Deer leather sources

[Stophel]

Hey, guys, can you recommend a good source of deerskin? I'd like the kind that is sometimes called "brain-tan-look"....without that horrible, slick, rubbery surface so familiar to us all. Years ago, I actually got some of this "brain tan looking" chrome leather at Tandy...really quite nice stuff. Screaming gold color, but I remedied that easily enough. I think it was just a fluke that I got it, and haven't seen any like it since.

I guess real brain tan is an option...but I know it's a very expensive option.

 

[rabjr]

http://www.hideandfur.com/

 

[LRB]

The German Tan from Crazy Crow is about as close as you can get. It comes in white and smoked color. NOT the gold so called smoke color, but these are acually smoked, and sueded both sides. As I understand it, these are fish oil tanned like the Euro 18th c. buckskin was. CC also has both sides sueded deer skins in dark smoke color, I assume chrome tanned. These are very cheap in comparison to the German tan.

 

[Pete44ru]

I got lucky, last year when cruising a flea market, and grabbed an entire large gold deerskin for $1.00 !

I've been using it for this 'n that, piecemeal, ever since.

.

 

[Stophel]

The German Tan from Crazy Crow is about as close as you can get. It comes in white and smoked color. NOT the gold so called smoke color, but these are acually smoked, and sueded both sides. As I understand it, these are fish oil tanned like the Euro 18th c. buckskin was. CC also has both sides sueded deer skins in dark smoke color, I assume chrome tanned. These are very cheap in comparison to the German tan.

I was just about to post just this information! I went searching on the internet and discovered German tanned buckskin, and also found that it is apparently fish oil tanned and made in Germany and the Czech Republic....looks very promising.
The hides are usually bigger too...

I found Crazy Crow to have it along with these guys: www.manataka.org/page1584.html

Matoska Trading has imitation brain tan, along with the real thing www.matoska.com


What I have in mind is a pair of breeches...of course, I need to make my cloth pair first...got some nice hemp Russia Drill to make them.
I guess I could be sewing now instead of piddling around on the internet....eh, maybe later.

 

[Lyndon]

I bought a fish tanned deer hide from a local trader several years ago that I used to make myself a pair of leggings. Still got them and still use them. From my experience its the next best thing

Lyndon

 

[Stophel]

I just went ahead and ordered a couple of the German-tanned skins the other day. I got two of the largest ones. I figure that surely that will be more than plenty for breeches.

It will be a while before I can get around to doing them, though. Too much other stuff piled up in front of me. I've been buying 18th century stuff left and right lately...Books, cloth, leather...

 

[fort fireman]

I ordered some of the german tanned buckskins from Crazy crow about a month ago. I bought the seconds they had and they worked really well for leggings. I just finished them last weekend. There was just one hole in one of the hides and it didn't effect my leggings at all and the other one got alittle thick at the neck of the hide. That was no problem either. I even have alittle left over and I may try my hand at some centerseam mocs. It is reallysoft stuff and hopefully I'll get out this weekend and dirty them up a bit.

 

[Lyndon]

Be carefull about your sizing, the stuff does stretch out some.

 

[LaBonte]

Be carefull about your sizing, the stuff does stretch out some.

That's why one should pre-stretch all "soft leathers such as buckskin (aka deer hide), elk hide, etc. no matter what the tanning method..........

BTW - the German tan is made from red deer hide, which is the Euro version of the American Elk and is thus thicker than most buckskin.

 

[Stophel]

I got it the other day. Butter soft stuff.

I presume that the preferred method is to stretch it out on a board, tack it down, and then draw off your pattern with the leather stretched out...

 

[LaBonte]

I like to dampen it (not soaking wet), stretch it and leave it stretched for a day or two at least. Remove it from the stretcher (my stretcher is a permanent outside "wall") and cut out......

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Yep, wet it, stretch it til dry.
Let us know how like the smell, especially when it's wet. :grin:

I do find it quite suitable for many things.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you have a full hide, you can make a stetcher frame using 4 x 4 posts. Then tie the skin to the frame with sections of rope( braided, 1/8"diameter seems to work well.) you do put holes through the edges of the hide to do this, but the edges are cut off before the hide is used, anyway.

Use a Upholstery Needle or awl that is triangle in cross section to punch the holes in the wet hide before running the ties through. A triangle hole will not tear, where a round hole can and does.

If you are tanning a raw hide yourself, this is the the way to do it, rubbing in the tanning solution, while the frame stretches the hide on the ground. To dry, stand the frame with the hide in it up against a wall. It the hide stretches from being wetted with the tanning solution, its a simple "Fix" to stretch the hide back taught by adjusting the ties around the hide, to take up the slack.

 

[mazo kid]

I just went ahead and ordered a couple of the German-tanned skins the other day. I got two of the largest ones. I figure that surely that will be more than plenty for breeches.....

Chris, maybe with the larger hides two will be enough. I seem to remember when I made my first (and only) deer hide breeches that it took a little more than two. 'Course I was using white tail hides too, which are a little smaller. IIRC, the extra I needed over the two hides was for the waistband and was just a small amount. Good luck and let us know how your project works out. Emery.