Hey, any one out there know a good way to cure an animal hide with out the use of chemicals.
Hey, any one out there know a good way to cure an animal hide with out the use of chemicals.
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
well how do you cure a hide with alum so the hair stays in and the hide is still pliable?
Chew on alum? That would pucker you so bad you'd have two sets of lips on your face.
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It is best to used a two step process.....
Chewing...too funny. You'd end up looking like an aged Inuit woman with no teeth
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.
1. If it's in your kit and you don't know how to use it....It's useless.
2. If you can't reach your kit when you need it....Its useless.
Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours
www.youralaskavacation.com
Tell them Kevin sent you!!
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!
~Earth receives foot and paw, hoof and claw with equal grace. But it is the way of the wild not to overstep...let's leave no trace that wind, rain and snow cannot erase~
1. If it's in your kit and you don't know how to use it....It's useless.
2. If you can't reach your kit when you need it....Its useless.
Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours
www.youralaskavacation.com
Tell them Kevin sent you!!
Skipped that step, but rabbit pelts are so thin that they dry quickly...rewet if you need to before applying the brain.
~Earth receives foot and paw, hoof and claw with equal grace. But it is the way of the wild not to overstep...let's leave no trace that wind, rain and snow cannot erase~
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
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.
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