Bucktail

[fshng2 0]

This may be a stupid question, but is there a reason they don't tann bucktails? Maybe they do and I've never seen them.

$$$$

[tidewaterfly 0]

The tails are usually removed prior to tanning hides, so no reason to tan them. Plus as already indicated, the cost.

 

Deer hides are generally collected for two purposes, to be processed for fly tying, and to make leather. There's likely more of a market in leather, and the tanning process removes the hair, so the tails are removed & sold separate for tying.

[sandflyx 0]

the stink is from fat going rancid, washing in dawn and air drying for a week should do it

[Artin 0]

Thank you for all the responses. The cat litter idea seems the easiest but I have some reservations about it being kept in the bag. Every use would spill a little out of the bag and there would be additional cleaning involved. I think I'm going to wash them and put them out in the sun to dry off. Hoping to eliminate, if not substantially reduce the smell that gathers in the drawers above and below. All of mine are dyed and in their packages so they are not just laying around. I have most of the more robust brands as well as a couple of smaller suppliers so I don't think that the odors are specific to one manufacturer.

 

Thank you again I learned a lot here. I will post an update.

 

Artin

 

P.S. When washing with dawn, how long should I let it soak before taking them out to rinse?

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've only ever had to let them soak when it was a raw tail that had not been cleaned or dyed previously, and that was primarily for something on the hair, like dried blood. Even then is was only long enough to soften the offending material so it could be removed more easily. That's usually about 10 to 15 minutes tops. A gentle working of the soap solution thru the hair and on the hide should be all that's needed. Dawn dish detergent in particular is very good at removing the oils & other matter, which is why it's used and recommended.

 

You don't want to soak them too long, to the point that the hide gets soft. The hide, even when dry can still start to decompose when they get wet again, so limiting the extent of time exposed to moisture is the best thing to do.

 

If they start to decompose, one of the first indications is called "slipping", and the hair pulls out of the hide at the roots, as the hide breaks down.

[Mike West 0]

Its mostly been mentioned already but Ive done hundreds of bucktails and chicken necks in my life.

You have to get all the meat,fat and oil off the skin if you dont it want to stink and rot.

 

My routine was to drench it in borax and go after it with a spoon...Get all the meat and fat off it with borax and a spoon.... wash it with a degreaser(Dawn)and then staple it to a board or a piece of cardboard or something and poor salt all over the flesh side and let it totally dry.

 

It aint rocket science.

[tjm 0]

Any raw skin must be scraped clean of muscle and fat, that should be done while still fresh, ( fat scrapes easier when chilled though) and if still on purchased skins shows the supplier to be negligent. A spoon is a good tool for this job, a large spoon suits me better than a table spoon, borax dries and has some preservation effects and some bug preventive effects.

Dry borax rubbed into the fresh or dried fur/feathers/hair and brushed or blown out cleans the fur of natural oils and dried blood and leaves fur shining (it's a trick trappers use in marketing raw skins,. a clean shiny pelt brings more money) Borax is added to laundry as a brightener, borax also kills mildew and inhibits mold growth. I add some borax to the dish soap solution that furs and feathers get washed in. I don't add salt to raw skins because I believe salt attracts water from the air as well as from the skin; not a problem in a skin that gets washed and tanned, but causes rot in hides kept raw so is not used/recommended for pelts in the fur trade, although it was mixed 50/50 with alum and applied to skins my child hood. (alum might have been the important ingredient)

I keep small amounts of borax in the bags and boxes of materials as a desiccant/insecticide, it's cheap and readily available so can be changed periodically and has no offensive odor. If spilled it cleans up like soap powder.

On the subject (several mentioned it) of desiccants; the silica gel stuff needs to be dried periodically- what I use for my hearing aids is blue when dry and turns whitish when exposed to moisture, I renew it by microwaving it 30 seconds at a time for a total of about 3 minutes or until it looks blue, what we used shipboard around electronics got dried in an oven (I'm not sure of oven temps or time-was long time ago)