If you have ever skinned a duck you will know that they are very greasy and unless you de-grease it the entire skin and feathers will become one matted ball of grease over time. It is a difficult process and for waterfowl it is far easier to just pluck the feathers.Originally Posted by hap
OMG....what you just said to hap..".ever skinned"...he ain't a NY stock broker.......
Ron,
At one time I supplied a large number of duck skins to major retailers. I guided duck hunters and really got after recovering duck skins whenever possible. I processed hundreds per year and can do them far faster than average after all the practice. I should scan an old photo just so you can see what a pile of duck skins looks like!
I score the fat and soak it out with white gas. Then a wash in warm soapy water gets the feathers clean.
I use a tumbler to dry and polish the feathers after... But that is just a fancy way of saying a bucket half-full of dry sawdust and borax, turning slowly. If I only have a couple to do a hair drier will blow the feathers around and fluff them as they dry.
It isn't for the faint of heart, but the filing system laid out on the skin trumps baggies every time. Presentation tying demands matching feathers and that is just about impossible from a baggie.
art
Hap
The curious want to know...what does white gas do to the CDC's natural oils?
"Trust, but verify" - Russian Proverb, as used by Ronald Reagan
Nothing that I have been able to figure. Realize I only soak in white gas when I have a bunch to do. Which is not often these days. I can scrape the fat by scoring it and rubbing briskly with borax to both soak it out and get it moving. It is faster when doing just one because there is no soaking time...
The birds through most of the process look like very pathetic drowned rats, but really shine when fluffed up.
And I have no fear of floatant...
That's exactly what I meant about difficult process in my post, for most tyers, pluck and bag is the way to go and I seriously doubt that fish are attracted to the taste of white gas.
Part of the issue with pluck and bag is the incredible array of wasted feathers. Saving the entire skin is a very good way to have access to a lot of feathers unobtainable any other way and they are usable and choice in many circumstances. Having done it both ways a lot for many years, the skins simply trump baggies in every respect except initial ease of preperation. You win that part of the argument without even a wimper from me.
I doubt the white gas aroma survives the sawdust and borax tumble... or the airing out it will get the first time fished.
But then, WD40 has been used as a commercial longlining bait scent enhancer for decades. Many salmon fishermen have been known to hose their gear down with WD40 for exactly the same reason, though they claim it is done to protect the metal.
For me a whiff of WD40 brings me back gagging memories of fishing for halibut commercially in huge seas from small boats... and adding to the "pleasure" is the distinct aroma of halibut itself... Not exactly the sweet herby scent of grayling...
art
I agree, I generally like to pick feathers off of a skin, but for ducks, skinning and de-greasing is not worth the trouble for me. I concede that there are lot of great feathers on a ducks that are not getting used by tyers, no doubt because skins are generally not available. For instance I really like those cream colored feathers under the tail of drake green wing teal. They are the perfect size and color for wings on PMD's. I'm sure we'd see a lot more patterns w/ duck feathers if duck skins were commercially available. It's great that you take the time to do it, but not many people would.
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