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Zonker strips

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Has anyone tried to cut and stripe their own zonker strips? I have thought about it, and want to try it so I was wondering if anyone has done it or heard about doing it. I believe it would be much cheaper to stripe and cut my own, being that it costs 4 or 5$ for 3 or 4 strips of striped zonkers and a whole skin is only about $7. Any suggestions?

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take razor blades and tape them to popsicle sticks more popsicle sticks equals wider strips I usually use 3 sticks with a razor blade on each side then cut from the skin side using a ruler as a straight edge this also works on squirrel

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I cut my own to save money and also you can cut however thick/thin you want. I use a box cutter thing with a couple pieces of cardboard underneath. For cutting cross-cut i use scissors because I end up cutting off a lot of the hair, but it's not as even this way.

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Cutting zonker strips is not difficult. As RRSHS has noted, you want to cut the skin side. But you don't want anything on the fur side of the pelt. If you cut your zonkers on a surface (like cardboard) you will end up cutting a lot of fur off! I find it best to clamp one end of the pelt to the edge of my bench with the fur side down. Then I stretch the pelt away from the bench and cut towards me with an Exacto blade. I cut along lines I have previously marked on the skin side with a fine Sharpie and ruler.

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Buy a box of one-sided safety razors; a small screw and nut that fits the hole in the blades; and a bunch of small washers to use as spacers. You can put together 4 or 5 blades that cut uniform strips to your liking. As already posted, cut the skin side w/o any solid backing that traps and shears fur. You can do a whole skin in a few minutes. Also works with other fur like mink etc.. to make strip nymphs tails -- the most effective flies I have ever used.

 

Good luck,

Rocco

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also, make sure that the hide is comepletely tanned, not salted/dried. ive made the mistake of doing it with a dried hide and they just rip apart. cutting it is exactly like everyone said, although i use the popsicle stick method. for barring, use a templated with bars on it, dampen the fur and then color it with Kool aid or rits dye. they arent the same as the ones that you buy from the store but they work just as good. the coloring also will work out of the fur after a little while.

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Since I'm cutting strips for saltwater flies (standard zonker strips just won't do..) I've learned to cut my own strips using an ordinary clipboard to secure one end of the skin. Strips are marked out with a fine Sharpy pen, the pelt is attached to one end of the clipboard then pulled away from the board as it's stretched tight. For blades I've learned to use the old double edged razor blades (each one broken in half to make two blades). The very thin steel on these type of blades make a dramatic difference in the ease of cutting and leave a very clean edge on each strip that I cut (yes, you're going to be cutting one strip at a time using this method). Because the skin isn't touching any surface as the cut is made I hardly lose any hair at all making these strips. Hope this helps.

Tight Lines

Bob LeMay.

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Mr. Roadkill you obviously take your zonker strips very serious. Your cutting tools and jig are first rate. May I ask where you obtain the rabbit pelts that you use?

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I look for them at Craft stores and flyshops. I never pass up a skin that looks interesting because you never know if you will find it again. ;)

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Roadkill,

 

That jig is really slick! I notice you even allowed for adjustments inthe length of pelt. Nothing short of brilliant. I guess it also helps to have a workshop and skills that keep you at the ten fingered level.

 

Congrats,

Rocco

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I like your razor jig, try using carpet razors they cost around 10.00 bucks for a 100 and they are double sided and stiffer than safety razors.

 

Gonna have to make me jigs similar to what you did, nice.

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I cut my strips with single edge razor blades on a jig I made to hold the skins.

 

IMGP1528.jpg

IMGP15271.jpg

 

Nice setup on your jig and handles. I could have used it before. I will have to make one for sure.

 

Kevin

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Moving the skin, I find, is better than moving the blades. Just hold the cutter in a vice, put the skin in top and pull straight away from the cutter. Takes seconds to do a whole skin that way.

Cheers,

C.

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Here's a good video that makes it look real easy, pretty much the same thing as mentioned above (link)

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