WILD FUR technical guide 02/16/2018
VARIETIES Beaver Beaver is found all over North America except in the Arctic regions. There are two sectional varieties of Beaver: Eastern and Western. Eastern beavers range in colour from black to dark brown while Western beavers range in colour from dark brown to extra pale. Both sectional varieties can be used natural (straight-haired) or sheared. The under-fur is silky, soft, velvety and extremely dense. The Eastern beaver is darker, silkier and tighter than the Western, but the better qualities in both are excellent for shearing. The guard hair, in comparison, is stiff, slightly rigid, long and completely covers the under-fur. Peak primeness occurs between December and March depending on latitude. Although most Beaver appear a reddish dark brown, there can be considerable colour variation among Beavers from any one region. Coyote Coyote is native to North America and is found from the Southern United States to Central and Southern Canada. There are two sections of Coyote: Western and Eastern. The Western section tends to be paler, with a silkier texture and deeper softer under-fur, making it ideal for a trimming piece. The Eastern section is typically larger, darker, more reddish, coarser with less under-fur and are typically larger than the Westerns. The Coyotes peak primeness occurs between December and February, depending on latitude. Fisher Fisher is trapped mainly in the northern regions of Canada and unlike most wild fur varieties, is sorted by sex. The females (SM) are smaller than the males, with a finer guard hair and silkier texture. The large males (LGE) are coarser, more uneven and have thicker, boardier leather while the smaller males () have a texture similar to the females. Fishers range in colour from dark brown to extra pale. Lynx Lynx inhabit the Northern regions of Canada and Alaska and are split into two sections: North West Territories and Northern. The NWT type makes up the bulk of the collection; they have a medium to heavy nap on the back and belly and usually much larger than the Northern type. The NWT backs are also more silvery and the bellies are heavier and clearer. The Northern section come from central and eastern areas of Canada and are more short nap, browner in colour and have heavier, boardier leather. The bellies are split for clarity, the clearest types with spotting being the most desirable. Lynx Cat (Bobcat) The Lynx Cat is found all over the United States and certain areas of southern Canada. Although there are several sections of Lynx Cats, they can be divided into three main groups: Western, Eastern Canadian and Southern. Regardless of section, the value of the Lynx cat is determined by the clarity of the belly; the wider, brighter the belly and the more distinct the spots the higher the market value. The Western section is a heavy to semi-heavy type, with a silky soft texture. This section has the brightest and clearest bellies of all sections. The Eastern Canadian section is large in size, with a heavy and dense fur on both the back and the belly. The back colour is a reddish brown colour but ordinary and dull and the bellies are generally slight off to off in clarity with very few spots. The Northern and North Central sections are similar but not as large or heavy in weight. The Southern section from the southern United States are generally very flat generally will have off coloured or dingy bellies. The South Western section is the best of the Southern types, with much brighter bellies with more distinct spots and they may have spotted backs. Marten (Can/Am Sable) Most Marten are harvested from the Northern United States, Canada and Alaska. There are two main sections of Marten:Heavy and Semi Heavy. The Heavy section has deeper, heavier, tighter under-fur with long guard hair and is usually larger and stretched wider than the Semi Heavy type. The Semi Heavy section is more intermediate in length, with under-fur that is not as deep or tight and the pelt is usually stretched narrower in width. The colour ranges from extra dark to extra pale, with many of the pale or extra pale may have an orangey cast on the flanks. Marten harvested from the Western United States tend to be coarser, flatter with looser under-fur and a large orange throat patch. These are referred to as Montana or Cascade types.
