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Easy tanning for tiers

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I love to get my own materials the old fashioned way, with a 30/30. I love deer and turkey season in Kentucky. Everyone I know is calling wanting to get rid of a hide or a fan. i love it. I can stock up a lifetime's worth of deer and feathers in just a week! But the question is, how do you tan all of those hides. The answer is very simple. use the Eskimo Method.

 

This is a great way to tan hides for the sole purpose of keeping the hair/fur from falling out, and to keep the pelt from rotting. It is quick, easy, non-messy, uses NO chemicals at all, and preserves a pelt for eternity. I first came across this method in a book, the title escapes me now, but the article was by the famous womanizing outdoorsman, Jacques Herter. Herter claims to have learned this method from an Inuit guide he used regularly. Here's how you do it:

 

1. First remove all the tissue and sinew from the hide. I use a skinning blade made from a flat peice of pig iron. It scrapes more than it cuts and minimizes the risk of cutting through the hide. This requires a little elbow grease, but it easier to do if the pelt is cold, or has been refrigerated, but not frozen.

 

2. After removing all the visceral tissue, use Morton's Pickling salt, and salt the hell out of it. The salt dries the hide and helps to emulsify any fatty residue on the hide. Lay the hide out flat in a dry, cool place....garages work nicely. After a few days, the hide will be dry, although you should check it every few hours to drain off any excess liquid and re-salt.

 

3. Once the hide is dry, you are ready to tan it. Scrape the hide again to remove the salt and to help soften the hide. Once the salt is removed, mix your tanning solution.....flour and water. That's right, flour and water. Mix it into a large bowl. The consistency should be that of pancake batter. Thickly apply the mixture to the flesh side of the hide. Allow it to dry, and it should look kinda like plaster of Paris. Now, lay the hide flat, hair side down, in the same cool, dry place you dried it. Wait two days for the mixture to harden. once it's hardened, remove the flour by scraping the hide. Now, a word of caution. It can be a bit challengeing, as the flour will sometimes set up hard as concrete, but a spritz of water can soften it enough to remove.

 

4. Once you have srcaped the hide, what you should have is a very soft, very white pelt. You may have to work it a little with your hands to soften it, but for a tiers' tanning, soften doesn't count for much.

 

This method works great on any hide, but especially deer, elk, and bear. The point is to preserve the hide, keep the hide from rotting, and to keep the hair intact. If you should later want to dye a hide tanned this way, you simply dye it, drain it, and tan it the same way, once the piece is dried.

 

I love tanning like this and have used this method for years. It only takes a few days;it's cheap, and you don't have to worry about chemical solutions. I was simply amazed the first time I tried it. You will be too!!!

 

 

All right fellas, bring in this year's crop, Big Daddy's home!!!!

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Awesome Big Daddy I have access to some skins and always turned it down because of the tanning process. I will let you know how it turns out thumbsup.gif

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real easy to do WIll...you got my number if you have any questions...great tan for tiers!!!! Did a rabbit this very morning....thinner skins only take a day or two, they dry quickly...probably be ready by Sunday.

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This sounds like a good way of doing it, and It peaks my interest because I have a lot of hunting freinds that just throw the hides away. My only question is this, I I understand you right, if you dye the hide you must perform the same procedure to it again so that it will not harden up and ruin the hide?

 

john headbang.gif

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Day Late

 

Man, I wish I would have known this prior to using Borax on a squirrel. The hide is harder than a wedding dick. I had planned on using strips for leeches and craws.

 

Thanks Big D smile.gif

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the re-tanning, just preseves the hide and keeps it supple, so you can roll it or fold it for easier storage. The main key is to be certain you dry it well after the dyeing process, or you may leave the pelt open for rot or mildew. That's why it is a good idea to re-tan it....just as a precaution.

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brilliant analogy, Shoe! couldn't have said it better myself! I just love this method of tanning. Its easy and can be done on the most meager of budgets. I use my tyihng studio as a drying room. No odors, no mess. After tanning the hide, I simply take a wire brush and comb the hair/fur to remove any burrs or tangles. You can use a little water in a spray bottle to soften any blood or body fluids that may be on or in the fur as the result of the kill and then simply brush them out. The fur seems to take a brsughint well and doesn't seem to alter the coarseness or texture of the hair. BUT...you have to brush with the lay of the fur.

 

 

 

Now, as far as using the hide for zonkers, you may want to try a chemical tan, which tans completely through the flesh, essentially making the strips more resistant to water damage. But I have used strips cut from pelts that I tanned this way, and once the fly was left to dry properly, the strips held up well.

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ran over a squirrel in the yard this morning....drying him now.....gonna dye it for some nice craw pincers!! LOL

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the hell you say, i had to turn around twice before I got him! Nice BIG fox squirrel.....gonna make some nice micro zonkers......want some?

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Y'all are a pretty lousy shot with that truck if'n it took more'n oncet ta git it!!! blink.gif

 

LEGITIMATE QUESTION - I'm always reading/hearing about how difficult it is for shops/individuals to get fox squirrel, mainly based on their supposed scarcity. Is ther any somewhat truth to that rumor?

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I'm not sure about anyone else's area but we have a bunch of them around here, big 'ol bastards too.

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not at all scarce here, D....they're every where in Central and Eastern Ky.....have six or eight living in the yard year 'round.....want me to try to scare you on up?

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BD, I just found your tanning method in the tips section. If you don't mind, I'd like to add this to our clubs newsletter. I think this is a great way to preserve materials. I no longer hunt, but I receive hides from other family members and friends and I intend on giving your method a try.

 

I'm enjoying reading many of your posts. Keep up the good work.

 

D. Waterflogger

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pass, it on...it's a great way to tan cheaply...I credit it to Jacques Herter...brilliant outdoorsman, albiet womanizer, lol!! Please feel free to use it!!!!

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