Tanning first timer tips???

[Black_Feather]

My dad got an elk this year and gave me the hide, I was going to try and turn it into elk leather and remove the hair. I plan on doing my research but if anyone has any tips for a first timer, please let me know, thanks.

 

[tenngun]

What sort of method were you planning?

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Once upon a time, I bought "Tannery in a box" perhaps from Tandy Leather, and had acceptable results on a deer skin. The kit includes all the necessary ingredients and I did the tanning in the bathtub.

 

[Black_Feather]

What sort of method were you planning?

Some sort of chemical method with a tanning kit, right now I'm googling how to videos.

 

[Black_Feather]

Once upon a time, I bought "Tannery in a box" perhaps from Tandy Leather, and had acceptable results on a deer skin. The kit includes all the necessary ingredients and I did the tanning in the bathtub.

Im thinking thats the route im going to go.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Check out brain tanning, lots of info on the idiot box (computer) bit more work but a better finished hide in the end.

 

[Black_Feather]

Check out brain tanning, lots of info on the idiot box (computer) bit more work but a better finished hide in the end.

Definitely what I would do, but I have no brains to tan it with.

 

[sheriff john]

Remove all meaty tissue/fat while the hide is fresh and you're deciding what method you wish to try. The longer you wait, the harder it will be.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Find a butcher shop and use hog brains, they will work just fine.

 

[Notchy Bob]

It has been a long time since I've done any work with green hides. I do remember a couple of things I learned, though.

For a hide from a really big animal, like an elk, I would trim the hide down to a simple rectangular or trapezoidal shape. You can lose a lot of time trying to deal with legs and little skin tags, and the hide out on the periphery tends to be thin and stretchy. Save the best part of the hide, but cut it down to a size and shape you can handle.

The best cowhide I processed was left as rawhide. I did not salt it or soak it. I started fleshing it as soon as I got it home, but it took three or four sessions at the fleshing beam over two or three days to get it done. I stretched the hide on a frame between sessions. The weather was very cooperative, with dry, cool days, cold nights, and frosty mornings. I left the stretched hide out overnight and let the frost settle on it. The alternating freezing and thawing turned the hide a creamy yellow-white.

I think salt draws the moisture out of the hide to help keep it from spoiling, which is good if it will be a while before you get to work on it. However, if you freeze the hide, or if you get right to work on it when it is fresh, the salt is unnecessary.

I made a beaming pole from a log set in the ground at an angle. I learned that the log must be perfectly smooth. Any dips and bumps will make your fleshing knife cut into the hide.

I found that the hair could be easily scraped off with a sharp knife after the hide has been fleshed and dried, Use a sharp sheath knife like a scraper, and scrape with the lay of the hair. For me, this worked a lot better than treating the hide wth wet wood ashes to make the hair slip. That makes an ungodly mess, and I think in most cases the hair starts to slip because the wet hide is beginning to spoil, rather than from any chemical effect from the ashes. Hide is made of primarily protein, like meat. If it begins to stink, it is beginning to spoil. You want to get it cleaned and either dried or into the tanning process before that starts to happen.

I tried brain tanning some smaller skins, but I didn't know what I was doing and results were not good. I got my best results using an alum tanning mix I got from a taxidermy supplier. It preserved the skin well, but I never got it very soft or supple. I was gifted a coonskin at one time that had been acid tanned, and after a few years, the leather totally disintegrated. I discussed this with a local taxidermist when I was trying to learn to tan, and he told me that always happens with acid-tanned skins, sooner or later, because it is impossible to completely neutralize the acid.

Anyway, I learned to make good rawhide, but I never did achieve really professional results with tanning. That's my experience. I'll be interested in what other folks can tell you of their own.

Good luck with that elk hide!

Notchy Bob

 

[Black_Feather]

Remove all meaty tissue/fat while the hide is fresh and you're deciding what method you wish to try. The longer you wait, the harder it will be.

Will do thanks!

 

[Black_Feather]

It has been a long time since I've done any work with green hides. I do remember a couple of things I learned, though.

For a hide from a really big animal, like an elk, I would trim the hide down to a simple rectangular or trapezoidal shape. You can lose a lot of time trying to deal with legs and little skin tags, and the hide out on the periphery tends to be thin and stretchy. Save the best part of the hide, but cut it down to a size and shape you can handle.

The best cowhide I processed was left as rawhide. I did not salt it or soak it. I started fleshing it as soon as I got it home, but it took three or four sessions at the fleshing beam over two or three days to get it done. I stretched the hide on a frame between sessions. The weather was very cooperative, with dry, cool days, cold nights, and frosty mornings. I left the stretched hide out overnight and let the frost settle on it. The alternating freezing and thawing turned the hide a creamy yellow-white.

I think salt draws the moisture out of the hide to help keep it from spoiling, which is good if it will be a while before you get to work on it. However, if you freeze the hide, or if you get right to work on it when it is fresh, the salt is unnecessary.