Musquash (Muskrat) There are two main sections of Musquash; Eastern and Central. The Eastern section is from Eastern Canada and the North Eastern United States. These types of musquash are darker in colour, with a fine silky texture to the guard hair, and an under-fur that is blueish in colour. The Central section is from the Central and Western areas of Canada and the United States. These Musquash tend to be browner in colour with a coarser texture and boardier, less supple leather. Musquash is graded by the seasons of the year; Fall, Winter, and Spring, and by the texture, colour and consistency of the leather. Otter This is another aquatic furbearer that is found all over North America with the exception of the Arctic regions of Northern Canada and Alaska. The Otter are sorted into two sections: Central and Southern. The Central section is medium napped with dense under-fur, with regular to heavyweight leather. These skins are very durable and ideal for either natural use or shearing.the colour ranges from extra dark to pale depend on the region the Otters come from. The Southern type is found in the southern United States and is much flatter, paler, with lighter leather and singe that is more prevalent. The colour ranges from brown to extra pale. The colours are all divided by clarity depending on the amount of reddish tint to the fur. Raccoon Raccoon are found all over the United States and Southern Canada, and are divided into two main sections: Eastern and Western. The Western section is the most desirable because it has deeper under-fur, longer, silkier guard hair with more silvery flanks and generally better colour. The Eastern section has less character; it has a darker appearance and is woolier in texture. Each of these two main sections are divided into Canadian, Northern, North Central, Semi Heavy and Central sections based on the depth of the under-fur. All sections of Raccoon are coloured based on clarity or the amount yellow or orangey cast in the under-fur. Red Fox The Red Fox is divided into three types; Heavy, Semi Heavy, and Central, based on the depth of the under-fur and the length of the guard hair. The Heavy type has deep heavy under-fur with long guard hair, while the Semi Heavy type is more of an intermediate length and the Central type is shorter and flatter. The colour of the Red Fox ranges from extra dark, which is a deep cherry red colour, to extra pale, which is a yellowish straw colour. Generally Foxes from Eastern Canada and the United States are darker in colour than the Western areas. There are two other colour phases of the wild fox: Cross Fox, Silver Fox and Grey Fox. Wild Mink Wild Mink are found all over North America with the exception of the Arctic and is another article that is sorted by sex prior to grading. There are three main sections of Wild Mink: Northern, North Central and Central. The Northern section comes from Northern Canada and has a shorter nap, very silky guard hair and soft, blue underfur. The colour is consistent and ranges from dark to dark brown. The North Central section comes from the southern areas of Canada and Northern United States. These mink have an intermediate nap length, with slightly longer guard but are silky in texture. The colour ranges from dark to light brown. The Central section tends to be larger in size and have a longer nap and is coarser in texture. There is a much wider range in the colour: from dark brown to pale/ extra pale and the Southern types may have a distinct reddish cast. In addition, NAFA s wild fur assortment includes: Artic Fox, Cross Fox, Grey Fox, Silver Fox, Badger, Bear, Cougar, Ermine, Nutria, Opossum, Ringtail, Squirrel, Timber Wolf, and Wolverine.
SECTIONS Sections refer to the geographical location from which the pelt was harvested and indicate hair traits that are inherent to the area. Generally, moving from West to East, and from North to South, fur becomes flatter and darker. ABBREVIATION AK CDN CEN EST ENC E/SH NC NTH NWT STH SC SE SW USA WST WC WNC WNOR W/SH REGION ALASKA CANADIAN CENTRAL EASTERN EAST NORTH CENTRAL EASTERN SEMI HEAVY NORTH CENTRAL NORTHERN NORTH WEST TERRITORIES SOUTHERN SOUTH CENTRAL SOUTH EASTERN SOUTH WESTERN USA WESTERN WEST CENTRAL WEST NORTH CENTRAL WESTERN NORTHERN WESTERN SEMI HEAVY
GRADES SUPER SELECT Top quality. Free of imperfections. Reserved for NAFA Top Lots. SELECT: I FIRST: Best possible quality. These are full-bodied, fully prime skins with dense underfur and good coverage. Leather is clear, fur and leather are free of imperfections. Very good quality. These are fully prime, fully covered skins except for very slight weakness on the flanks (guard hair weakness). Pelts have full. dense under-wool and a full belly. Leather may have minor imperfections and have a slightly blueish tint to the leather. I-II: Slightly over-prime, or slightly under-prime. Slightly open showing weakness. Has a visible lack of guard hair coverage on the flank and back, or lacking density of under- wool. II: Over-prime or under-prime pelts with very weak, open coverage on flanks and back, or very loose under-wool. Pelt has a rough, ragged, and dull appearance. May have blue leather. Minor slight damage accepted. SLIGHT DAMAGE A: Select or I quality skins with up to 10% of the leather or fur damaged by way of holes, scars, tears, mats or patches of missing fur. SLIGHT DAMAGE B: I-II and II quality skins with up to 10% of the leather or fur damaged by way of holes, scars, tears, mats or patches of missing fur. DAMAGE 1: SELECT or I quality skins that are up to 25% damaged. DAMAGE 2: SELECT or I quality skins that are up to 50% damaged or I-II and II quality skins that are up to 25% damaged. DAMAGE 3: I-II quality skins that are up to 50% damaged or II quality skins that are up to 25% damaged. III-DAMAGE: III quality skins that are up to 25% damaged or better-quality skins that are more than 50% damaged. IV FOURTH: Summer skins, badly damaged pieces. Very limited commercial value. V FIFTH: Summer skins, badly damaged pieces. No commercial value.
