preserving pelts

8mm · July 20, 2011, 07:34 PM

im going to be hunting small game and large game animals and i was wondering on how to preserve the pelt.

JACK308 · July 20, 2011, 07:56 PM

After you skin it and flesh it either put it onto a hanger or streach it and nail it on wood depending how you skin it, then salt it good by rubbing it in the salt will dry up the blood and cure the pelt but every day check it for water and blood then re salt.

8mm · July 20, 2011, 08:02 PM

ok i was told salt would work wanted second oppinion i want to use the same process that they used it the wild west days. thats what they used i gather.

JACK308 · July 20, 2011, 09:17 PM

if thats what you want to do then look up brain tanning

8mm · July 20, 2011, 09:19 PM

thanks this should help alot.

pvt.Long · July 20, 2011, 09:20 PM

Salt works great for preserving anything.

8mm · July 20, 2011, 09:29 PM

how long does the skin last with just salting it. im thinking of brain tanning.

pvt.Long · July 20, 2011, 09:32 PM

there are accounts of native americans using urine to tan and preserve leather.

8mm · July 20, 2011, 10:08 PM

what kind human urine animal urine im going to try all the tanning styles see what one works the best.

pvt.Long · July 20, 2011, 10:15 PM

human

8mm · July 20, 2011, 10:16 PM

what elts do you do just pee on it and its good to go.

spclPatrolGroup · July 21, 2011, 11:48 AM

You are going to have the flesh teh hide, cure it, its a very messy smelly process. I tried it once, and that was enough.

aarondhgraham · July 21, 2011, 11:59 AM

Quote:

what elts do you do just pee on it and its good to go.

It's been 15 minutes and I'm still laughing.

I know that sounds smarmy, and I guess it is,,,
But I spit coffee on my screen when I read that post.

You do not want to do urine tanning,,,
First, it involves saving your urine in open jars for a month or so.

Try this stuff, it works very well.

Aarond

8mm · July 21, 2011, 01:42 PM

no one told me how to i dont know lol how do you use the tanning soulution the same way as braining put it on the skin and work it in.

aarondhgraham · July 21, 2011, 02:13 PM

Find a Tandy Leather factory store in your area,,,
They have several books on brain tanning,,,
They also sell the Tannit solution,,,
Instructions are on the bottle.

But yes, you basically work it into the hide.

It's not an easy process,,,
Lotsa bending of the leather to work the liquid in.

Aarond

Scorch · July 21, 2011, 02:28 PM

First thing is get comfortable with a search engine. Search for "tanning hides" or "preserving hides" or something similar. It will give you links to sites like this.

Tandy Tannit or similar substances work OK and are easy to use, but require you to be comfortable with fleshing and stretching the hide for best results.

When I was in college we used to set up "study skins" using borax.

Salting a hide will not preserve it, salting it enough and drying it will give you rawhide. Nothing wrong with rawhide if you intend to get it tanned later.

Urine "tanning" will not give you good results.

Jason_G · July 23, 2011, 02:27 PM

I've brain tanned hides before. Very labor intensive, and if you want it to be where it won't shrink up from rain, and turn stiff as a board, you have to smoke it afterwards. I think all hunters ought to do it once, just because it's a neat piece of woodscraft that has gotten lost throughout the years, but with technology and modern chemistry, there are much easier ways to tan. And like Scorch said, salting a hide will hold it over until you get ready to tan it, but it is not a substitute for tanning. You could just as easily roll the hide up and stick it in the freezer until you get ready to work on it instead of using the salt.

Jason

8mm · July 23, 2011, 06:25 PM

how safe are the new tanning chemicals.

Jason_G · July 25, 2011, 02:15 AM

Quote:

how safe are the new tanning chemicals.

