Beaver tail?

Pat Ct · August 01, 2018, 12:38:30 AM

I just got a bow with a beaver tail grip. Like it very much. Would like to install on other bows as well. Apart from Big Jim, where else can I get some? Brown or black about 4.5" x 9", the bigger, the better (Big hands=big grip). Planning on using a pricking iron. No holes for me, worked with leather before, holes rip much easier than diamond or flat point chisels

thanks gang!

Rough Run · August 01, 2018, 05:49:26 AM

You can find many options of size and color on the big auction site.
Don't make the same mistake I made - I have soaked and stretched into shape cowhide leather grips, so I tried it with my beaver tail. BAD idea. As soon as it hit the hot water, it began reverting to its original shape! It deformed and shrank a huge amount, and I cannot figure out how to reform it to try again! I am a complete amateur, so I should have checked YouTube before I tried!

BowArkie · August 01, 2018, 07:54:04 AM

Creeks, rivers, ponds or lakes..

Pat Ct · August 01, 2018, 12:36:33 PM

Jeff, was it tanned or natural? It's the fist time I've heard of that issue with the beaver and warm water. In fact, it is the way to go to mold it to the grip... Instructions I've seen and read almost exclusively indicate it as the only way to work it properly

Bill Turner · August 01, 2018, 01:04:49 PM

Contact Abe Penner at Caribow Archery. Different colors shipped with complete instructions. Just bought one for myself. $30.00 plus $3.00 shipping.

Rough Run · August 01, 2018, 04:07:23 PM

Pat, it was supposed to be tanned. I thought that was the route to go. Knowing so little about them, I don't know if it was actually tanned, or not! The experience was frustrating, so I've left it alone for a few months. I really like leather grips, especially beaver tail, with how I like to hold the bow. Having gotten used to the beaver tail, my other bows without grips seem ... incomplete! I may go the route Bill suggests, and just get a kit. But sooner or later, I'll figure out what went wrong on my attempt, so I can do my own.

ranger 3 · August 02, 2018, 06:32:59 PM

I just did one on my recurve and it turned out great, formed in water.

Pat Ct · August 02, 2018, 09:24:23 PM

I have a tail on the way, will see how I proceed once I get it in my hands. I hope I don't have to ask too many questions along the way

Charlie Lamb · August 02, 2018, 09:36:24 PM

Just how hot was the water?

erictetterton · August 03, 2018, 11:40:08 PM

Can't wait to see how it turns out. Ranger 3, nice work. Have you attempted to do a widow recurve? If so, pictures?

Rough Run · August 04, 2018, 04:48:23 AM

The water was pretty hot, Mr. Lamb - just on the brink of boiling, then sat in the the bowl for a few minutes.
I'd guess 175-180 degrees? Do you think that's where I made the mistake, by having the water too hot?

Charlie Lamb · August 04, 2018, 07:51:14 AM

If I had to guess I'd say yes, the water was way too hot. I doubt that you even need "warm" water. It's just that it seems like warm may penetrate more quickly but maybe not. Wet is wet and I'll bet the hot water was the problem.

ranger 3 · August 04, 2018, 08:17:40 AM

No Eric I haven't done a widow but it should be the same. I just used tap water to soaked it and wrapped it over night.

slowbowjoe · August 04, 2018, 08:32:47 AM

Charlie nailed it - I had the same problem with a deerskin grip and scalding hot water... shrank a nice piece down to unusable size, and stiffened it quite a bit in the process.

Pat Ct · August 04, 2018, 11:33:38 AM

Jeff, I'm guessing you cooked that tail!!

Cold or room temp water is perfectly OK.

Rough Run · August 04, 2018, 06:18:49 PM

Thanks, Charlie and Pat!
I don't know why, but it never occurred to me that the water being hot may have been the issue. I bet I did cook it! I'll order another soon, and give it another whirl! With my luck, I'll get the grip right this time but, not like it on this bow!

Hopewell Tom · August 04, 2018, 06:47:37 PM

So, the tail should probably be tanned, right?

I have one frozen in my freezer from a road kill and like the idea of trying this.

Rough Run · August 05, 2018, 05:32:11 AM

Honestly, Tom, I don't know if it matters as far as the grip itself. But I would think that tanning helps with the longevity of the tail, at least. Someone with leather working knowledge can speak to this, but I would guess that after you have it skinned, stretched and dry, you may want to put some sort of leather dressing on it (and maybe from the back side?) to keep it supple. That may soften it enough to work without soaking it in water?

Pat Ct · August 06, 2018, 03:51:39 PM

I don't know if this is allowed, if not please delete this post but: Does anyone have the article featured in the Oct-Nov 2010 issue of Traditional Bowhunters magazine? It was called "How to make a bow handle grip from a beaver tail".
So far this is the method I've used:

1. Soak tail in water until it's soft and pliable. 2. Wrap you bow handle area in a layer of plastic wrap. 3. Shape the beaver tail to the handle of the bow and secure it with a complete wrap from an Ace bandage. 4. Once tail has dried, cut to the desired finished dimensions you need. 5. Add contact cement to bow and beaver tail. 6. Press tail in place and stitch it up.

But I would like to see how else it can be done...

Thank you, Pat.