Cleaning dirty fox tail

[Harold Ray 0]

I tried a search but found nothing that would help.

 

I have a fox tail that appears well tanned, no odor, and the hair looks good, but there is a lot of either blood or dirt in the hair. What is the best way to clean and dry it. I started to toss it in the sink, let it soak for a while, then dry it as best I could, followed by air drying, BUT I thought there might be some secret in doing this and decided I had better ask y'all about it. What do you suggest?

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

[Iowaflyguy 0]

 

 

I just use use regular dish washing detergent to wash my squirrel tails and duck feathers.

I also spent 20 years in the dry cleaning and laundry business and here is a little trade secret for

getting blood out. Dissolve yeast in tepid water (baby bottle temp) and soak the object or garment

in it. The yeast is a living organism that will actually feed on the blood. Do not ever use hot water

on blood. It will set the stain so it can never be removed.

 

The dish washing liquid would still be my first choice. Hope this helps.

 

Tom

[Redwings1 0]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I just use a small amount of liquid dish soap in warmish water and gently work it through the hair. Then use a blow dryer and dry to a nice 80s poof

[Jens Lund Adamsen 0]

I tried a search but found nothing that would help.

 

I have a fox tail that appears well tanned, no odor, and the hair looks good, but there is a lot of either blood or dirt in the hair. What is the best way to clean and dry it. I started to toss it in the sink, let it soak for a while, then dry it as best I could, followed by air drying, BUT I thought there might be some secret in doing this and decided I had better ask y'all about it. What do you suggest?

 

Thanks,

 

Ray

 

Hi Ray

 

I have a little different aproach.

 

Wash the fox tail in hot water 40 degrees C (app. 105 F) using unparfumed hair shampoo as if it was your own hair.

Shower the tail to get rid of all the shanmpoo and comb the hair.

Then use an unparfumed hair conditioner, massage it well into the hair then let it be there for a minute or two.

Then shower the tail again to make sure everythings is out and comb the hair again then lay it down on some kitchen paper to dry you can comb it again when it is beginning to dry.

 

Works for me on my Artic fox and temple dog

 

regards

Jens

[Harold Ray 0]

Thanks, Tom, Mike and Jens,

 

I'm going to the Southern Federation of Fly Fishers' Conclave in Mountain Home, Arkansas tomorrow noon, and have decided to put cleaning the fox off until I get back. I'll do it the first of next week and see how things turn out.

 

I'm still astounded by some of the fancy names flyfishermen come up with for their meetings! I've been to Arkansas only once in my life. This meeting sounded like fun though and I can learn some more so I'm anxious to see what they've got.

 

Thanks for the information. When cleaning feathers, do y'all do them the same way as you cleanse the furs?

 

Thanks again,

 

Ray

[CM_Stewart 0]

By now I suspect Ray has successfully cleaned his fox tail, but for any others who have gotten a fox tail that needs to be cleaned all I can say is beware and do some research first.

 

I recently bought a red fox tail, a coyote tail and an arctic fox tail from an online dealer (not ebay and not a fly shop). The arctic fox tail was gorgeous but the coyote tail smelled a little of mineral spirits and the red fox tail was a little matted and had some weed seeds and burrs in the fur.

 

I had read this thread and several on a taxidermy forum that recommended washing with liquid dish soap, generally Dawn, or shampoo. Not wanting to risk ruining a whole tail in case something went wrong, I started by cutting the coyote tail in half, washed one half of it in cool water with Dawn, rinsed, washed again with shampoo, rinsed well and dried with a hair drier on its lowest setting. No problems so did the other half of the coyote tail and again had no problems.

 

Since all went well with the coyote tail, I started the same procedure on the red fox tail without cutting it in half first. While trying to work out a burr, the whole tail started to absolutely fall to pieces in my hands. I gathered it all up, rinsed it and set it on paper towels to dry. I managed to salvage about half of it but it is now in dozens of pieces, the largest being about 4"long. I still have more than I'll probably need for the rest of my life, and it was so cheap ($2.50) its not worth the postage to send it back and ask for a replacement.

 

I don't know enough about furs or tanning to know what went wrong, but I did find one comment that a fox pelt "tanned" with alum is particularly susceptible to disintegration if it gets wet. I don't know what the right procedure is, but just washing a fox tail with some dish soap is taking a pretty big risk, in my opinion.

[chrisfish 0]

I can't speek for tanning with alum, never done it. But i have tanned deer, squirrel, chiken, and pheasant this year with borax and then just cleaed in cool soapy (dish soap) water. All turned out great. I was realy impressed. I asked a taxidermist about other ways and he said for his tying materials he just uses borax also. But it may be wise to find out how the tails were tanned prior to washing

[fly time 0]

Just run a dog or cat grooming brush through it, the moisture will stay in it and eventually cause it to rot, you guys are forgitting that these tails still have the bone in them.

[CM_Stewart 0]

All three tails had the bones removed when I got them, and with a hair dryer, plus the low humidity of an indoor heated room in the winter, it wasn't too hard to get the two I washed completely dry. I'm sure that eventual rot could be a problem in some environments, but having a fox tail almost completely disintegrate within a minute or two of getting wet seems a greater risk to me.

[phg 0]

CM, that was a poor tanning job, plain and simple. It maybe that the raw hide hadn't been treated properly prior to tanning, who knows. Borax is what sets the fur so it doesn't come loose. A hide that has been soaked in a borax solution still needs to be tanned. Alum tanning is an old standby that has been done for centuries ... works good, lasts a long time.

 

Frankly, the tail should have been cleaned before tanning. When I do a skin, I wash it immediately after removing it from the animal, before scraping or doing anything else.

[CM_Stewart 0]

CM, that was a poor tanning job, plain and simple.

 

 

Followup - I contacted the seller, and that's esssentially what he said. The hides are tanned before he gets the tails. Since he is in NYC, I assume he gets them as offcuts from the fur garment industry. In any event, he offered to send me a replacement tail or I could come into his shop and pick one out myself. I think I might just take him up on that. His prices are good, and the other tails really were pretty nice.

[troutguy 0]

It's always a gamble. I have soaked some in an alum solution to keep the leather tight to clean them. A boraxed hide will last decades if you keep them dry. Bad tanning is why you got them. Otherwise they would be in awindow in NYC or a woman's neck.

 

I love buying scrap tanned fur on eBay. I got like 20 fox and coyote faces for a real cheap price once ($5 for all). Some natural, some black. I gave a couple away and have traded some away. The color variations of the naturals are pretty cool. I have never been burned by a reputable seller. They always have made good (only two problems in alot of sales). I just got a skunk, coyote and raccoon for 99 cents! The shipping was $8.

[CM_Stewart 0]

I just got a skunk, coyote and raccoon for 99 cents! The shipping was $8.

 

I think I saw that lot, and almost bid on it. That was the one that had slipping fur on all three of the pelts, right? I suppose it doesn't really matter since you are going to cut it off bit by bit anyway. I was just afraid it would come off in clumps and get all over the apartment.

 

[fly time 0]

The tail fell apart cause it was deboned, for tying purposes I never debone the tail.

[troutguy 0]

CM the lot went for 99 cents. The shipping covered that flat rate box plus about 75 more cents. The hair that is left is tight. The coyote is almost white. Not bleached. I have shot coyotes and this one is really prime. It has a lot of good fur for dubbing. I love coyote guard hairs for streamers, legs and tails.

 

The guy had like 3000 sales and 100% feedack so I figured why not.