brain tanning

[Hammerhead]

ok im new to this stuff and was wanting to learn to tan a hide. how do you brain tan a hide or does anyone know a homemade recipe for a tanning solution. i heard of one with 20 mule team borax and soap but cant find nothin on it and realy dont have the money to buy already made tanning solution.
Kris Thornbury.

 

[tg]

You can probably search Google or any of the engines for "Brain Tanning" and get some hits and find s site that will walk yopu thru one of several methods to BT hides, you can usually find pig or cow brains pretty cheap, I used to keep the brains from the deer I shot but used the other kind when doing hides which were given to me, I do not have a breakdown of the method I used to use on computer anymore but I am certain you can find one thru a search.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Google Brain tanning and you should find some instructional videos. There are a few pamphlets out on the subject. Check Dixie Guns works, and Track of the Wolf's on-line catalogs to find them.

You can use egg whites instead of brains to get the same results. The real "secret" to brain tanning is SMOKING the hide after its brain tanned, and dried, and stretched, to break the cell walls. The smoke penetrates the hide, and acts like a cure that keeps mold from forming on the hide.

 

[LaBonte]

It's really simpe - go to www.braintan.com - some of the best info anywhere is available there in various formats and it is run by one of the best tanners in the world.........

 

[Woods Dweller]

unless you got the critters brains your out of luck. I can’t buy brains from the supermarket here in Florida no more. Something about a mad cow? I don’t know what the cow is getting so mad about? he aint using his brain no more.

 

[DTCoffin]

Brain-tanning is pretty labor intensive to get a really good hide,but they are awful nice when done.Braintan.com (as mentioned above)is a very good place to start, I picked up a book there called Deerskins into Buckskins by Matt Richards,has all you'll need to know.
You can actually use ivory bar soap & neats foot oil combined or Matt says "beat up a dozen eggs" both of these would have "1/2 gal of bath water hot enough to barely hold your hand in".The brain would be mixed the same way.The actual braining is the easy part, getting all the membrane off was probably the hardest part,"breaking the hide" was probably 2nd.

 

[tg]

When I was doing it I felt that if I were brain tanning I should be using brains, if one knows a taxidermist they will often save brains and deer/bear fat for you.

 

[gmarc]

Braining the hide is easy, fleshing and softening are the labor intensive parts.

You can get a good tan with eggs, it is the lecithin that softens the hide, provided you introduce it into the collagen structure of the hide by soaking, wringing and working

Hides can be worked by a single person effectively by rubbing them over a taut wire cable and the edge of a boat paddle with the handle sunk in the earth. A bell scraper, in addition to a fleshing knife is helpful.

Be advised that the hide around the necks of deer and elk id VERY thick and will require much manipulation. The smoking of the hide is a must and it also waterproofs to a degree.

First nations people began using cloth with a vengeance when it was obtainable, and steel knives and KETTLES were manna from heaven. Hide tanning is VERY labor-intensive