I made a beaming pole from a log set in the ground at an angle. I learned that the log must be perfectly smooth. Any dips and bumps will make your fleshing knife cut into the hide.

I found that the hair could be easily scraped off with a sharp knife after the hide has been fleshed and dried, Use a sharp sheath knife like a scraper, and scrape with the lay of the hair. For me, this worked a lot better than treating the hide wth wet wood ashes to make the hair slip. That makes an ungodly mess, and I think in most cases the hair starts to slip because the wet hide is beginning to spoil, rather than from any chemical effect from the ashes. Hide is made of primarily protein, like meat. If it begins to stink, it is beginning to spoil. You want to get it cleaned and either dried or into the tanning process before that starts to happen.

I tried brain tanning some smaller skins, but I didn't know what I was doing and results were not good. I got my best results using an alum tanning mix I got from a taxidermy supplier. It preserved the skin well, but I never got it very soft or supple. I was gifted a coonskin at one time that had been acid tanned, and after a few years, the leather totally disintegrated. I discussed this with a local taxidermist when I was trying to learn to tan, and he told me that always happens with acid-tanned skins, sooner or later, because it is impossible to completely neutralize the acid.

Anyway, I learned to make good rawhide, but I never did achieve really professional results with tanning. That's my experience. I'll be interested in what other folks can tell you of their own.

Good luck with that elk hide!

Notchy Bob

Thanks for the tips and ideas, really helps a lot!

 

[David Veale]

I would highly recommend the book "Deerskins into Buckskins". I did a lot of (generally messed up) tanning for years before I read this and greatly improved. I'd recommend against the "tan in a can" technique, if for no other reason than the fact that you'll learn nothing.

First of all, salt the hide. It will keep like this almost indefinitely, and that buys you time to do your research. Get a 50lb bag of salt at the feed store -- that's the cheapest source I've found. One bag will salt probably 3-4 elk hides, maybe more.

I've done both bark tans as well as brain tans. Don't get too worked up about working with brains -- just some dish soap mixed with neat's foot oil does the same thing as the brains.

First step is to dehair. If you have lots of wood ash (I'd guess a 5 gallon bucket's worth is plenty) that works great, or you can buy some hydrated lime from a feed store. Start with a big tub or plastic barrel and make sure the hide isn't packed in, or you'll get rot spots. It's gotta be able to move around. Usually takes me 2-4 weeks before the hair slips.

I like to do my fleshing after the dehairing step. If you want brain tan (with the surface grain removed), this is also a good time to scrape off the outer layer of the hide (epidermis).

If you want to make bark-tan, you'll need a bunch of crushed oak bark (many types work -- hemlock, douglas fir... just has to have a lot of tannins). Once again, I think about a 5 gallon bucket's worth of bark will suffice. I smash mine up with the back of an axe head, but keep thinking a wood chipper would make this task much easier.

If bark-tanning, you'll need to let it soak for a few months. It's best to start with a weak solution and increase it over time. Stir once every few days. You don't need to boil the bark solution to get it made; you can just add bark to the solution directly, as the tannins will leach out with time. Once you can cut into the edge of the hide and see color all the way to the center, it's ready.

This is when the real work begins. You need to dry the hide out about 90% -- and it needs to be dried evenly, as anything that's too dry won't soften. You can always re-wet. Apply your softening mix (I like unscented dish soap with neat's foot oil, plus water. I'm always messing with the ratios, but roughly a 3:1 ratio of oil to soap, with maybe another 50% of water (or denatured alcohol -- which greatly reduces time to dry while working the hide) works for me.

At this point, you'll want to make a frame to lace the hide to. Start with a tight hide. It will loosen up as you work it. Don't tighten it up much at this point, unless you want something that gets paper thin. Get a sharp stick or something with a sharp edge (not knife sharp... think more like a butterknife edge -- and rounded, and broad is good, to keep from poking holes in the hide). and work the hide over while it dries. My stretching tool is a rounded edge, maybe 2" in diameter to avoid placing too much stress in one spot and breaking through. This for me is often a multi day process, and I often have to re-wet the hide, particularly with cow hides. Buckskins dry and work much faster. Keep stretching with your implement, and it will start to look and feel like leather at this point. If it gets too hard, re-wet until it's supple and start stretching it again.

With brain tan, you can go straight from the application of the oil mix to stretching, as the actually tanning is done afterwards by smoking the hide.

Anyway, that's the general idea in a nut shell. Once again, I'd strongly recommend the Deerskins to Buckskins book!

 

[Brokennock]

Eggs work too if no brain matter for brain tan is available.

 

[SmeagolClaus]

Brain tanning might be too much for a first timer with and elk hide. Nothing says pain and frustration like trying to stretch and work 30 to 40 pounds of wet elk hide when you don't know what you're doing.

Do yourself a favor and chemical tan the elk hide. Save the brain tanning for something smaller and more common like a deer hide.

I recommend Trubond tanning chemicals.

