I'm gonna tan my hide!

[Minihuntur]

Does anyone know how to tan a deer hide? I've got one in my shop thats frozen and I want to use some to on my antler mount. I'll use it to cover up the part of the skull that connects the antlers.
Minihuntur

[sdkid]

I'm looking into this as well. Any help from experienced people would be helpful.
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[Brother Rockeye]

do you want to tan "hair on" or off...thats really the place to start.

different ways to do each but need to know what you are planning for.

[Minihuntur]

Whats the difference?
Minihuntur

[Brother Rockeye]

hair on is just that...tanned with the hair on.
Different ways to do that depending on your use.taxidermy,winter clothing, etc.

if you want it tanned to"leather"then you have a few more steps and a different approach,again depending on what the end use will be.

you can always send it away to the Halford hide and leather co.(Edmonton/Calgary) and have them do it for you...but what fun would that be.

[Minihuntur]

I wanna tan hair on.
Minihuntur

[Dan Morris]

Me thinks Brother Rockeye knows a lot more than the rest of us...I'd listen to him! Ole ranchers got more tricks than you think they do...least ways, ones I knew did!
Dan

[Brother Rockeye]

good deal,hair on saves a few steps...

what are you planning on doing with the hide when it's done?It makes a difference in how you finish it.

I'm gonna write up a quick how-to with a couple of drawings so you get it right the first time out.

I'll give you the basic idea of what you are going for.
Simply put,you remove anything that will rot or go rancid,and replace it with something that won't.

you let me know what yer gonna use it for and i'll get started on the writing.

MERRY X-MAS HUNT CHATTERS.

I enjoy every stop I make here.

[Minihuntur]

I said that I want to use it to cover that part of the skull that connects the antlers on an antler mount I'm making.
Minihuntur

[Brother Rockeye]

must have missed that part-lol

tanning for taxidermy is pretty simple cuzz the hide doesn't get any wear and tear...

I'll get yer how-to done and post in the next couple of days...kinda hectic around here with the holidays...

[sdkid]

I'll be trying hair on first. I want to do a nice soft hairoff too. I'm looking at the tannit solution from tandy leather for my hair on.
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[Brother Rockeye]

lets get started with the most time consuming and important part of tanning a hide-fleshing.
Fleshing is the removal of all meat and membrane on the "flesh" side of the hide.This allows for penetration of the tanning medium and prevents spoilage and in this case slippage caused by bacteria.
There are a few things you will need to make this job easier and less time consuming-the finished product will be directly related to how well you flesh your hide.
1.fleshing pole-this is basically a smooth surface to stretch the hide over while you scrape it.virtually anything can be used from a sawhorse or post to pvc pipe.The last one I made was an old wooden saw horse with a half round of a 5 inch plastic pipe screwed to it.One of the simplest I've seen was a 6 inch fence post with a mud flap nailed to one end like a flyswatter.You sat on the flap with the post between your legs and worked the hide from a sitting position.
2.scraper-draw knives were common and I use one for the first major fleshing.Virtually anything that will scrape the meat etc off WITHOUT cutting holes in the hide will do.I have an old swather section(knife) that I welded to a broken ratchet handle that I use for finishing.It is 3 sided and all are sharpened a little differently.An old buddy of mine used a wire wheel on a side grinder to finish years ago.It is alot easier work but it's pretty messy and you have to be careful,I don't recommend it.
I will assume that the hide is fresh and frozen.If this isn't the case let me know and we will address that.Salted hides or hides that weren't frozen right away have to be "brined"or "pickled"to set the hair so it won't slip.
first thing is to thaw the hide so it is pliable.Stretch it over the pole and scrape as you go.You can hold it against the sides of the pole with your knees as you scrape the top.Keep at it til you have removed ALL the flesh and membrane.Don't let the hide dry out,a little water will keep it pliable but too much will make it slippery and harder to handle.

you can use almost anything you have on hand to flesh your hide.Don't go just by what I've written.A little bit of ingenuity goes a long way.

Let me know how the hide was stored and we can customize the approach accordingly.

sdkid-commercial solutions like that are fine if you have access,but nothing beats a brain tanned hide with a little smoke for cure...I believe you should be able to get the job done with what you have on hand just like the old days when driving to the city for "tannin supplies" wasn't an option.But thats just me,I'm kinda old school.

I have a 73 yr old neighbor that lives on the river fork that paints hides with gasoline to dry them out after he stretches them.When he takes them off the frame he stakes them in the River and lets the flowing water wash them.He uses whatever he has on hand at the time,and he does a good job no matter what.

Good luck no matter how you go about it.

[Minihuntur]

I dropped the hide on the gravel floor of my shop and let it freeze.
Minihuntur

[Brother Rockeye]

good,thaw it out and start fleshing.if the head is still attached to the cape you can brain tan it.

[Brother Rockeye]

I went looking for pictures of fleshing poles and scrapers an such and found a whole slew of sites with information about different ways of tanning.I haveta say I learned a few things myself.
Do a google search for "hide tanning" and you will find a bunch of walk throughs for tanning.They have already been written out and will safe me a bunch of time.It never hurts to draw from more than 1 source.I can fill in any blanks for you after you have a brain full of new information.:D


happy scrapin...

[Minihuntur]

I cant brain tan it because I cut the top of the skull off to get the antlers. Then I fed the brains to my dog. :D
Minihuntur