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Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head
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Subject: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: wilco Date: 29 Oct 02 - 08:57 AM Mudcat has made me much more sensitive to some of my provincial, native Tennessee(USA)practices. But, on the subject of skinning housecats to make banjo heads, I need some clarification. Is the problem that you are bringing one more banjo into the world? |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Hollowfox Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:10 AM As long as the cat died (as opposed to being killed for the purpose), I see it more as practical recycling. As far as I'm concerned, it's hard to have too many musical instruments in the house. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: fretless Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:13 AM There are never too many banjos in the world; however, Frank Proffitt was recorded as saying that it is wrong to kill your neighbor's LAST cat for banjo strings. All other felines are up for grabs. Note also that he was talking about (gut) strings. For the banjo head, you really should skin your neighbor's calf. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: greg stephens Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:25 AM Think I agree with Fretless on this. I've just been eying up the cat and my banjo and I'm sure it's not big enough for the head.Some of the neighbours' dogs look fine though. I'm using goat at the moment. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Jeri Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:37 AM This is NOT funny. (Somebody had to say it, and I got there first - nyah, nyah.) At least under normal circumstances. It would be absolutely hilarious to think about if your cat just ate your hamster or shit in your guitar case. I believe one of our local musicians went to see a group and one member had had his dog turned into a bodhran head when it shuffled off this mortal coil. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: InOBU Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:43 AM Dogs make very good Bodhran heads. In fact, I used to make drums (Goat skins - before you sharpen your knives...) one day a woman asked me to reskin her drum (made by someone else) with a skin "just like the torn one". I told her I didn't think she wanted to that, she asked why and I showed her the wee notation inside her drum D - skin... the thought that was the KEY THE DRUM WAS IN! No, says, I, that was the dog that lost the race at the track! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Willie-O Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:49 AM Ethical: only if it was roadkill, and only if it was an accident. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: katlaughing Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:10 AM Only if you have a death wish! katspeakingforcatseverywhere |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: EBarnacle1 Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:18 AM The question, as always, is: Which is more annoying, the banjo or the cat? |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Dead Horse Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:24 AM When actually acquiring the skin, I find it is a big mistake to use a shotgun! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: alanabit Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:25 AM Making a dead cat into a bodhran or a banjo is one of the few ways in which a cat can make a more annoying racket dead than alive. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Grab Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:51 AM Sure it's not funny. An excess of cats is no joke when you have to clean up after the little bastards. Unfortunately I don't possess the practical skills to do anything with the skin afterwards, else I'd have a lovely lot of furry gloves by now... Graham. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: EBarnacle1 Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:59 AM There are plenty of texts on tanning at your local library. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Dead Horse Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:02 AM I tried tanning at my local library, they threw me out! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Steve in Idaho Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:03 AM This is indeed a dilema. I'd have to agree that if the cat died a fairly natural death then it would be prudent recycling. Then again - calf skin works better and you can eat the calf. Well you can eat the cat also but only if it hasn't bloated up to much prior to skinning and cooking. Norton now runs for cover amid the chaos of probable whipping with a "cat o nine tails" - how many cats died to keep that one alive? LMAO - Steve |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Rick Fielding Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:04 AM Kate and Allie (they were named BEFORE we got them!!) have just run downstairs to confirm that I ONLY use plastic heads! .......oops.....I forgot about the LITTLE banjo uke!! Rick |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: chip a Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:14 AM Really, cats (big ones) make great heads. A nice thin skin which has a bright sound. Slip the hair in a mixture of oak ash and water. Kinda messy but not too hard. Gives kitty a whole new life! Chip |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: catspaw49 Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:14 AM **Spaw peruses names on this thread and decides, what the hell....post it** I think instrument people have enough problems without invoking the wrath of animal rights folks. Like Emos Laer Parc, who was a Scandanavian Violin maker in upstate New York and had apprenticed in Germany. He set up a business in N.Y. building a very high dollar and high quality violin. Parc was killed by one of his customers about 5 years ago. Actually, it was the father