Badger alert!

[Smayniac]

So I took the plunge and started cutting into our friend tonight. Here are the parts I anticipate using in this project, not including such notions as needles and thread:



And here he is after the first couple of cuts:



The big surprise was the inside:



Although he looks like a single piece on the outside, he has definitely been stitched up some from the inside, and a fine job at that. I'm not sure what the reason is, but I guess I'll need to be certain the stitching is secure before I proceed.

Bob

[Joe Gondek]

The head and fur are definitely Badger but the tail looks a little too long.Is it an add on?

[Smayniac]

What I'm noticing is that the fur is colored only at the tips. Once I get down into the thickness, it bleaches out. The original posting on GW was for a "fox" and the size of the head is consistent with that; Turpin and Kevin suggested above that the head had been reshaped to appear more canine. I wonder if it isn't a fox afterall that was dyed to look like badger(why??). Here is a closeup of the fur from the back:



and here is a quick mockup of what I think he'll look like:



I'm going to take a leaf from Turpin's book and make the flap removable. Even though with the tail and paws there it isn't likely that I'll be interested in using it with a different flap, I'm going to leave myself the option. The other thing that does is make it easier for me to work on him if I ever get the guts to try and reshape the head.

Bob

[arrg-isle]

The head and fur are definitely Badger but the tail looks a little too long.Is it an add on?

If it's a badger, it's befinitely a British one, locally termed a brock; I've trapped and skun a number of American badgers, and observed several dozen more in the wild, and I've never seen one that looks like the one being pictured. The head, ear & nose structure, and a lot of the markings, are notably different.
If it's indeed a brock, the age & origin might be critical to know, as they've been protected by strict British law now for many years!
When I wear my Jacobite weskitt, as I most often due to support my fly plaid at Highland games, I wear a full-mask American badger pelt draped down from my left shoulder, as an under-base for my brooch & plaid corner.

[Smayniac]

If it's a badger, it's befinitely a British one, locally termed a brock; I've trapped and skun a number of American badgers, and observed several dozen more in the wild, and I've never seen one that looks like the one being pictured. The head, ear & nose structure, and a lot of the markings, are notably different.
If it's indeed a brock, the age & origin might be critical to know, as they've been protected by strict British law now for many years!

Thanks for the lead on the critter.

I was careful to get copies of the website I bought it from and to document the conversion from stole to sporran. I also put the label from the original furrier inside the flap of the sporran. I have no documentation on the age of the original piece; it was in good shape, all linings and interfacings intact and undamaged. I don't know if the furrier who created the piece is still in business or not.

All that said, I doubt I will be in the UK anytime soon, and I'll just remember not to take him with me if I go over there.

Bob