Curing Hides

[SPLIT LIMB]

Does anyone have a good way to do a hide? I would like to do a hair on with a soft back.
I have done them with mule team borax before,but it leaves them stiff as a board. Thanks in advance

 

[Fishbonker]

Check out PredatorMasters.com. They have a section on fur handling and I'm sure they can give you some tips.

The 'Bonker

 

[Greywolf]

Brain tanning works great and is cheap too. Just requires a fair amount of time and elbow grease. Start by scraping the hide clean like you would for any tanning project, just be carefull not to get the hide too warm or the hair will start to slip (not a problem this time of year).
You can pick up a container of pork brains in the Hy-Vee freezer section for about $1.50. Simmer the brains with a little water on the kitchen stove till it's nice and warm - don't cook them so much that they turn grey -you want them to stay pink. It works great to put them in a blender to get them really mixed up or you can do it with your hands.
Then lay the hide out flat (hair side down and smear the brains all over the leather side. Soak a couple towels (not your wife's good ones)in boiling water, ring them out and then lay them over the hide. Let it set overnight. The next morning the real work starts. As the hide dries you want to work it over a board, around a fence post, large cable, or something to keep the fibers from sticking together. This could take several hours. If you let the hide dry without working it,it'll end up stiff as rawhide. You may want to re-brain the hide a time or two after you've worked just to make sure it really soaks up the juice.
After the hide is worked dry the leather side should be an off white color. To waterproof it you'll want to hang it over a really smoky fire for a half-hour or so (be carefull all the flames have died down or you'll be sorry). When it's done smoking it should be a nice tan "buckskin" color and last for years. Good luck.

 

[bukket]

Greywolf,
Thanks for posting that. Is there any special treatment you should do for the hair-on side?
I've heard of people rubbing oatmeal flakes on the hair for some reason?

Sorry to hijack the thread...never tried tanning and would love to give it a shot sometime.

 

[SPLIT LIMB]

Thanks for the info Greywolf !!!!

 

[Greywolf]

bukket - I've never tried oatmeal, but I'd imagine it's just to soak up any moisture that might have gotten in the hair. When you're tanning fox, coons, etc a lot of guys will tumble the fur in sawdust to finish it off. A blowdryer set on "cool" works good to fluff up the hair too.
You guys probably already know this too, but when you're scraping thin hides like deer it goes a whole lot faster to wet scrape rather than stretching it out to dry scrape. I like to freeze mine and then thaw them out overnight before I scrape them - I don't know if freezing weakens the membrane or what, but it sure seems to scrape easier when I do it that way. I just use a log I split in two for a fleshing beam and lean it up against a tree (inside the barn wall if it's cold). An old piece of flat iron, about 18 inches long and inch or so wide makes a good scraper. I put a rough edge on it with grinder, but you don't want it sharp for deer hides. It goes pretty quick once you get the hang of it.