of a young man who was known to be an up and coming violinist. They had sought out Parc and he made them a very custom model which by all reports was exceptional. The boy was quite satisfied I guess but about a year later he failed to take a first place in a junior competition in New York City. Evidently the father couldn't believe this was any fault of the boy and blamed it instead on the violin. The father and son went to Parc's shop on numerous occasions and although the boy was polite according to others who witnessed these scenes, the father was adamant that Parc's fiddle had been the kid's undoing and that he should have purchased one of the better known European models. Parc offered to make any adjustments the son might want, but refused to refund the money. I guess he had several well known violinists play the instrument and they all confirmed it's quality and sound. The final meeting came one night when the father showed up unexpectedly and shot Parc with a .357.....in front of witnesses. The trial was pretty quick and the guy got a life sentence for Second Degree Murder as a result of domestic violins. Sorry.......(Emos Laer Parc = some real crap) Spaw....yeah, it's the 4th time in two days I've posted this tripe.......so sue me.... |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: MMario Date: 29 Oct 02 - 11:26 AM I think you're using admirable restraint - all things considered. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:09 PM It is about time someone addressed this issue. While I have nothing against cats, dogs, goats, calves or any other animal whose skin may used for a banjo head, they are all , at least, domestic animals. It is when banjoists start using the skins of endangered species that I draw the line. Consider the mylar. The last thirty years have seen a tremendous increase in the use of mylar banjo heads. As most of you are probably unaware, the mylar is a medium-sized rodent-like animal that lives in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. At one time, there were so many mylars in Tibet and Nepal that one could hardly walk without stepping on three or four. The only use that the natives had for the critters was to occasionally throw a couple in the stew-pot for flavoring. One day some American hippy banjo players who were traveling around Nepal sampling the local herbs caught a few mylars, skinned them, and had mylar-kabobs for supper. When they awoke the next morning they discovered that the skins form the deceased mylars had dried become incredibly strong and absolutely crystal clear. One of the banjoists happened to have torn the calfskin head on his instrument and spent the morning replacing it with the dried mylar skin. When he tried it out, the banjo practically barked. Right then, they knew they were onto something. They skinned a few more mylars, put the skins in their backpacks and returned to the States with them. Then, they set up shop making banjo heads and contracted with Nepalese peasants to ship them as many mylar skins as they could procure. The rest is, as they say, history. As of this writing, the Himalayan mylar population is only about one per cent of what it was thirty years ago. The poor little beasts have been driven to the brink of extinction by tone-hungry banjo freaks. Furthermore, we've all heard the expression "There's more than one way to skin a cat". Well, there's only one way to skin a mylar and it's very painful for the little guys. Please do your part. Boycott mylar banjo heads. Join the "Save the Mylar Foundation". Send extravagant contributions by check, money order, or wire transfer. PM me for address and/or account and routing information. Bruce |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: kendall Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:21 PM Conversation between a tourist and a mink farmer. "Tell me sir, how often do you skin those mink"? "More than once a year makes them nervous." |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: katlaughing Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:29 PM Why not skin a banjo player, once he dies naturally, and give him some new life? At least he'd be able to give consent beforehand. Bruce, does that mean that if I skinned my Rog for a banjo, I could replace certain of his parts, which I might miss, with mylar? Can it be fashioned into certain shapes? *bg* katsharpeningherclaws |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Coyote Breath Date: 29 Oct 02 - 12:34 PM Being a "Meisenheimer" (I've been told it is Bavarian slang for a nit picker) by birth as well as inclination; I believe that it needs be unborn calf (slunk) for the banjo head. That is why you get that "slunky" sound from a non-plastic head! Bodhrans use goat, of course (as in the "Peeler and the Goat") and the Scotts' version uses sheep. Or so I am told. Tanning is very easy, but messy, and should be done in a space that can stand slop. Lye will remove hair. Any good oily substance will replace the oily material in the skin (well maybe not motor oil) and smoking the hide (hanging up in smoke, not inhaling) will "waterproof" it. Willow makes it dark, oak, light, in color. Working the oils back into the hydrated and scraped skin is labor intensive but there are ways to make it somewhat easier. Additionally, tan only if you can devote the time to it without too mych interruption. It is OK to do it peicemeal but if it is being done outdoors over a period of a few days weather can mess up the hide. CB |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: AggieD Date: 29 Oct 02 - 01:07 PM I amost had a ready & waiting cat after I stomped on one of my cats today,(she was under my feet thinking that I was going to give her another nice tasty bit of the smoked salmon we had just had for lunch). Sorry I'll just try to do it a bit harder next time, provided the money's right.!!! ;-) Aggie |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Gareth Date: 29 Oct 02 - 02:05 PM Didn't Rolf Harris to a song on a similar theme ? Gareth _ (Ducking Hard) |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: GUEST,Les B. Date: 29 Oct 02 - 04:00 PM Coyote Breath - I may be wrong, but I think the tanning you describe would make the skin soft and suitable for sewing pouches, garments, etc. I think what is needed is just the raw, dehaired & defleshed hide, before the oil and smoking ? Of course, according to Bob Flescher in his Medicine Show song, what to rub on the nipples if they protrude from the head can be another problem :)!! