What do you do with skins?

[Rick Cox]

Check out Walden + Bork. They evidently make a business of creating useful items from game hides. Saw the ad in Sporting Classics magazine. Waaay too rich for my blood however.
www.WaldenBork.com phone: 713-425-5194

 

[Ridgewalker]

You're right about the pricing. A bit beyond my SS checks, but some nice ideas!

 

[Bhfs300]

+1

 

[harden]

I have gun cases for 299 and slings from 99
From your skins

 

[Ridgewalker]

Nice Dennis! I'll keep you in mind. Do you show any on your website?
Thanks!

 

[DillonG]

Hi Ridgewalker
Looking at the part above I am guessing that you are having a shoulder mount of your oryx and Kudu. Of the other trophies my number 2 was the Nyala, number 1 Kudu. I don't know how they cut the hide for the Nyala but they are a beautiful animal. If you have a whole hide coming. That is going to be a great hide. Here is the best shot I have of one. If it is split down the stomach you will have a great hide.
What ever you do don't give these hides away.
Tom
These are my top two trophies of my two hunts!
Not the best animals but my top animals.

View attachment 168133 View attachment 168136 View attachment 168137

Who did your taxidermy work on the Nyala and Kudu?

 

[Bhfs300]

Who did your taxidermy work on the Nyala and Kudu?

The Nyala was done by Dennis and the Kudu was done in SA can’t say anything good about it but that is a different story!
Tom

 

[Spearhead]

Have done all of what you suggest. In addition I have had rifle bags made from Zebra, Elephant and Giraffe. Some belts and wallets from elephant leather

@CAustin Charlie, were your rifle bags made here?

 

[Rare Breed]

Have done all of what you suggest. In addition I have had rifle bags made from Zebra, Elephant and Giraffe. Some belts and wallets from elephant leather.

Help please. I am hunting with D&Y in Zim this August. How can I use my elephant skin to make a cartidge belt and then get it into the US please? What are the steps and who can do this work please?

thanks!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Blue wildebeest skin. Not mine unfortunately. Hope you get your stuff, not some other guy's. I haven't had very good luck with that.

Gun case is always a good idea.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Wall rugs are nice.

I had to submit my 3 man eating Royal Bengal tiger hides to the Ministry of Forests (as per government policy). But I would have really liked to keep them for making wall rugs and floor rugs.

 

[CAustin]

Help please. I am hunting with D&Y in Zim this August. How can I use my elephant skin to make a cartidge belt and then get it into the US please? What are the steps and who can do this work please?

thanks!

Not sure who D&Y would suggest in Zim

 

[CAustin]

@CAustin Charlie, were your rifle bags made here?

No sir they were made in South Africa

 

[PARA45]

Help please. I am hunting with D&Y in Zim this August. How can I use my elephant skin to make a cartidge belt and then get it into the US please? What are the steps and who can do this work please?

thanks!

@Rare Breed, I can't think of his name, but there is someone here who made a vest, holster, cartridge holder, all out of the ele skin he got. He also made stools from the ft. I'll dig around and see if I can find his name, he is one of the regulars on this forum.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

A scope protector might be a useful item from scraps. Or a binocular case. Personally I dislike the chest harness contraptions (I get overheated) or the binoc cases dangling from my neck or under armpit. I made a belt holster for mine from a leather purse I scavanged at Salvation Army store. I can use it as a pattern to make one from kudu hide once my daughter decides which cape she wants to use for pedestal mount.

 

[PARA45]

@Rare Breed, I found him, and he has been a member for many years, his screen name is @edward. Reach out to him, and I'm sure he could probably help you out. I hope this helps.

 

[mdwest]

Ive done quite a few DIY projects with different hides/skins.. We've made decorative pillows from everything from blesbok to kudu hides.. Ive used leather from my buff to make pillow backs, rifle slings, and a number of different things.. and had a bespoke pair of western boots made from the buff as well..

My wife and I both took an ostrich on our last hunt.. we just got the leather back from the birds a couple of months ago.. those will be getting made into western boots as well and anything left over will probably get turned into things like a wallet, ammo pouch, etc..

We made the mistake of pretty much taking the flat skin or the back skin off of every single animal we took for the first 3 safaris we did.. and then still took several flats and backs off the next 2 safaris.. the end result was a closet almost completely filled with nothing but hides... There are now 2 zebra rugs, 2 wildebeest rugs, and a ton of pillows, boots, slings, pouches, etc.. all over the house.. and we still have half a freaking closet full of hides (still lots of projects to figure out.. and we intend on taking somewhere between a few and ZERO skins home on the hunt we have scheduled in July 2023.... although Im sure once we get there my wife will decide that plan will have changed and we'll come home with all of them again lol...)..

Since I've potentially got a hippo hunt planned for this trip.. I have been trying to figure out what the hell I would do with hippo leather (Im guessing yet another pair of boots... but after that, then what?????)...

 

[Doug3006]

I had a dress made for the missus.

 

[Sjakon]

I have only two skins: a bison hide and a cow waterbuck hide. I use the bison hide to curl up in on cold winter days and watch cowboy movies on the TV. The waterbuck hide is just used for decoration. I would like to see hides made into useful objects that could be used everyday (cartridge belts, boots, moccasins, holsters, bags, etc.).

Horsehide has always been considered the best leather for handgun holsters......I've often wondered if zebra skin would be a good substitute since horsehide is so hard to get anymore.

Horsehide is potentially easy to get in Australia. Brumbies (wild horses) are a prolific imported pest and landowners are expected to get rid of them; well at least in Victoria. Usually the shot Brumbies are just left for the wild dogs (another introduced pest) to eat. I never new there was a market for the hides.

 

[Doug3006]

I spoke with Mr. Murray of Murray Custom Leather. He’s going to make a rifle case for me using my Buffalo hide. I’m waiting for it to come back from the tanner.