4"
1 nut to fit bolt
6 to washers hole to fit bolt, but washers need to be 1"
in diameter.
5 to 7 standard razor blades.
Push pins

Assembly...
(1) Thread the washers on the bolt and then screw on
the nut. (2) Place the reazor blades between the
washers "Carefully" (3) Titen bolt and adjust razor
blade so they are all even.

Procedure for makin zonker strips...
Tack up the rabbit pelt skin up. Using 7 blades will
leave 5 strips per stoke.

Note...
The pourpus of this little invention is to mack use the
washers spacers for the razor blades. To change the
size of the zonker strip, just use thicker washer or more
the one washer between the blades.

Any problems write JustinCFT@mac.com