Found a cheap source for arctic fox tails

[Shoemoo]

Not sure if this is the right place for this post, but I found a good deal on ebay and thought I would let everyone know. $5 plus shipping for a whole tail instead of $2.50 for a 1" square patch of hair. If you want to try out fox, here's your chance without laying out a lot of cash:

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

I ordered three and will take some pictures when they get here. Can't wait to try dying my own.

[skiptomylu]

Good price, but not Arctic Fox as it's Blue Fox. I usually buy the white tails for my white and have at least one of almost every kind of Fox plus a lot of died ones. They raise the white ones on some kind of farm.

Still a good find for a tail for $5 as I pay a good bit more for all of mine. I also have some Gray Fox, Indigo Fox, and Red Fox and all the natural Fox tails are less than white and died ones. The natural ones are usually $8.50 wholesale and are 12" to 14" long. The guy I get mine from calls a Blue Fox (Blue Dun). The all white ones are like $6 more each.

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[Shoemoo]

Blue fox is a color phase of arctic fox. Same species. It's actually about the same color as the 'white' patches I see in fly shops. So I'm sure it will work out. Like I said, I'll post some pics.

[revtoby]

just bought two...thanks for the heads up.

[skiptomylu]

I have probably 20 fox tails and a good bit of Arctic fox and the Arctic fox is much finer hair than any of the other kinds of fox that I have seen. So think what you will, they are different and even my white tails are not the same as the little squares or they do sell them in Zonkers too. All of the fox will work for good tails. One other thing is body hair/fur doesn't have near as much under fur as a tail does. Some fox have a little stiffer hair than others while some are much softer.

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[Micropterus salmoides]

Thx for the info and link Shoe.
I don't have ANY, wouldn't point it out here if I did, much less 60 diff ones and I'm not concerned with if it's Arctic or Southern and its fineness. I just appreciate you providing myself and others with the info.
Looks like it would have good movement!

[skiptomylu]

All the fox I have had will have good action. I like it because you can make long streamers or jig tails as well as just cut it shorter for a normal tail. It's not stiff like deer or elk and for that matter Moose. I would tell anyone they should have some and if it's that cheap then it's a good deal for sure.

They use the solid white ones raised on farms for doing colors and it's really nice stuff! It's also getting higher because the fox farms are trying to make China and other that use it for what ever they are making buy the body or entire fox so they started distorting the tails. SO they are usually a bit higher.

If I didn't already have so many I probably would buy some of these.

Skip.

[Shoemoo]

Glad I could help.

I think material suppliers may be starting to take whatever they can get. I looked at some Eumer and Spirit River arctic fox tail medallions at a local fly shop last week, and some of those tails were definitely not pure white when they were dyed. The color of the hair closest to the hide was more gray-ish than the color at the end. The medallions also cost almost as much as one of these whole tails, and the hide strip was only about half an inch wide.

I like the body fur too. I took a couple of the medallions out of the package to feel the hair, and I think the tail fur is just a tad stiffer than the body fur. Maybe it just has more guard hairs. Could be just the individual animal, though. I have a few swatches of the body hair in different colors and it ranges from very dense and wooly to thin, light and fluffy.

I also found a cheap secondhand full pelt arctic fox stole on ebay. The seller was dumb enough to time the listing so it ended on Thanksgiving, so most people were busy with holiday stuff and there were no last minute bidders driving up the price. Between the tails and the stole, I'll have lots of fox hair to experiment with. I'm signed up for the swap box, so I may put some in the box if it gets here after the hair does.

[rob762]

Stupid question - any one ever used Husky fur? I have a limitless supply with 3 husky/malamutes shedding....

[Shoemoo]

I haven't used dog fur, but I have heard of people who have. When you cut a chunk of fur off a hide (or a living animal) the hair is all approximately the same length and going the same direction. When you brush out or pick up a clump of shed fur, it's just a ball of random hair going every which way. You could probably use it if you comb out the under-fur and run the guard hairs through a hair stacker to orient them and make them even length.