Tinman 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2006 I have just come across some deer hide(belly and shoulder). How do you go about making it a usable tying material? Once it is usable, how do you dye it? Thanks for any help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex_F 0 Report post Posted September 25, 2006 Hi, you might find this link useful. Collated by Bob Petti. With any luck he might pop along and add any other tricks he's picked up since then. On dying, white belly hair can be dyed to just about any colour you want. Cut the hide up into small pieces of say 4"x4" and make sure it's soaked for a day in a detergent solution such as synthrapol, then wash out in luke warm fresh water. This'll degrease it and a pre - wetted hide helps the dye to take. you will almost certainly need to use a heavier concentration of dye than you'd use on feathers as the hide itself takes up dye in large amounts. Keep the hide moving so that the dye can get all the way to the roots, I use an old table fork to hold the piece of hide and rotate it against the lay of the hair. For really bright colours like hot orange I use distilled water for the dye bath. For fluorescents, always use a base dye of a normal bright colour first as fluoro dyes tend to give pale shades if used alone. Let the hide dry for about a fortnight as the skin can take ages to be free of all moisture and the last thing you want after all that trouble is mold growth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tinman 0 Report post Posted September 26, 2006 Thank you Alex, I appreciate the help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
