Fish skin

[EricWard]

Looking for fish skin for backing

[warpath]

There's a shop on Etsy called Fine Leathers. That's where I get mine. If you message her with what you're looking for, She can usually help you out.

  G

[EricWard]

Thanks Warpath Ill check it out i dont ever catch anything big enough to use LOL

[Pat B]

Eric, check with Chris Cade. I know he and Steve Parker did some bow fishing for carp and gar last spring. I don't know if they saved the skins though. Heck, the carp should be running pretty soon down there anyway.

[EricWard]

thanks pat I didnt think of that

[mullet]

They didn't keep any.

[osage outlaw]

What kind of skins are you looking for?

[EricWard]

Outlaw im looking for maybe carp or anything like that something long enough to only splice once in the handle

[PrimitiveTim]

Would shark skin do?  How long is your bow?

[mullet]

Shark skin is too stiff. Grouper or Redfish will work.

[PrimitiveTim]

Shark skin is too stiff. Grouper or Redfish will work.

There's a slot size on redfish with a max of 27". Probably not enough to cover a limb since the tail and head will take from the length of the skin.  Could you cut a spiral strip around the fish?  I guess you'd get white splotches from the belly of the fish.  I know I can get my hands on some redfish.

[dinorocks]

If you are not in a hurry, I can get some for you this spring.  I have backed several bows with the common carp I caught and arrowed on the St. Lawrence River.  It takes two skins per limb unless the bow is very short.  The process is laborious...fillet the fish, remove all fat off skin, soak for several days in dish soap, pluck the scales, lay all the scale sockets flat and so they are not overlapping, and either dry on cardboard or apply green (I have not applied green yet).  I usually wrap with a bunch of paper towels and press them (with my truck tire) in an attempt to remove as much oil as possible...after they are sealed on the back of the bow, the fish smell is no longer apparent.

Below is a bow I made this past summer (cherry bow backed with carp skins).









I hope these picts are not too large...please delete if so.

Dino

dinorocks@gmail.com

next year we are going to try using some other fish on my sons bow (black bass, salmon, or hopefully a northern pike)

[EricWard]

Thanks guys my bow is 60in sinued to about 6in from the tips so 24in skins would work unless I splice going to let dry for another month bofore I back. Dinorocks thats a sweet looking bow love those carp skins.

[Keenan]

The grass carp work great. The buffalo carp are a little harder to do as the skin is multi layered like the scales. Most any fish will work good and since it's sinewed the skin can often pull even more reflex when drying.
 I made a sturgeon/sinew juniper a few years ago that pulled another inch of reflex even after then sinew had been curing for three weeks. Ive done a fair amount of fish backing from ling cod, halibut,sturgeon,carp and shark. Eddie is right shark is very thick and just to heavy.
 Smaller fish with patterns like carp can be spliced easy mid limb and not really noticeable if you are carefull to match color fades

[EricWard]

Thanks for the info Keenan ive used snakes but not fish working on getting a few stripper. do you scale the fish before you skin and flesh