Need help with decision.

Okay. I had posted about my bracer that I had finished. My next piece of work is the quiver that I had been researching and working on. I have a bit of a dilemma here. I have some rabbit fur that I had gotten for free from my neighbor to use, but I don't know if I should use it for my quiver. So I wanted to ask for your opinions! Should I put the fur on or leave it off?

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...dd2913646a.jpg

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...52e8918050.jpg

Pros and cons in my opinion:

Pros:
Keeps arrows quiet
Looks nice

Cons:
Harder to clean

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WOw, that looks fantastic!!!
Personally I would leave it on ― As you said, keeps 'em quiet, and I would assume that it also makes for a better hold!
As long as you don't plan on dragging that thing through the mud, how much to clean can there be? :)

I'm not a fan of the fur... If it was hide, I'd be okay, but the fur is a little bit much for me. maybe if there was less coming out of the top and if it was brown, it would better suit my taste... but it's not for me... lol.

How much harder to clean?

I would be worried that a better hold would make it difficult to take out arrows with ease if you have lots, like it would go to pull out an arrow and a couple others get pulled out with it.

But I personally really like the fur, though. So I vote for leaving it on! Looks great. 😄

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Thanks for the responses!

I can clarify what I meant by 'harder to clean'. I have absolutely no idea how to clean fur besides giving over my auntie's rabbit fur coat to the dry cleaners. Lol so what I meant by harder to clean I mean, it'll take more research on my end to figure it out. Now arrows, in my experience, do not stay squeaky clean either. I've had to clean them from weird mud splatters before and sometimes I didn't know there was mud or dirt until after I put my arrows away. Cleaning leather hide is easy for me. Cleaning fur is a bit foreign. :confusd:

From what I experimented with, this quiver can hold up to 5-6 arrows with field points comfortably. It might hold 7 or 8 if you want to push it. Both with fur and without. It can hold maybe three or four broadheads if I decide to put in a foam plug at the bottom. But for now this is just my target practice quiver.

I would personally go without. There's no need to put fur on a quiver than for aesthetic purpose and it might even cause your arrowheads to snag.
If you were to use fur, id use something less fluffy and in a more matching colour to the leather. As is, it's sort of clashing.

I do taxidermy and I can tell you that you are not going to want to clean rabbit fur. ;) If this is a quiver you plan to use then I'd say no fur. Fur is for decorative quivers that sit on the wall staying clean.

Well, I like the fur. I raise rabbits on dirt, but even the white ones never seem to look dirty. Dusty, sometimes, but not dirty. Are the arrows given a coat of grease? (I know nothing about archery.)

Arrows aren't greased. I do use a mix of aluminum and wooden arrows. The wooden ones I believe are sealed with maybe poly. I think. lol feels like it.

Anyway, thanks for all of the responses and insights so far.

here are more of my thoughts:

The fur does look nice on the quiver in my honest opinion. However, it may be just that. For looks. lol As a first time quiver maker, I wanted to experiment to see if I could build one that was beautiful to look at and functional in the field. I had made just that with or without the fur.

Now it does keep the arrows quiet but maybe I should go more towards a sheepskin liner if I want something more practical instead of looks.

What do you think?

Sheepskin or felt on the inside for easy cleaning would work.

Even just getting tanned fur wet takes a lot of maintenance to make it look fluffy again.

I'm not a big fan of bunny fur - the skin itself is thin and fragile, and the ones I've gotten seem to shed a lot. If you want to line the quiver or just the top edge, I second the suggestion of felt or shearling.

My leatherworking:
http://otternecessities.com/gallery/


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If you want it quiet enough to hunt with you will want foam insertso to prevent any movement at all and keep your broadheads from cutting through the quiver itself. If you are just using it for fun shooting, noise should not matter, use it the way you like it.
Check out Archery talk. In the traditional section you will find lots of ideas and get great feedback on stuff like this.

Okay so I slept on it last night and I've decided to actually leave the fur out. Looks nice but I need something functional. I'll have to think about what I'll do with that bunny skin though.

I may just make another back quiver for costuming or LARPs. I need more practice in leatherworking and an archer can never have too many quivers. Lol

Anyway, this side quiver will be bunny-less and is beautiful without. Especially since it is my first one. I have ordered sheep shearling and may just line the quiver if I need it quiet. What's the point of making a 'stealth' quiver if it isn't 'stealth-y' right? Lol While I do want to hunt with this particular quiver it might not work out as this is my first build and i'll have to see what works out. I may just go back to a back quiver.

@Prognathodon: Nice stuff!!! I love seeing other leatherworks! It makes me want to work hard at the craft and get more advanced in my work. I moved away from leather masks for this reason.

@enginee837 I was just thinking about going to join Archery talk. Lol

Thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate it! It helped make my decision easier and to look at the piece in a different light. I will be taking a few more pictures of the quiver in better light with a better background than my orangish apartment wall. Lol

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You could always make a small pouch with the fur to keep stuff in, like thread wax, replacement pieces, coins, anti-venpm/poision cure, a blow dart, etc. (I mean these in the LARP sense. Unless you happen to be going into the deep heart of Africa anytime soon ;) )

It could also be functional, too, like coins, makeup, hair ties, thread wax, replacement tips/nocks if youre gonna be firing, etc. It would look pretty cute, even if you only had enough fur for the closing flap.

The fur would be nice as a pouch. I'll have to see. I am currently drawing up plans for a leather belt pouch so we'll see how this goes. Maybe I should use it for a checkbook cover? Naw. Lol

Who knows, I might be going into the heart of Africa next summer. I overheard a mission trip that my church might go on next year with another church in our area.

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Ha-ha, wait ACTUALLY going to Africa?! I must be psychic ;) I bet it'll be a way different area than i'm imagining, though, hehe.

That would be the fanciest cheque. Look, ever. Id be jealous.

How about glove/boot cuffs? Or maybe if you get more a really bad-ass patchwork cape/cloak (blanket? :P)

Eh since I am currently thinking of leather costuming I might get some more for a small mantle. 😈 Possibly something Skyrim-y. The quiver build had upped my confidence to possibly progress to leather armor smithing. (Level up! Press the O button to access your skill tree.) Lol

Ultimate goal: possibly craft leather daedric armor. Will need to upgrade my resin skills...

Yeah might get a bit more fur for a costume.

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