question about brain tanning

feeds@yuku.com (CoonGitter) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:47:09 GMT

I was reading this outstanding article in the tutorial forum http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/topic/16409 and it said "take about a pound of brains and mix with a quart of water". The deer I killed (a big doe, I mean a BIG doe) when I weighed how much brain I had it said 0.30. That is just over a quarter pound. Is this enough to tan a hide into buckskin? I have heard so many times that all animals have...

stains in buckskin

feeds@yuku.com (bglong) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:32:02 GMT

I just bought a buckskin jacket on ebay. It is a lady's jacket they think, and it has some stains on the front.

Anyone have any experience getting stains out?

I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it, but for $20 total, I figure it was worth it. Might make a quiver or something else out of it. Or if I can get the stains out, and if my daughter will wear it I may give it to her.

Thanks,
Bill

what to use a squirrel skin for

feeds@yuku.com (SoWhat) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:01:27 GMT

so i have an absolutely beautiful squirrel skin, it's realy really bright red, and i tanned it with feet, tail and head still on. but im not really sure what to make out of it. all i can think of is making it into a bag, or sowing it onto a rawhide quiver. i just need some sudgestions. i'll post some pics when i make it into something. thanks for the help

Dry Scraping Questions

feeds@yuku.com (JoyDelight) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:36:41 GMT

Greetings Tanners,

I have two hides, one with hair on (not limed) and one limed, neutralized with hair off. Both a framed. The hair on is as dry as it is going to get in this weather (drizzling rain), the other one hairless limed hide is still drying. I have bought a professional grade dry scraper from braintan.com. My questions:

Can I dry scrape the limed hair off hide?
How tight should the hide be in the frame?
How dry should the hide be before starting?...

rabbit skin question

feeds@yuku.com (bortstc37) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:23:53 GMT

i've been hunting a lot of rabbits lately...planning on making a variety of things from their skins (not to mention regular dinners). anyhow:

today's rabbit seems as though it was starting to lose some hair, mostly in it's leg regions (just a few small areas right above the main joint). i haven't seen this on any other rabbits before (technically they are snowshoe hares), but i've also never heard of any rabbits being diseased around here (we're in a very...

Leather Workshop

feeds@yuku.com (Eric Methven) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:37:04 GMT

Here's some YouTube pics from last month's leather workshop in Bulgaria.

Pictures

Eric

Hair roots stuck in the dermis

feeds@yuku.com (Hartung) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:09:46 GMT

Two weeks ago I received my first red deer skins of this winter. Now, I started graining them and realised that I'm going to have the same troubles as with last years October hides with hair roots stuck in the dermis. I thought that I wouldn't run into those problems when taking hides by the end of November. But the deer still seem to be changing coat .... arghhhh!!!

Is it the same process to work a brain tanned strap as it is to work a full hide.

feeds@yuku.com (Quest for fire) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:43:29 GMT

O:K: What I mean is, you are supposed to stretch and pull a
brain tannedhide in every possible direction while it is drying.

That is not so easy to do with a two inch wide strap.
It is easy enough to stretch and work it lengthwise.
I do not see it being as easy width wise.
Anyone have any comments or tips?

Kevin

Kitty rawhide

feeds@yuku.com (George Looney) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:47:03 GMT

Hello I have a question,,how much lime for one gallon of water do I need to use to slip the hair on a kitty cat hide,,I want to use it for a primitive Banjo project,,Also any tips on how to get the hide to come out white and not so clear,,don't want the inside of the banger to show through. thanks sooo much.

this is one of my sons christmas presents

feeds@yuku.com (rwaterman00) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:39:00 GMT

it's to go with french and indian war leggins and breach cloth outfit for him

here is a closeup of the laceing. the patches in the leather from bullets were ever sewn with real sinew.

Making lye this weekend.

feeds@yuku.com (Quest for fire) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:24:57 GMT

Even though it is the end of the season,
I thought it best to top up my lye supply.
All I have left is enough to dehair the,
deer head skin left from my first deer.

