Cross-cut Rabbit

I was looking at some of the Previous Flies and came across the term cross-cut rabbit. I don't use a lot of strips of fur but I liked the leech-mouse. Is cross-cut hide different from cutting a thin strip of hide with a pair of scissors? RR

you can actually cut cross-cut strips from any hide that you have. if you cut perpendicular to the flow of the hair, then you have cross-cut strips. if you cut parallel to the flow of the hair, then you have regular strips. regular strips are for tails and similar applications. cross-cut strips are for wrapping around the hook shank.

Well there you go. Thanks, for the info. RR

Rusty

I would discourage to use of scissors to cut the rabbit fur. You might cut alot of hair (as I have in the past) off of the hide and end up with a very skinny strip of hair. It has been suggested that the hide be cut with a razor blade or exacto knife from the side opposite of the fur while holding the hide away from anything. In other words you need to stretch the hide in a frame or get an extra pair of hands to help hold it. If you just flip it over and cut against a board then again you might end up with a lot of cut hairs and the skinny strip. GOOD LUCK.

Chuck

PS I started using regular zonker cut rabbit in place of cross cut. I guess I am not sophisticated enough to tell a great deal of difference between the 2 methods.

Rusty,
I no longer use cross cut rabbit in any of my flies, I feel it lays to flat when wet. Unless you want a really slim profile I would use regular zonker strips, I feel they give a better silhoutte.
Turk