How to Make a Squirrel Pelt
- 1). Skin the squirrel. Slice it from the throat down to the anus with a razor blade. Slice no deeper than a 1/16 of an inch. Begin slicing between the hide and the musculoskeletal membrane with your fillet knife. Slice laterally from the center cut. Lift the hide from the carcass as you slide around each side of the rib cage and abdomen, up towards the back of the squirrel. Eventually, you will not be able to slice any longer because the legs hold the hide in place.
- 2). Remove the legs from the hide. From the center line cut, slice down the inside of the squirrel's legs. Slide your scissors between the hide and the membrane of the squirrel's foot and separate it from the paw. This will turn the leg and paw inside out. Force the outside back out with your scissors. Continue slicing between the hide and the membrane until the hide is separated from the back, shoulders and hindquarters of the squirrel. Under the hide of the back and the hind quarters, cut through the bone of the tail with your scissors. Be careful not to cut through the hide covering the tail. The bone of the tail will remain inside the hide. Pull it free with your pliers.
- 3). Slice from the throat up to the chin of the squirrel with your razor. Begin separating the hide from the throat and the back of the neck with your fillet knife. Work the hide over the back of the squirrel's head. Cut around the inside of the squirrel's orbitals with your razor to separate the hide from the eye sockets. Slice the hide from the membrane over the cheeks, chin and nose.
- 4). Flesh the pelt. Hold the scissors flat against the hide and snip away the clear membrane attached to the pelt. Do not cut through the pelt. Once you have cut off as much of the membrane as possible, hold your spoon at a 90-degree angle to the pelt and scrape the remaining membrane off the pelt.
- 5). Mix your tanning agent with the manufacturer's recommended amount of warm water and smear it onto the pelt. Allow it to dry for a day. Scrape it off with your spoon after 24 hours and apply another coat. Allow this coat to sit for three days. Scrape the tanning agent off the pelt and wash it under warm water. Dry the pelt with a paper towel and add some soap to the hide side, then rub it with some olive oil. Allow the pelt to dry. As it dries, stretch it. Grab both ends of it and slide it over the corner of a desk. Only slide it with the fur, not against the grain or you will damage the pelt. Continue to stretch it over and over as it dries.
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