4 



When the skin is nearly dry and turns white on the tiesh side, it is 

 time to begin working and stretching it to insure a soft finish. The 

 secret of a good soft finish lies in thoroughly working the skin. This 

 may be done by pulling the skin back and forth over a large flat file 

 which has been tightly clamped in a vise, or else through a large iron 

 ring after the skin has been folded up with the fur side in. The pelt 

 should be frequently re-rolled and turned about during this process. 





b. 







t = 



















7 



a 



II II 





/ / ! i V3 



\ ^ ^ / 



--6- 



















Fig. .3 



If several skins are to be dressed, it would pay to take four two-by- 

 three-inch scantlings, six feet long, and make a frame (figure 3) to 

 hold the skins while they are being scraped with the special instrument 

 called a "crutch knife" (figure 2, b). The crutch knife is made from 

 a common single-blade cabbage chopper. The arm piece can be made 

 from a piece of soft one-inch lumber, and should be just long enough 

 so that when the upper end is placed under the armpit the fingers can 

 readily grasp the handle of the chopper. 



When the skin is nearly dry it should be placed in the frame flesh 

 side up, the upper bar dropped on it, and the bar clamped tight by 

 pushing down on the lock (figure 3, a). The skin should be held by 

 the left hand while the blade of the crutch knife is pushed down over 

 the taut skin, with a scraping motion, by the right arm and hand. 



