Curing animal hides

[Dark786]

Hey, any one out there know a good way to cure an animal hide with out the use of chemicals.

[FVR]

Brains, cod liver oil, pee, alum, fish oil, eggs, veg. oil, acorns, etc.

Go to braintan.com, they are full of helpfull information.

I have used brains and alum with success. Pee works for fish skins great.

For hair on I like alum as it tightens the hairs. I've made quivers from boars hide and you can run over them with a truck and the arrows won't get damaged.

Frank

[kunkel]

well how do you cure a hide with alum so the hair stays in and the hide is still pliable?

[hopeak]

well how do you cure a hide with alum so the hair stays in and the hide is still pliable?

Chew it for hours, or put it in a large tumbler.

[Rick]

Chew on alum? That would pucker you so bad you'd have two sets of lips on your face.:eek:

[hopeak]

It is best to used a two step process.....

[RobertRogers]

Chewing...too funny. You'd end up looking like an aged Inuit woman with no teeth

[hopeak]

Chewing...too funny. You'd end up looking like an aged Inuit woman with no teeth

I was not going to go there, but that is how it is done.

[klkak]

I send the hides I want tanned to "Alpha fur tanners" in Anchorage. They will even flesh them for you if you are'nt up to the task.

[LadyTrapper]

Brain tan works well (just finished a winter rabbit pelt for a dream catcher)and leaves the hands soft for days as you apply the brain paste best with your bare hands.
I didnt chew but used a chair rung or back of a wooden chair to pull it back and forth on. Very time comsuming, but made for a soft suptle pelt.
Grossed the kids out a wee bit with the cookin of the brain matter, but each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide.
Good luck!

[klkak]

Chewing...too funny. You'd end up looking like an aged Inuit woman with no teeth

To funny. I know a man who has a fishing boat called the "Old Squaw". In these times of "Political correctness" he has taken to refering to the boat as "The Elderly Native Woman":rolleyes:

[grundle]

Brain tan works well (just finished a winter rabbit pelt for a dream catcher)and leaves the hands soft for days as you apply the brain paste best with your bare hands.
I didnt chew but used a chair rung or back of a wooden chair to pull it back and forth on. Very time comsuming, but made for a soft suptle pelt.
Grossed the kids out a wee bit with the cookin of the brain matter, but each animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide.
Good luck!

Did you still soak the hide in a water-lye solution before applying the brain matter, or did you skip that step altogether?

[LadyTrapper]

Skipped that step, but rabbit pelts are so thin that they dry quickly...rewet if you need to before applying the brain.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Make sure the skin is dry, and stretch the skin as tight as possible and leave it in the sun (if the moisture is not drawn from it, it could rot). You can rub wood ashes on the skin which will help the process. While it's in the sun, make sure it stays VERY dry. A drop or two of water wont' hurt, but make sure it stays dry. You can also put it over a fire (the smoke will help preserve it), but make sure it does not hit the flames and make sure the skin stays stretched.
INFO FROM: SAS Survival Handbook; John "Lofty" Wiseman, pg. 317

[RBB]

well how do you cure a hide with alum so the hair stays in and the hide is still pliable?

I haven't used alum since I was a kid, but to make the hide pliable, we stretch a taut rope, 3/4 inch thick or better, at about eight feet high, and run the hide back and forth until it is dry. If you can't get it dry in one session - throw it back in the freezer.

If you do a lot of them this way - it is a good chance you'll have carpel tunnel problems.

[Teacher]

Brains, cod liver oil, pee, alum, fish oil, eggs, veg. oil, acorns, etc.

Go to braintan.com, they are full of helpfull information.

I have used brains and alum with success. Pee works for fish skins great.

For hair on I like alum as it tightens the hairs. I've made quivers from boars hide and you can run over them with a truck and the arrows won't get damaged.

Frank

I have found leaching the tannis out of acrons works really good on small thin skinned game. I have never tried the thicker skinned critters.