COLOURS BLK BLACK 3XP TRIPLE EXTRA PALE XD EXTRA DARK MXD MIXED DBR DARK BROWN TNY TAWNY BR BROWN LTY LIGHT TAWNY LBR LIGHT BROWN GRY GREY IUM RED RED PL PALE GC GOOD COLOUR XP EXTRA PALE OC ORDINARY COLOUR XXP DOUBLE EXTRA PALE PC POOR COLOUR BL BLUE CLARITIES 1X EXTRA CLEAR 5 EXTRA RED 1 CLEAR 6 BLUE 2 SLIGHT OFF 7 RED RIM 3 OFF 8 STAIN 4 RED
SIZES BY VARIETY RACCOON SIZE 6XL Over 104.0 cm Over 41 5XL 96.5 104.0 cm 38 41 4XL 89.0 96.5 cm 35 38 3XL 81.0 89.0 cm 32 35 2XL 73.5 81.0 cm 29 32 XL 68.5 73.5 cm 27 29 LGE 61.0 68.0 cm 24 27 LM 55.0 60.0 cm 22 24 51.0 55.0 cm 20 22 Under 51.0 cm Under 20 COYOTE SIZE 2XL Over 106.5 cm Over 42 XL LGE 92.0 106.5 cm 36 42 Under 92.0 cm Under 36 BEAVER SIZE 2XL 3XL Over 165.0 cm Over 65 XL 152.5 165.0 cm 60 65 LGE 140.0 152.5 cm 55 60 LM 129.5 140.0 cm 51 55 119.5 129.5 cm 47 51 107.0 119.5 cm 42 47 XSM- Under 107.0 cm Under 42 SABLE (MARTEN) SIZE 3XL Over 64.0 cm Over 25 2XL 58.5 64.0 cm 23 25 XL 53.5 58.5 cm 21 23 LGE 46.0 53.5 cm 18 21 40.5 46.0 cm 16 18 Under 40.5 cm Under 16 OTTER SIZE 3XL Over 106.7 cm Over 42 2XL 101.6 106.7 cm 40 42 XL 96.5 101.6 cm 38 40 LGE 86.5 96.5 cm 34 38 LM 81.0 86.5 cm 32 34 76.5 81.0 cm 30 32 Under 76.5 cm Under 30 FISHER SIZE LGE Over 71.0 cm Over 28 63.5 71.0 cm 25 28 * (*Females Only) Under 63.5 cm Under 25
OPOSSUM SIZE 4XL Over 66.0 cm Over 26 3XL 61.0 66.0 cm 24 26 2XL 56.0 61.0 cm 22 24 XL/LGE 46.0 56.0 cm 18 22 - Under 46.0 cm Under 18 ERMINE SIZE 2XL Over 38.0 cm Over 15 XL 33.0 38.0 cm 13 15 11 13 LGE 28.0 33.0 cm 23.0 28.0 cm 9 11 Under 23.0 cm Under 9 MUSQUASH (MUSKRAT) SIZE 3XL Over 43.0 cm Over 17 2XL 39.5 43.0 cm 15.5 17 14 15.5 XL 35.5 39.5 cm LGE 33.0 35.5 cm 13 14 29.0 33.0 cm 11.5 13 25.5 28.0 cm 10 11.5 XSM- Under 25.5 cm Under 10 RED FOX SIZE XL - LGE Over 71.0 cm Over 28 - Under 71.0 cm Under 28 WILD MINK SIZE XL LGE Over 53.5 cm Over 21 19 21 LM 48.9 53.5 cm 43.0 48.9 cm Over 17 Under 43.0 cm Under 17 LYNX SIZE XL Over 99.0 cm Over 39 LGE 89.0 99.0 cm 35 39 79.0 89.0 cm 31 35 Under 79.0 cm Under 31 LYNX CAT (BOBCAT) SIZE 2XL Over 101.6 cm Over 40 XL 91.5 101.6 cm 36 40 LGE 81.0 91.5 cm 32 36 71.0 81.0 cm 28 32 61.0 71.0 cm 24 28 XSM Under 61.0 cm Under 24