Rattlesnake Skins How To

[user 34300]

Skin the snake. Put nothing on the skin. Use the natural goop on the skin to stick it to untreated cardboard. Let it dry in the sun for a couple of days. Peel the skin off the cardboard. It will have the textures of very thick paper. It will last for decades

 

[LRB]

Skin the snake. Put nothing on the skin. Use the natural goop on the skin to stick it to untreated cardboard. Let it dry in the sun for a couple of days. Peel the skin off the cardboard. It will have the textures of very thick paper. It will last for decades

For my use, most often knife sheath facing or a hat band, I used to tack them out scale side down on plywood or board, coat heavily with 20 Mule team Borax which aids drying the skin and protects against insects. After maybe a week or so and thoroughly dry, remove and then gently scape off the clear scale covers but leaving the scales. Once glued down on a sheath face, I would apply a coat or two of clear polyurethane varnish. Not too fragile and seems to last indefinitely with good color.

 

[Whitworth]

I skinned out a Copperhead and sun dried the skin 60 years ago in the Boy Scouts. The skin kicked around the house for years until lost to the mists of time.

 

[frankie]

Have you tried borax

 

[Ricochet]

Like the OP, I use alcohol and glycerin. Skin em, remove every little bit of meat and goo from the hide and throw them in a jar with a 50/50 mix of the glycerin and alcohol for 7 days. Every day kind of slosh them around a little to keep it mixed up. Take out and dry off. You will have the softest tanned snakeskin possible. Its amazing how soft and pliable they turn out. A bonus is that I keep the same jar in a fridge in my shop and reuse it. Just top it off when needed. This was a crazy year for copperheads around my house. Four different evenings I had them laying on my sidewalk in front of my front door. Can't have that