Post
by Greenwell » Thu Mar 21, 2019 8:38 am
Here's my instructions for water blending as I outline in my "Spider Resource Sheers."
To process a Hare's Mask, (I usually do 3 or 4 at a time, enough for several hundred flies) take a sharp pair of scissors and remove as much of the brown, mottled fur from the ears as possible. Work from the tip of the ear towards the base and get the scissors as close as you can to the skin before cutting. Collect this fur in a pile or container. Now cut all the fur from the forehead and between the eyes (poll) and keep separate. You can cut the sandy colored fur from the cheeks as well, and lastly I cut away anything else that looks useful and keep it in a separate pile, I call this "Hare's Blend". Each of these piles will be blended separately so don't mix them up.
You'll need a clean jar of about a pint capacity with a tight fitting lid, (a jam jar is perfect) a small wire mesh tea strainer, (you can find these at your local Dollar Store) and some Crème Rinse Hair Conditioner, any brand is OK. I often just use the tiny bottles Of Conditioner from hotels. Most just say "Conditioner" on them. I haven't found that any brand gives better results than another. Just don’t use shampoo, it will make a sudsy mess! Fill the jar about half full with warm tap water, put in the Ear Fur and about a teaspoon of the conditioner. Screw on the lid and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds or so, then pour the contents into the tea strainer. Swirl a bit more water in the jar to get all the fur out and pour through the strainer. It will look like you have lost a good deal of the fur but it'll all be there. Keeping the fur in the strainer, rinse well under warm running tap water, then squeeze as dry as possible, remove the fur to a few layers of paper towel or newspaper, squeeze against the paper to blot up the moisture and let dry completely overnight before storing in a Zip-lock bag or other sealed container. Repeat with the remaining furs you have kept separate; these will give you several distinct colored/textured dubbings from a single mask. If you haven't tried this before you're in for a treat; it will be the cleanest, easiest to dub fur you can imagine and becomes almost silky in texture.
This process works with almost any fur. Mole, rabbit, muskrat, beaver, fox, and mohair, are wonderful when treated this way. You can also blend furs of different colors, textures, etc. together, or add chopped synthetics; whatever you like. For example, muskrat and fox makes a nice blend. Experiment!
