Great White sharkskin

[schatzperson]

OK Neil,
I'll post them on your space if you'd be so kind.
I'll label them as "gory contents that might upset delicate constitutions" or something.
My personal opinion on this subject is very brief and overt: I vehmently object to cruelty, needless suffering and waste of natures reserves; But If I was to discard the skin of an animal that died accidentally or that had been thoughtfully culled, I would be showing greater disrespect towards that very same creature.
Same with wood; we have very few "interesting" woods on this windswept tiny island.
I know however that the same harsh conditions make for some very hardy timber in species such as Citrus (tight grain and springy), Almond family ( organic steel!!); I would never cut down such a tree just to experiment with a bow wood; On the other hand I would not hesitate one second to get hold of a chainsaw and cut up a tree that is down.
I have some olivewood logs that I have had for years for example. Our olive trees generally grow in a very gnarly fashion and some live for hundreds. The grain pattern and whorls are similar to that from Israel, but in some cases much more highly figured. This wood is not good for staves of course, but might make interesting risers.
Possibly for staves we have mulberry and pecan, both protected but often, the day after an exceptionall windy one, you'll find me trudging about looking for fallen lumber. This material I would use.
I know where there is a fallen Laurel tree in small park; The laurel family hosts woods such as greenheart; I am trying to get permission to chop it up in longish logs, cart it home and try it out.
Sorry for the longish offtopic post, but I felt I had to make my stand clear.
Neil, I'll take take final pictures of the skin tonight, before I start the curing process ( fridge stinks to high hell); So just send me your email or link and we'll post.

Thanks all.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by schatzperson

OK Neil,
I'll post them on your space if you'd be so kind.
I'll label them as "gory contents that might upset delicate constitutions" or something.

If you're going to take the #### I wouldn't spend too much time photographing dead shark just to post it here.

[schatzperson]

Dead shark already photographed; Its just the hide thats gotta say cheese now.
I dont mind taking xxxx much; Enough taken that has tanned my own hide the right side of Genghis Kahn.

[NeilvZ]

To be fair Dave, trying to share something of interest and then getting jumped on by some random person because that doesn't fit in with their views, can be a bit vexing. I know I said putting up a warning is only polite, but schatz really shouldn't be made to feel this is necessary for a piece of fish. So us getting a bit childish, whilst not strictly necessary, was not without provocation.

[clickerati]

Tracey's suggestion of a link to the photo is perfectly reasonable. We have come across issues like this in the past and including a link with a warning is standard.

[NeilvZ]

Hi clickerati.

On the one hand, fair enough. On the other, it's piece of fish. And you can't rightly expect someone to consider people being squeamish over something that's essentially being displayed at the fish counter of every supermarket on the planet.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by NeilvZ

To be fair Dave, trying to share something of interest and then getting jumped on by some random person because that doesn't fit in with their views, can be a bit vexing. I know I said putting up a warning is only polite, but schatz really shouldn't be made to feel this is necessary for a piece of fish. So us getting a bit childish, whilst not strictly necessary, was not without provocation.

Neil, you weren't jumped on by a random person, it was a request from a forum moderator to follow forum policy when posting pictures that not everyone would wish to see.

[NeilvZ]

Sorry, I should maybe have been more clear on this, but I didn't really want to name names. I was referring to HelenTs post. Like I already said, posting a warning and a link is fair enough, but if it's only a piece of fish, you can't really blame someone for not thinking of it. And having had it pointed out, we're now working on doing just that. Sadly the tone of the post has been tainted, which makes people respond differently. Even to well meant posts.

[schatzperson]

Ok, here are the great white pics.
She was a big one, I would say about well over 15 feet. Unfortunately, the fishmonger would not sell me just the skin, so I ended up with several kilos of sharkmeat and a piece of hide.
Incidentally, no matter whatever stories you hear of the "largest, biggest" etc, the largest great white ever landed and scientifically recorded was right here on our coast, Malta ( got a picture somewhere).
Plenty of sharks here, but they seldom bother anyone. A bit fortunate, since we are a holiday destination. Its just that most people dont go to the fish market at 3 am :-).
Seriously, great whites seem to behave differntly in the meditterranean; Some say they are here just to frolick and mate.
Always a great place for foreplay.

WARNING: these pictures contains pictures of raw animal parts and fish hide.

www.vanzyl.co.uk/gwss/IMG_8137.jpg
www.vanzyl.co.uk/gwss/IMG_8139.jpg
www.vanzyl.co.uk/gwss/IMG_8278.jpg
www.vanzyl.co.uk/gwss/IMG_8279.jpg
www.vanzyl.co.uk/gwss/IMG_8280.jpg

[gwynn]

[quote=schatzperson;210759]Incidentally, no matter whatever stories you hear of the "largest, biggest" etc, the largest great white ever landed and scientifically recorded was right here on our coast, Malta ( got a picture somewhere).

I knew there were sharks in the Med but whites? Jeez I think I shall restrict my holiday paddling to the pool...........
The skin looks good, there's a guy in the States named Ferrett who backs his bows with rattlesnake skin and they are superb, you must send some pix in of the finished article.
And just as a matter of interest, NeilvZ, that's a good name, same as my partner [the van Zyl, not the Neil!] where you from?