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: wysiwyg Date: 29 Oct 02 - 04:09 PM I talked it over with our tough-guy cat, Leonidas the Terrible. He says he's fine with your idea, to skin your cat, as long as he can skin me first for a catbox cover. ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: wilco Date: 29 Oct 02 - 05:36 PM Thanks to all. It appears that the questions have been answered: yes, no,yes, and no. I am taking my swimming trunks to the library tonight, so that I can tan while I research Offenokee Mylars. These are native to the swamps and everglades of Florida. They are very numerous. The really large ones are inflated to make air bags in cars. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: GUEST,Chicken Charlie Date: 29 Oct 02 - 06:01 PM Bruce-- I think you're over-reacting. The Himalayan mylar population would renew itself if the Native Americans hadn't convinced the Supreme Court that mylar-skinning is a necessary part of their religion. Now, African killer mylars are another thing entirely. CC |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Steve Latimer Date: 29 Oct 02 - 07:20 PM 'Spaw, That's enough!!! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: wysiwyg Date: 29 Oct 02 - 07:59 PM Doc Watson's new "Legacy" CD includes his story of a fortuitously-provided banjo skin.... ~Susan |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 29 Oct 02 - 09:50 PM Wilco & Chicken Charlie As I am sure you are both aware, both the "Giant Okefenokee Mylar" and the "African Killer Mylar" are not true mylars at all. They are related to the true Himalayan mylar in the same fashion that the "Tasmanian Wolf" is related to true wolves - strictly a matter of appearance with absolutely no true genetic relationship. As Wilco pointed out, the skin of the Okefenokee Mylar is indeed used for vehicle airbags and exceptionally large specimens have been used to make helium balloons for NOAA. The African Killer Mylar is, of course used for the smaller helium-filled balloons which invariably slip out of young fingers and float out over the ocean. When these balloons do eventually deflate they fall onto the ocean where hungry sea turtles mistake them for jellyfish and choke to death on them. Hence the name "Killer". And, of course, there is also the "Mexican Matte-finish Mylar" which is the source of skins used for drafting film and overhead projector transparencies. None of these faux mylars have a skin which is suitable for use as a banjo head. The only source for banjo quality mylar skins remains the endangered Himalayan mylar. It would be a moot issue if it were possible to raise Himalayan mylars in captivity. However, their diet consists entirely of a particular species of fungus which only grows in Yeti faeces. They must be free to forage for this food source or they will perish. At current rates of "harvesting" the Himalayan mylar will be extinct in less than five years. Please do you part to help prevent this tragedy. The next time you need a banjo head, don't think, "Mylar". Think, "Aunt Sylvia's Moggie". Bruce |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: khandu Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:02 PM Spaw...What a story! Is it true? Sounds like some kind of parable about striving too much for imperfection, or ... tales of the Disfunctional-in-Denial Dad. k |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: catspaw49 Date: 29 Oct 02 - 10:54 PM ATTENTION MUDCATTERS !!! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: EBarnacle1 Date: 30 Oct 02 - 12:18 AM The Himalayan Mylar problem was compounded by the fact that, without the Mylar consuming the fungi which consumed the yeti feces, the fungi were taking over the local environment and threatening the yeti themselves. Fortunately, an enterprising Tibetan capitalist noted that, without a viable population of Mylars about, the Gross Domestic product of Tibet was dropping [not from yaks or yeti], as there was nothing left for the Nepalese to sell to the outside world for a profit. The vegetables growing on the mountainsides were dying of anoxia due to the lack of catalytic action from the Mylar urine. [There are no simple ecologies.] Ngum, the TC, experimented with the only remaining resource at hand and discovered that yeti faeces, when properly treated, served as an excellent antibiotic for resistant bacteria. Due to the threat created by the American Patriot Act, the FDA was persuaded to fast track approval of this derivative substance for use in the United States. With the demand for this resource, Ngum really was able to clean up, as well as bringing in money to feed his hungry fellow Tibetans. In addition, an enterprising ad man persuaded his employers to corner the market on stray cats for instrument heads. You may have seen their ad in SingOUT: "Cathead, the head that keeps on purring." |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Clinton Hammond Date: 30 Oct 02 - 01:32 AM Where did I read recently that cat-gut strings was NEVER made from cats... Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader I think... |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Bert Date: 30 Oct 02 - 02:00 AM Actually our Seamus swears that in parts of Ireland Bodhrans are made of dog skin. He says they pronounce that particular variety "Bow Wow Rhans" |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Coyote Breath Date: 30 Oct 02 - 02:02 AM Les B.: Oh , yeah... that's right, ya need to NOT tan but to allow to UN-hydrate so you get "rawhide", I was thinking of an upcoming project to launch as soon as deer season comes up. But now, thinking more clearly, it would be great to make a couple of banjo heads instead of leggings. Hard to play a legging anyway. CB |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Dead Horse Date: 30 Oct 02 - 04:54 AM All this talk of Mylars, air bags, etc. has set me thinking. The old airships were skinned with a variety of materials, including aluminium. What if we were to use metalic banjo skins? Would we create a new beast on the lines of a Dobro guitar? What would we call it? A Dobjo? Perhaps a Bandro? I'm off to bed now, matron is coming down the hall. