I don't know if I covered this already, but the question was proposed at class, and I thought I might include it here.
One reason a buckskin might get stiff, is that you didn't scrape all the grain off, or didn't scrape deeply enough.
- Always scrape at least twice, in a different direction. The first scraping, I like to do while the hide is completely saturated with alkali. This keeps the hide swollen and the glues disturbed enough that it won't start to "set up" while you are working. After the first scraping, I give a quick rinse, working the hide into clean, running water. It will begin to resume it's former floppy, clothlike texture.
- After the rinse, scrape a second (or third) time in a different direction. The initial rinse will reveal any grain you missed. The fiber network will have a very white, alabaster color. Grain will have a yellow tinge and often you will find it in strips between your initial scraping stripes.
Another reason, it might still have alkali (buck) in the thickest areas
- Rinse, wring, repeat. Alkali left in the hide will immediately react with the brain solution; The buck being alkali and the brains being acidic, will react with one another to create a "salt" precipitate. In water, this would fall to the bottom, but within the fiber network, they just sit there, filling in the spaces. Multiple wringings and rinses, although time consuming, will prove valuable to the braintanner.
- The neck, down the spine, and two pads on each side of the rump, are very thick and VERY absorbent when properly scraped. A second or third scraping helps to squeegee out any alkali, in whatever concentration, as well as removing any grain that might have been missed. Multiple scrapings not only improve the quality of your buckskin, but also aid in removing excess alkali.
Your brain slurry mixture is in too low of a ratio.
- On the last wringing, collect all the water that you squeeze from the hide in a bucket, and measure this amount. This is almost exactly how much water the hide can hold. use slightly less water than this when making your slurry.
- One deer's brain is enough to tan it's hide, true, but this does not account for environmental conditions, like humidity (or lack thereof). Use more brains than necessary if you have them available. If not, use slightly less water. The water soluble oils are the important factor. As the water evaporates, the oils are left behind, and as the hide is worked the oils keep the glues from reattaching to one another and making rawhide!
You took a break and the outer layer "glued" itself back together
- This is particularly common on windy days with low humidity. Use your buffing tool to break up this thin layer of glue.
- Often, the flesh side sets up first. This is the side that goes against your skin and you will find it very uncomfortable as it chaps your tender parts. The stringy bits that might have been missed, will dry quickly. If your staker is abrasive, this is easily remedied.
- If you must leave the hide, roll it back on itself, bag it, and stick it in the fridge. At this point, you've probably got the edges soft and you don't want to lose your progress. It is better to start over with those parts being slightly damp, than to try to FIX parts that got stiff!
You stopped softening before the hide was completely dry
- My hands are not very sensitive to things like moisture or temperature because my palms are covered in callouses. Use the BACK of your hand to test if the hide is dry. A dry hide will have a "warm" feel while a hide that has even a slight amount of dampness will feel cold. Don't stop until it feels warm to the back of your hand!
So.. something, somewhere in the process, went wrong, or something came up... What do you do now?
There are two options: Rebrain, or Presmoke (another misnomer). As I said before, I think the two terms are interchangable, so call it whichever seems more suitable to you!
Rebraining is just that, dunking it right back into whatever brain slurry you have left after wringing, and starting over. Often this is a perfectly viable solution, especially if stiffening occurs early in the softening process.
However, chances are that you've been softening for a good while before it gets stiff and you don't want to start over. You can save your progress on the soft parts, by continuing on with the steps, and smoking the hide. Remember, it only takes about 20 minutes of smoke for a hide to be functionally tanned (using the "sack" method). When that time is up, you can go right ahead and dunk it back in the brains. You won't have to worry about the parts that previously softened, you can focus on the areas that are the toughest and take longest to dry. It will fade the color slightly, which is why you shouldn't spend a lot of time smoking a stiff hide. Once it is soft and supple, like you like it, you can smoke it again to get the rich colors you want.
If there are any other complications, please get them up and I will do my best to address them!
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