Donald, have you been trying to establish a renewable source of dubbing?
http://northcountryangler.blogspot.com/
(scroll down until you get to 14 August)
Ed
It wisnae me.
I don’t know exactly when beavers were hunted out in the UK, sometime in the 17th or 18th century I think.
Here is some info -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Beaver
Ed,
Thanks for the Link!
Doug
I read recently where somewhere beavers have been re-released in the uk. I am fairly sure that at one of the Wetland and Wildfowl trusts. There is a move to make more widespread releases…
While we are talking Beaver can someone please tell me the differences between the skins. Someone kindly sent me a full beaver skin which is darkish brown in colour and about 18" long. It has a fairly course long fur. I assume this in an adult beaver skin. I also have a piece of baby beaver fur. The baby beaver is really soft and makes a great dubbing, but I have not used the other one. Would it be used as a hair? Or is it just the under fur that is used??
Mick P
I’ve been a ‘Busy’ beaver!
BEAVER FELT MAKING
www.yurtboutique.com/beaver.htm
BEAVER YARN
www.furyarn.com/catalog/product_info.ph … ucts_id=32
NATIONAL BEAVER DAY
www.electricscotland.com/friends/mackay/beaver.htm
BEAVER FACTS?
As long as your NOT a sampling, they won’t hurt you!
Brook Trout LIKE them!
Their Good Workers!
They have a COOL Tail!
Their Babies are pretty cute!
They mind their own business! (They won’t jump in your pool) (They won’t crash your party)
They ‘Focus’ well!
Beavers are responsible citizens! (They give a DAM!)
Doug 
A wing for small flies.
Mick, if the beaver skins are from our North American beavers, then the underfur of both young and old is very soft and thick. If there is little of the soft underfur on your “old” beaver, it was probably taken in the summer, early fall, or spring. If it was taken in the spring, it might show signs of rubbing on the hair side of the hide. Nuisance beavers can be traken at any time of the year and pelts taken outside of the normal fur season are of no use as fur but can be plenty of use for winging material. I had a friend in college who was putting himself through school trapping nuisance animals. He was competent, neat, polite, and respected landowners’ wishes and concerns. He soon had more work than he could handle.
Ed