Quote from: Spacebus on November 14, 2021, 07:17:10 PMIf I lived close to you I would have bought one from you just to try skinning and tanning the hide. I would have expected the hide to be thin and easy to tear.The skin is about 1/16" thick, and tough. It almost feels like stingray skin but thicker and tougher. I would cut each leg off at the joint at the body like taking a chicken leg off of a thigh. I would remove the foot, or "hand". Then I would sharpen my filet knife, and on a front leg I would push the knife under the skin to the knee joint and then through. Turn the leg 180* and push back to the knee connecting the 2 cuts. From there I would "filet" around the piece until the skin was off. The scales feel like about 20 grit sandpaper and probably dull a knife just as quick. I would have to sharpen the knife 2-3 times on each leg, after it was removed from the torso. I tried pulling the skin off, and all it would do is pull meat off of the leg instead, had to cut almost every inch of skin off of the flesh.John mentioned that he had heard of people throwing the legs and tail section into boiling water for a few minutes and then skinning them. I wanted to try and preserve some of the pieces and making some leather. I've got a lot of de-fleshing to do tomorrow. Then either dry using salt or borax.
If I lived close to you I would have bought one from you just to try skinning and tanning the hide. I would have expected the hide to be thin and easy to tear.
The skin is about 1/16" thick, and tough. It almost feels like stingray skin but thicker and tougher. I would cut each leg off at the joint at the body like taking a chicken leg off of a thigh. I would remove the foot, or "hand". Then I would sharpen my filet knife, and on a front leg I would push the knife under the skin to the knee joint and then through. Turn the leg 180* and push back to the knee connecting the 2 cuts. From there I would "filet" around the piece until the skin was off. The scales feel like about 20 grit sandpaper and probably dull a knife just as quick. I would have to sharpen the knife 2-3 times on each leg, after it was removed from the torso. I tried pulling the skin off, and all it would do is pull meat off of the leg instead, had to cut almost every inch of skin off of the flesh.John mentioned that he had heard of people throwing the legs and tail section into boiling water for a few minutes and then skinning them. I wanted to try and preserve some of the pieces and making some leather. I've got a lot of de-fleshing to do tomorrow. Then either dry using salt or borax.