Making a new fur hat?

[bigbore442001]

I have a really challenging question for the most learned members of the board.

How would you make a good fur hat from a couple of raw pelts? I mean, fresh from the critter to the final product?

Best way to home tan a fur? What lining to use? All the little menusha that entails. Thanks

 

[JiminTexas]

When I was living up in Alaska back in the seventies, we used Tide and salt 50-50 and enough water to make a paste. spread it on thicdk on the skin side of the pelt that is stretched on a frame. Be sure that you use original plain Tide and not the kind with bleach or farbric softener and that it is Tide and not any other brand (No, I don't know why, but this works and a whole lot of others don't.) Now comes the hard part. It's guessing how long you can leave the paste on there without burning the hair off of the hide. You want to leave it on until just before the hair starts to slip. 1/2 a day too long and it's curtains for your pelt. Take it off too soon and the hide wont be cured yet. An average thin skinned hide like a Martin or mink will take three days or so. Take the hide off of the stretcher and put it in clear water to disolve the exdcess Tide/salt mixture (about 1/2 day). Put it back on the stretcher and let it dry. When it's dry it will be as stiff as a board. Take it back off again and burry it in sawdust and start walking on it. after a few hours of walking on it it will start to be bendable. You may want to put it in the doorway or some other high trafic area for a week or so. Use the edge of a 1x4 with the corners rounded off slightly and shine the board with the hide like you are shinning a shoe to soften it up . After you have done a few of these you will do as I do and just order your pelts from Moscow Hide and Fur. Next sew the two hides together and cutaway anything that doesn't look like a hat and you are done!

 

Hi Bigbore,
First of all, I am by no means an expert on this subject. there are as many ways and recipes out there then one can imagine.
So if my way offends anyone please forgive.
I to wanted to make my own fur hat.
I did some research and found recipes calling for everything from bran flakes to battery acid.
I wanted to do this as traditional as I could.
So I asked myself what ingredients did Daniel Boone have to work his furs with? Salt.
So I layed my traps, caught a good sized raccoon.
Skinned him, making sure to scrape all fat and gore off.Make sure you dont damage the hair roots.
This can take some time. Just scrape carefully and dont damage the skin. I then washed the hide in soap and warm water. Nailed to a board, and added a heavy coat of salt. After about a week, the skin should be dry and stiff like cardboard. Wash again in soap and warm water then let dry.
Should be ready to go.
I like the way Jimmintexas did his, much better.

I plan on using a piece of cotton (cut off pant leg) as a liner. Ran a length of rawhide through the pant cuff as a draw string for head adjustment. If the raccoon skin is not wide enough, Ill add some rabbit pelts on the sides.
Like I said, this is just my way of doing this.
Someone else will probably have a much better way.
Hope this helps.

 

[Minuteman]

Is that last picture of yer hat or the un-skinned coon?!

 

Its the unskinned coon.

 

[bigbore442001]

I am thinking about using either a fleece lining or one made of wool. I have some good ideas now.The next step is to flesh out the pelt and then treat it.

 

[Birdman]

bigbore , fur hats are mighty warm by themselves. A wool or fleece lining may be more then ya need n still be comfortable wearing it. I would go with cotton/linen or a light flannel. If it isn't warm enough for ya that way , ya can always add the wool liner to it later. just some thoughts YMHS Birdman

 

[Seamus]

You can get a softer hide by just allowing the hide to dry (without salt) and then running the skin side over a post or cable to soften. Coons usually have enough oil in them to soften without adding brains. Careful you don't tear it during this step.
Afterwards you can smoke the hide to preserve it.

I know this is short, hope it makes sense.