 

[waksupi]

I would highly recommend the book "Deerskins into Buckskins". I did a lot of (generally messed up) tanning for years before I read this and greatly improved. I'd recommend against the "tan in a can" technique, if for no other reason than the fact that you'll learn nothing.

First of all, salt the hide. It will keep like this almost indefinitely, and that buys you time to do your research. Get a 50lb bag of salt at the feed store -- that's the cheapest source I've found. One bag will salt probably 3-4 elk hides, maybe more.

I've done both bark tans as well as brain tans. Don't get too worked up about working with brains -- just some dish soap mixed with neat's foot oil does the same thing as the brains.

First step is to dehair. If you have lots of wood ash (I'd guess a 5 gallon bucket's worth is plenty) that works great, or you can buy some hydrated lime from a feed store. Start with a big tub or plastic barrel and make sure the hide isn't packed in, or you'll get rot spots. It's gotta be able to move around. Usually takes me 2-4 weeks before the hair slips.

I like to do my fleshing after the dehairing step. If you want brain tan (with the surface grain removed), this is also a good time to scrape off the outer layer of the hide (epidermis).

If you want to make bark-tan, you'll need a bunch of crushed oak bark (many types work -- hemlock, douglas fir... just has to have a lot of tannins). Once again, I think about a 5 gallon bucket's worth of bark will suffice. I smash mine up with the back of an axe head, but keep thinking a wood chipper would make this task much easier.

If bark-tanning, you'll need to let it soak for a few months. It's best to start with a weak solution and increase it over time. Stir once every few days. You don't need to boil the bark solution to get it made; you can just add bark to the solution directly, as the tannins will leach out with time. Once you can cut into the edge of the hide and see color all the way to the center, it's ready.

This is when the real work begins. You need to dry the hide out about 90% -- and it needs to be dried evenly, as anything that's too dry won't soften. You can always re-wet. Apply your softening mix (I like unscented dish soap with neat's foot oil, plus water. I'm always messing with the ratios, but roughly a 3:1 ratio of oil to soap, with maybe another 50% of water (or denatured alcohol -- which greatly reduces time to dry while working the hide) works for me.

At this point, you'll want to make a frame to lace the hide to. Start with a tight hide. It will loosen up as you work it. Don't tighten it up much at this point, unless you want something that gets paper thin. Get a sharp stick or something with a sharp edge (not knife sharp... think more like a butterknife edge -- and rounded, and broad is good, to keep from poking holes in the hide). and work the hide over while it dries. My stretching tool is a rounded edge, maybe 2" in diameter to avoid placing too much stress in one spot and breaking through. This for me is often a multi day process, and I often have to re-wet the hide, particularly with cow hides. Buckskins dry and work much faster. Keep stretching with your implement, and it will start to look and feel like leather at this point. If it gets too hard, re-wet until it's supple and start stretching it again.

With brain tan, you can go straight from the application of the oil mix to stretching, as the actually tanning is done afterwards by smoking the hide.

Anyway, that's the general idea in a nut shell. Once again, I'd strongly recommend tsthe Deerskins to Buckskins book!ib

Best instruction book available. Matt even had the good taste to put my picture in there!

 

[Cvkotvkse]

My dad got an elk this year and gave me the hide, I was going to try and turn it into elk leather and remove the hair. I plan on doing my research but if anyone has any tips for a first timer, please let me know, thanks.

Removing the hair is the easy part... 2 or 3 shovels of hardwood ashes in a 5 gallon bucket ( a kid's plastic swimming pool will work, unless you want to go REALLY traditional, and dig an 8'x8'x 12"-deep vat!) filled half to 2/3 up w/ water (to leave room for the hide when you put it in, with a couple of rocks to keep it immersed); stir the ash slurry well, add the hide and weight it down. I wait 3-4 days on a large deer hide; I might go 5 if I were doing an elk. The cooler your weather, the longer you can leave it without it spoilng. Here in Flotida, I have to keep to the short end, as even our cold snaps don't last very long...
Take it out, spread it hair-side up on ciean surface, and use a smooth edge board (I use a boat paddle) to push the hair AND ALL THE MEMBRANE off the hide... I am always amazed at how easy it comes off... then stretch and dry the now-rawhide to keep until the next step of whatever tanning process you have chosen...
I learned this technique from my elders when we were at our squaregrounds... although one of the old men advised me that, if I was in a hurry,,, (and I am NOT making this up!) A CAN OR TWO OF NAIR WOULD WORK JUST AS WELL!

 

[nhmoose]

Deer hunters & Trapping Hide Tanning Formular.

https://www.animaltrapsandsupplies....s-and-trappers-hide-tanning-formula-8oz.html.

 

[dragnetbill]

If you're married I might suggest that you find some container other than the bathtub for your endevor.

 

[SmeagolClaus]

Yeah, you gotta work your way up to tanning in the bathtub. When you get to the point where your spouse stops asking what what you're working on or what is that smell...you're about ready for bathtub tanning.