How to tan fur?

[472x1B/A]

I would never get in a hurry doing any hide. You rush it and hair starts slipping in less than a year. Just follow the directions and always use NON IODIZED salt, if you do decide to. A rat would take me 2 weeks to do start to finished. Always comb the fur out well and wash it in cold water and shampoo, you do not want any dirt or blood in the fur.

[brewer12345]

Appreciate all the advice. I am trying to go slow and not mess it up. If I do, I guess that is part of the learning curve.

So far, I have washed the hide in soap and water, fleshed it, stretched it, and salted it with Kosher salt. I am wondering if I should hit it with another layer of salt.

[gwpercle]

Appreciate all the advice. I am trying to go slow and not mess it up. If I do, I guess that is part of the learning curve.

So far, I have washed the hide in soap and water, fleshed it, stretched it, and salted it with Kosher salt. I am wondering if I should hit it with another layer of salt.

What you are doing now is preserving the hide , it will not be tanned and it will not be leather . The hide will be stiff...rawhide !!! It will be preserved if you rub in some Borax it will keep bugs from eating the raw hide.
For turning it into leather use the Johnny Thorpe Indian Tan (Minnesota Trapline link in earlier post) to make leather...much easier than trying to scrounge up the correct chemicals and you will have proper directions . The net is full of screwy ways to ruin a pelt...be careful.
I was a Taxidermist for many years ... Go with Johnny Thorpe's Tan for good results.
Gary

[brewer12345]

Thanks, gw. I have only a rudimentary grasp of this stuff despite being a beginner leathercrafter, but I about figured out that getting as far as salting would mean that the hide would be preserved and then I could figure out what to do with it to get it tanned. I suspect we will try for beavers and muskrats again this weekend. If I can get enough furs and get them tanned, I am hoping to put together a hat or perhaps line a set of mittens.

[dangitgriff]

Hey, Brewer, if you’re into trapping, check out The Meat Trapper on YouTube. He just posted up a nifty how-to video on making quality snares.
R/Griff

[Tripplebeards]

I remember about 25 years ago trying to tame a couple of coon Hyde’s. They look great I laid them on the wood floor in my house. About six months or so they both left grease spots soaked in my wood floor that never came out.

[Reverend Al]

[Elkins45]

If you have a public library nearby see if they have the Foxfire series of books. When I did my deer rugs I used their method and it worked well.

[bikerbeans]

My dad used to tan hides with the belt from his work pants.

BB

[Kev18]

If brain tanning is to complicated for you, you can jsut use egg yolks. Depending if its a monster rat, 2 yolks will be enough.

[GregLaROCHE]

What do you plan to do with it? If it’s just going to be tacked on a wall, plain salt should be enough or some Borax. If you want to make something with it, then you better use one of the many methods available.

I’ve never done anything that small, but for bigger animals like wolves, you have to turn their ears so they dry before they spoil. Good luck and have fun with it!

[brewer12345]

I am hoping to use it in leather crafting. Line mittens, make a hat, etc.

[GregLaROCHE]

I am hoping to use it in leather crafting. Line mittens, make a hat, etc.

What you are looking for is not only to tan the leather, but one that will also hold the hairs tight so they don’t « slip ». Make sure you have that in mind when choosing a method.

[Rally]

Buy a Dixietan kit or have it done at a tannery. It cost about $12 or less to get it garment tanned.

[Tripplebeards]

Buy a Dixietan kit or have it done at a tannery. It cost about $12 or less to get it garment tanned.

That’s what I was thinking I’ve had hides tanned before and it’s not very much to get something like that tanned. To get things made out of them cost money. I have a mountain man hat made from a coyote or bobcat and it took two foxes to make one mountain man fox hat. I also had a raccoon hat made. Someday I Gotta wear all those.

[brewer12345]

I whacked 3 more skrats today. I am going to freeze the pelts individually so that I can defrost and tan one at a time so I can learn how to do this well.

[Chad5005]

getting hides tanned has got expensive,they wanted 150.00 to do a deer hide this year