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: GUEST,Maldenny Date: 30 Oct 02 - 05:25 AM Metallic banjo skins - too late, it's been done already. There's a chap near here who makes banjos from old ham tins. Says they were all the rage in the US during the early 1900s. With Christmas coming up, it's a new use for all those big biscuit tins! mal |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Charley Noble Date: 30 Oct 02 - 08:51 AM It's about time this discussion came to a head... Charley Noble |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: wilco Date: 30 Oct 02 - 09:29 AM If anyone is near SE Tennessee, come on by. I need some help. I decided to try this in a more humane way. I got fluffy prepped on a little shine in some tuna. When he recovered, he sure didn't seem to stay on the hoop. The strings seem to help holding him down. It took two tries, and be sure to put the head to the back side. If you mount the head up, you will have to play realllly, realllly fast! |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: banjoman Date: 31 Oct 02 - 07:03 AM I presume that you have either a pretty big cat or a very small banjo. As to the "catgut "strings - these originated in Wales a land of song and "sheep Sh***gers" The history of those animals from the Himalayas reminds me of a tale I was told at my mothers knee when I was about 25. She claimed to have got her first job in 1914 in a factory in Liverpool where they used steel wool to knit kettles, and produced steel guitars as a side line.. I have tried it but the difficult bit is finding a volunteer to hold the skein around their wrists while the yarn is wound into a ball suitable for knitting. The factory down the road used to manufacture ear rings for Indians and was known locally as "The E(I)ngineering works. Have fun and keep them coming. |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Coyote Breath Date: 31 Oct 02 - 12:20 PM I wonder what a banjo head made from those big, deep, popcorn tins would sound like? CB |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Amos Date: 31 Oct 02 - 12:25 PM Same sound as Mudchat makes when people are bounced electronically through the revolving door.... Sproiiiing..... A |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: AggieD Date: 31 Oct 02 - 12:27 PM I'm sure those huge baked bean cans would sound a gas Ag |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: GUEST,jp Date: 31 Oct 02 - 12:53 PM alas..... alas ...... so many cats....... so few recipes....... |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: Allan C. Date: 31 Oct 02 - 03:07 PM Truly it would take a very large cat to fit most banjos. As a rule of thumb consider thinking in terms of an inch of girth per pound. Thus, if you have a 14 inch banjo head, you would probably require at least a fifteen pound cat (remembering to allow for overlap). Personally, I prefer and recommend groundhogs for the purpose. The same rule of thumb applies; but it should be noted that acquiring a groundhog in the larger sizes is not at all difficult in much of the eastern United States. Besides, there are very few other uses for a dead groundhog and the skin is both thin and durable. Many older banjo pickers in Virginia and West Virginia strongly prefer groundhog skin to calf or mylar. The problem, of course, is that groundhogs are not ubiquitous throughout the banjo-playing world. In the U.S. there are regions where armadillos seem to replace the (roadkill) niche that groundhogs occupy in other areas. Unfortunately, I am not aware of a satisfactory process by which armadillo hide can be used for a banjo head; but am certainly willing to learn from anyone who has practical experience. In the UK one might discover that badger skin could serve satisfactorily, although I have not yet heard of such a practice. Elsewhere, marmots might possibly serve the purpose, but are not normally of a size large enough. For this reason I believe that a favorable financial impact to the poorer Appalachian areas of the United States might be possible through the export of groundhog hides already prepared and ready for banjo application. I am investigating the possibility of securing federal funding for a regional impact study of the potential financial upswing such an endeavor would produce. I will also seek further federal funding to study the potential impact upon the groundhog population. Once these are accomplished and a pilot operation is proved to be successful it will then be time to begin the full scale operation. Folks, clearly, this is a ground floor opportunity to own a piece of a "turnkey" operation. For only a small investment you could become a part of this important industry. Don't miss this chance to realize your dreams. You could actually own your very own groundhog hiding and banjo head manufacturing plant! Please PM me for details as to where to send your investments. (Offer void where prohibited.) |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: MMario Date: 31 Oct 02 - 03:37 PM Rumour hath it that a properly prepared hide from a wild haggis is almost as good as that from a mylar. Can anyone verify? |
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Subject: RE: Ethics: Skinning housecat for banjo head From: SharonA Date: 31 Oct 02 - 03:50 PM Re groundhog banjo heads: I wouldn't recommend locating your manufacturing plant anywhere near Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where Groundhog Day is their biggest business! A former neighbor of mine would call a groundhog a "grinny", so I guess that a banjo player playing a banjo with a groundhog-hide head would be "a-pickin' and a-grinnyin' ". (Just a little Hee-Haw humor, there....) |
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