I have about fifteen pounds of clean Ash ash.
That should be enough for at least a couple of hides.
I hope lye does not have an expiry date.

Kevin

Fox and Deerskin Backquiver

feeds@yuku.com (braintanner) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:19:25 GMT

I tanned the fox and deerskin and made this quiver recently.. It is supposed to be a back quiver, well hopefully it will be used like that! I know zip about archery. It's made for some guy's crossbow bolts. I want to add a couple of thinner brainded straps at the bottom and possibly add a ring to the end of the top strap and also a couple of clips to the ends to meet altogether somewhere in the front, have to add a way to adjust those as well. At least that's the plan.:-) Been...

Deer Leather and Fringe Making

feeds@yuku.com (bglong) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:10:50 GMT

I have two questions I was hoping some of you more experienced buckskinners might answer for me.

One is about deer leather. I made some rawhide and left the epidermis on. I cut a piece off and rehydrated it and brained it in murphys oil soap. It broke rather well and with the epidermis on, it dried into a piece of leather, with the wrinkles and lines and everything. Has anyone else ever made leather like this? I take it that this is different than buckskin.

Also, I...

sinew at a pet store near you

feeds@yuku.com (rwaterman00) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:21:06 GMT

i was at the pet store and found a good source of sinew.
there are beef tendon which are formed into twists. there are some that are white in color( these are the ones you want) there are some which are light brown and smokey smelling these dont work they have been cooked.
my son and i procesed the tendons beating them soaking them and seperating them yesterday and i fletched an arrow late last evening it worked great. we got some sinew 10 inches long .
just thought i would...

Question on dying rawhide.

feeds@yuku.com (Quest for fire) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:00:31 GMT

I used rit dye to dye rawhide.
It worked well with a few splotchy spots all but disappearing,
through my squeezing the spongy hide in the bucket of warm dye/water.

The thing is this hide is saturated with dye.
I like the color even if it will lighten when dried.
Do you think I need to concern myself with dye,
leaching out if the hide undergoes a fair amount of rain?

Could I apply a coating of beeswax to make the hide surface water resistant?
...

Tanning Questions.

feeds@yuku.com (Ingimundson) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:19:56 GMT

Hello, I have just a couple of quick questions about tanning deer hides, hopefully you experts can help me out. I've scraped both sides of a hide (removed epidermis, membrane, etc.) and I have it on a stretching rack. There is still a fair bit of grey colour to the hide from the wood ash solution I soaked it in. My question is, what can I do to wash the hide and possibly remove the colour?
Also, I don't have the brain from the deer, but I've read that a lard/oatmeal/soap...

Tanning books and DVD on Trade Blanket

feeds@yuku.com (Sitting Coyote) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:50:57 GMT

I'm in the process of doing some fall cleaning, and am getting rid of a few tanning related books. I have them listed in the Trade Blanket, if anyone's interested.

South-western mocassin

feeds@yuku.com (alz) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:37:23 GMT

Here are a pair of mocs that I have just ended. Are in a style diffused in the south-west. To realize it I have used deer hide, a rigid sole, beadwork and brass shoes buttons.

Oil Tanning - excessive oil

feeds@yuku.com (Panzer Packrat) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:19:37 GMT

Another question - I oil tanned my elk, which worked great. The hair is tight, the skin is flexible, I like it.

The only complaint is that the skin side is a tad oily, on account of the applied oil and not it's original condition. Is this simply a factor of over application, or is there a final step for removing excess oil, or is that just the way things are? I tried scrubbing the skin with dry towels which worked to a degree, but there is always just the littlest oil...

Slip-stop and stop rot, home made or locally available alternatives?

feeds@yuku.com (Panzer Packrat) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:14:15 GMT

Looking at the uses for slip-stop and stop rot and how they perform, it leads me to believe they're some sort of anti-bacterial agent in addition to an acid of some kind.

Anyone have good home alternatives that're available locally? I'm looking at the options in disinfectants and most of them seem like they're a combo of an acid (citric) and an additional anti-bacterial solution.

I've also been considering the tanning solutions (like the one I bought at...

Leather, Hides & Tanning