I haven't messed with the chemicals, so I may be wrong on this, but I believe some of them are pretty safe, containing vegetable dyes and fairly harmless chemicals when used correctly, but I think some contain heavy metals and other nasty chemicals. This is based on something that I think I read a long time ago, so this post might be worth what you paid for it.

Just thought you should know.

Now they do sell kits, and I would think you could get an MSDS sheet for them on the web to find out what's in them.

Jason

Edward429451 · July 25, 2011, 02:38 AM

Just use the keep it super simple approach. Skin your animal and cut off all the fat and flesh that you can and rub a bunch of salt into the hide. Nail the hide to and old door or the backside of the barn fur in towards the wood and stretch it tight and nail it down tight. Come by every day or so and rub some more salt into it and remove and flesh you may have missed. Keep scraping it and rubbing salt into it. One day you're done and have a cool fur. No chemicals needed, and tends to keep the girls out of whats behind that door...

highvel · July 25, 2011, 12:56 PM

Brain Tanning??

I think that could be part of my problem now!

Will salt work good for snake skins?

FrontSight · July 25, 2011, 01:18 PM

There's A LOT to learn about tanning hides, especially if you want to do it without any commercial products. Do you want to just preserve it and don;t care if it's stiff as a board and a little funky smelling, or do you want to actually tan it into a leather / fur product?

8mm · July 25, 2011, 05:27 PM

i want to preserve them and make things out of the skin like rugs ect.

stevelyn · July 26, 2011, 01:44 AM

Quote:

how long does the skin last with just salting it. im thinking of brain tanning.

If you flesh it, make sure the fat is scraped off, turn the ears, split the lips and dry it it should last indefinitely if it's kept dry.

Salt is not necessary and may even be detrimental to the tanning process. Salting is only useful for accelerating the drying if you have a short turnaround for shipping to a tannery.

I have several fleshed and dried pelts that haven't been salted awaiting to be tanned and are doing just fine.

Jason_G · July 26, 2011, 09:11 AM

I've found that if you do a good job fleshing the hide, leaving nothing that will rot like fat or meat, and you get to the braining pretty quickly after the hide dries, you don't really need the salt. All it does is buy you some time between fleshing and the actual tanning process in case you can't get to it right away. It just makes things messier IMO. If you think you will have some layover time between skinning the animal out and getting to the tanning, the best thing to do to preserve it without making a mess is to just roll the hide up and put it in a freezer bag and into the deep freezer. Take it out when you get ready, air dry it, and start working the brain slurry in.

Jason

July 20, 2011, 07:34 PM	#1
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	preserving pelts im going to be hunting small game and large game animals and i was wondering on how to preserve the pelt.

July 21, 2011, 02:13 PM	#15
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 6,387	Hello 8mm,,, Find a Tandy Leather factory store in your area,,, They have several books on brain tanning,,, They also sell the Tannit solution,,, Instructions are on the bottle. But yes, you basically work it into the hide. It's not an easy process,,, Lotsa bending of the leather to work the liquid in. Aarond __________________ Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Combat: "A Silent Cry" Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

July 21, 2011, 02:28 PM	#16
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 11,113	First thing is get comfortable with a search engine. Search for "tanning hides" or "preserving hides" or something similar. It will give you links to sites like this. Tandy Tannit or similar substances work OK and are easy to use, but require you to be comfortable with fleshing and stretching the hide for best results. When I was in college we used to set up "study skins" using borax. Salting a hide will not preserve it, salting it enough and drying it will give you rawhide. Nothing wrong with rawhide if you intend to get it tanned later. Urine "tanning" will not give you good results. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services Taylor Machine

July 23, 2011, 02:27 PM	#17
Jason_G Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,902	I've brain tanned hides before. Very labor intensive, and if you want it to be where it won't shrink up from rain, and turn stiff as a board, you have to smoke it afterwards. I think all hunters ought to do it once, just because it's a neat piece of woodscraft that has gotten lost throughout the years, but with technology and modern chemistry, there are much easier ways to tan. And like Scorch said, salting a hide will hold it over until you get ready to tan it, but it is not a substitute for tanning. You could just as easily roll the hide up and stick it in the freezer until you get ready to work on it instead of using the salt. Jason __________________ "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." -Amendment II, Constitution of the United States of America

