Preserving A Hide

[Jason30-30]

My Buddy Asked Me If I Knew How To Tan/Preserve Animal Hide. I Dont So I Said No. When I Was Driving Back Home I Thought About It And Said To Myself," There Has To Be A Way To Do It Without All These Modern Chemicals And Contraptions Right". The Native Americans Did Them And They Didnt Have The Stuff We Have Today. So I Thought Id Ask You Fine Gentlemen. How Can It Be Done? It Would Be A Cool Project To Tan A Buck Or A California Black Bear.

[fishhawk]

It's call brain tanning, the brains of the animal are whats used to a google for brain tanning. steve k

[Jason30-30]

Ive Heard Of That..

Thanks For The Reminder Steve

[OneBagNomad]

I can attest to the effectiveness of brain tanning. It works surprisingly well, the only real downside I can think of is the smell. It's one of those smells that you just can't seem to get off of your hands. Gloves are your friend here. Smoking takes care of the smell on the hides. It's a great skill to have and I highly recommend giving it a go on a small hide such as raccoon or opossum before tackling anything bigger.

[waksupi]

Go here for instructions.

http://www.braintan.com/

Only good book I have ever seen on the topic. I think I was in the last edition of it. Still on this part of the web page, although my old link is now dead. Scroll down to the sixth set of pictures, and click on them.

http://www.braintan.com/gallery/period/period.html

Brain tanning isn't hard, once you learn the tricks. I was doing 40-50 hides a year when I was still doing it.

[tacklebury]

I've done brain tanning, but it's a stinky way. If you can buy bulk neetsfoot oil, in a gallon, it'll do many hides. all you need to do is clean away any salt used to store the hide and if you want to keep the hair on one side, only work the inner skin side. Make a frame, stretch the hide and once it dries, start working neetsfoot oil into the worked side. Use an old table leg or something similar and round the end smooth. Use this and rub it in all directions to help break down the legthins *sp* in the skin. It takes a bit more work from one side than if removing the hair. If you are removing the hair, do that first using lye in a 5 gallon bucket and soak the hide in it. The hair will fall out. If you are rubbing both sides for buckskin, use the neetsfoot oil on both sides and rub it from both sides. This will break it in quicker. Finally, once it's soft and supple, it needs to be smoked for color. If you have large food smoker, you can use that, just keep the heat down as low as possible. If not, make a 6' teepee of sticks and put a tarp over it and start a smudge fire in the bottom keeping it small. Once it's smoked, beat it around a tree trunk or over a low hanging tree limb for about 2 hours to finish it.

[Clinebo]

waksupi > That first link set off my anti-virus, said site is infected!

[greywuuf]

you can do the Harder more water proof "vegetable" tan using an old tree stump too.... thats the kind used for holsters ( not lining) and belts and bota bags.... Google vegetable tanning (a source of Tannin, usually an oak? tree stump) is what is required for that ...

All second hand and supposition as I have never done it.
Dan

[Mooseman]

A Very easy tan is done by using Alum and Salt. The hide should be fleshed and salted and stretched out flesh side up and the edges nailed to a sheet of plywood. Then Salted again every day until the hide dries out and the salt doesnt get wet. Then Mix up 1 pound of alum and 1 pound of salt in 5 gallon bucket of warm water. Brush all the salt off the hide and remove it from the plywood. Using a Plastic garbage can place the hide in the bottom flesh side down and pour the mixed Alum solution over it. Work it around with your hands..Place a large rock on it to hold the hide under the solution and make sure there are no air pockets. Every couple days go remove the rock and stir the hide around in the solution. The thickness of the hide determines how long the tan takes .Thin hides from 7-14 days,Big, thick hides take 3-4 weeks.
When you can cut the hide edge a little and it is white in the center, remove the hide and wash it good in clean water. Stretch and Nail the wet hide back to the plywood with the flesh side up . Let dry completely. If you want it stiff , leave it as is . If you want it flexible, Rub the flesh side with a Leather oil like softol or Mink oil, etc. Work it in good...
Then you will have to "Break" or work the hide to soften it. A large dryer on air fluff with a couple tennis shoes for 15-20 minutes will break the Hide too.
This is For Hair ON hides like Deer and Bear Hides, etc.
Rich

[waksupi]

waksupi > That first link set off my anti-virus, said site is infected!

