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Knife Making Discussions A place to discuss issues related to all aspects of the custom knifemaking community. |
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#1
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stingray question
this is a bit off subject but....i was shopping for stingray pelts earlier and i started thinking about how every single skin ive seen for sale fell between 9" and 36" in length. but watching diving on tv and reading about it ive heard many accounts of stingrays with a 10+ foot "wingspan" whats the deal? are only certain species good for leather? are the larger ones protected?
its little questions like this that keep me up at night. |
#2
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Aren't the big ones Manta Rays? Manta Rays
I don't know what kind of stingrays they take the skins from, but here's some info on Atlantic Stingrays; Atlantic Stingray and Eagle Rays; Eagle Rays These links probably don't answer your question, but they are interesting. __________________ Christopher Meyer, Shenipsit Forge |
#3
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Different rays will hjave a different texture on the skin. the larger manta rays, cownose rays and similar rays will have skin textured more like a shark. The skate family of rays(the ones that sit on the bottom in the sand) will usually have the pebble grain look to them. the larger the ray, the larger the knobby grain. If you got a 5 or 6' wide ray, the knobs would be way too large to be an attractive handle material. The rays used for same(Japanese handle skins) have a very tight grain with a specific pattern along the spine.
If you live near a coast, hang out down by the fishing piers where the offshore boats come in. You can get all the shark skin and ray skin you want! |
#4
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thanks guys, good info. i didnt realize there were many species of rays..i had just assumed they were all stingrays the enlarged texture on large rays makes sense.
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#5
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Next time I go down surf fishing I'll skin a blacktip for you. We go down after the blacktips in may when they follow the schools of small bluefish. I'll salt/borax dry it. I've been wanting to mess with some for some Japanese blades also. Not quite sure how you get the stink out of fish skin without tanning it, though!!??
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#6
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that would be much appreciated Don. i havent a clue how to make fish smell unfishy either. all the stingray ive gotten smell fine though. now im going to have to research it
ive had no luck finding a sharkskin supplier in small quantities. stingray im all set for suppliers but shark isnt as common it seems. thanks, -jason |
#7
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Hello, there is a store on ebay selling sharkskin hides. Go to Ebay and type in # 8260414763, they sell smaller quantities and they charge something like $30.00 for 5 or 6 big pieces. The seller also sells lots of other exotic hides, the name of the store is leather-outlet. Hope this helps...
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#8
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thanks jeff,
i have been checking ebay off and on for the last few months with no luck..all i could find was items made from sharkskin. this time i found 3 suppliers, 1 looked low quality, 1 looked very high priced, but the one you suggested looks fair. i will be ordering some soon |
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