I just went back to it, no virus detected on my computer. The site has been around for years, don't know why it would show a virus on your computer.

[stubshaft]

A Very easy tan is done by using Alum and Salt. The hide should be fleshed and salted and stretched out flesh side up and the edges nailed to a sheet of plywood. Then Salted again every day until the hide dries out and the salt doesnt get wet. Then Mix up 1 pound of alum and 1 pound of salt in 5 gallon bucket of warm water. Brush all the salt off the hide and remove it from the plywood. Using a Plastic garbage can place the hide in the bottom flesh side down and pour the mixed Alum solution over it. Work it around with your hands..Place a large rock on it to hold the hide under the solution and make sure there are no air pockets. Every couple days go remove the rock and stir the hide around in the solution. The thickness of the hide determines how long the tan takes .Thin hides from 7-14 days,Big, thick hides take 3-4 weeks.
When you can cut the hide edge a little and it is white in the center, remove the hide and wash it good in clean water. Stretch and Nail the wet hide back to the plywood with the flesh side up . Let dry completely. If you want it stiff , leave it as is . If you want it flexible, Rub the flesh side with a Leather oil like softol or Mink oil, etc. Work it in good...
Then you will have to "Break" or work the hide to soften it. A large dryer on air fluff with a couple tennis shoes for 15-20 minutes will break the Hide too.
This is For Hair ON hides like Deer and Bear Hides, etc.
Rich

I use the alum/salt pickling solution also but just flesh the hide out and immediately put it into a solution of 1/2lb Alum to 2lb salt for each 4 gallons of water.. The powdered alum is there to arrest any hair slippage. Other than that the steps are very similar but if you are going to hang the skin on the wall I don't "break" it I just trim the edges.

[Mooseman]

I use the alum/salt pickling solution also but just flesh the hide out and immediately put it into a solution of 1/2lb Alum to 2lb salt for each 4 gallons of water.. The powdered alum is there to arrest any hair slippage. Other than that the steps are very similar but if you are going to hang the skin on the wall I don't "break" it I just trim the edges.

There are several ways to alum tan...and they work. I dont break my wall hanger Bear hides either...
regards,
Rich

[Suo Gan]

Don't buy too many boolit molds or guns, or get caught flirting with young ladies!

[stubshaft]

Don't buy too many boolit molds or guns, or get caught flirting with young ladies!

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[OneSkinnyMass]

hahaha, I think Suo Gan was talking about preserving his OWN hide

[torpedoman]

cable or something similar run between 2 trees or posts when your ready to "break" a hid throw it over the cable grab the edges and start pulling it back and forth over the cable rotate it so you work it in all directions.

[waksupi]

You can do all this other stuff, or you can get "Deerskins into Buckskins", and do it easy. Do it the other ways, the hides may last ten years if you are lucky. Do brain tan, it will be around in a hundred years. My business was museum restoration for many years, and I know what will last. If I hear from anyone else with as much actual hands on experience as I have, I'm happy to learn. Do the half way "preservation" type tanning, you are just making a home for bugs in your house.

[PatMarlin]

I thought I had that book, but I found:

The Ancient Art of Brain Tanning -Edholm & Wilder

Tan Your Hide! -Hobson

[waksupi]

Pat, I went through pretty much all the books over the last 40 years, the "Deerskins into Buckskins" is the only one that gives consistent results.
When I started in, I worked with Larry Belitz to tan buffalo hides. He was supposed to be the best reference at the time, which he may have been. But he sure had a lot of stuff wrong!

[Mooseman]

I have tanned different hides for many years using various methods besides Alum and salt, but it seems to have worked for hides that I have still, after 25 years ,They are still hanging on the wall without hair loss. Acid tans, Chromate tans, brain, Glycerine tans. etc. Here is a Link from Purdue U. thats pretty much on the money for info.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...GSorT67H03QFaQ
Brain tanning for most is Not the way to go because on big hides there aint enough brains to do the job....Acid tanning can be problematic without proper gear.
I tanned my first hides as a teenager after my dad got me a Taxidermy Correspondence course before there were computers...
Rich