July 25, 2011, 12:56 PM	#21
highvel Senior Member Join Date: January 21, 2010 Location: Powhatan VA Posts: 633	Brain Tanning?? I think that could be part of my problem now! Will salt work good for snake skins? __________________ Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.--Mark Twain "I have opinions of my own 'strong opinions' but I don't always agree with them."--George Bush

July 20, 2011, 07:56 PM	#2
JACK308 Junior member Join Date: July 10, 2011 Posts: 377	After you skin it and flesh it either put it onto a hanger or streach it and nail it on wood depending how you skin it, then salt it good by rubbing it in the salt will dry up the blood and cure the pelt but every day check it for water and blood then re salt.

July 20, 2011, 08:02 PM	#3
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	ok i was told salt would work wanted second oppinion i want to use the same process that they used it the wild west days. thats what they used i gather.

July 20, 2011, 09:17 PM	#4
JACK308 Junior member Join Date: July 10, 2011 Posts: 377	if thats what you want to do then look up brain tanning

July 20, 2011, 09:19 PM	#5
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	thanks this should help alot.

July 20, 2011, 09:20 PM	#6
pvt.Long Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2009 Posts: 429	Salt works great for preserving anything.

July 20, 2011, 09:29 PM	#7
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	how long does the skin last with just salting it. im thinking of brain tanning.

July 20, 2011, 09:32 PM	#8
pvt.Long Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2009 Posts: 429	there are accounts of native americans using urine to tan and preserve leather.

July 20, 2011, 10:08 PM	#9
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	what kind human urine animal urine im going to try all the tanning styles see what one works the best.

July 20, 2011, 10:15 PM	#10
pvt.Long Senior Member Join Date: March 7, 2009 Posts: 429	human

July 20, 2011, 10:16 PM	#11
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	what elts do you do just pee on it and its good to go.

July 21, 2011, 11:48 AM	#12
spclPatrolGroup Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2010 Location: North Dakota Posts: 349	You are going to have the flesh teh hide, cure it, its a very messy smelly process. I tried it once, and that was enough.

July 21, 2011, 01:42 PM	#14
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	no one told me how to i dont know lol how do you use the tanning soulution the same way as braining put it on the skin and work it in.

July 23, 2011, 06:25 PM	#18
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	how safe are the new tanning chemicals.

July 25, 2011, 02:38 AM	#20
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,496	Just use the keep it super simple approach. Skin your animal and cut off all the fat and flesh that you can and rub a bunch of salt into the hide. Nail the hide to and old door or the backside of the barn fur in towards the wood and stretch it tight and nail it down tight. Come by every day or so and rub some more salt into it and remove and flesh you may have missed. Keep scraping it and rubbing salt into it. One day you're done and have a cool fur. No chemicals needed, and tends to keep the girls out of whats behind that door...

July 25, 2011, 01:18 PM	#22
FrontSight Senior Member Join Date: September 9, 2005 Posts: 1,711	There's A LOT to learn about tanning hides, especially if you want to do it without any commercial products. Do you want to just preserve it and don;t care if it's stiff as a board and a little funky smelling, or do you want to actually tan it into a leather / fur product? __________________ To kill something as great as a duck just to smell the gunpowder is a crime against nature. - Alan Liere Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. - George Bernard Shaw

July 25, 2011, 05:27 PM	#23
8mm Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2011 Location: east coast Posts: 105	i want to preserve them and make things out of the skin like rugs ect.

July 26, 2011, 09:11 AM	#25
Jason_G Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2006 Location: Louisiana Posts: 1,902	I've found that if you do a good job fleshing the hide, leaving nothing that will rot like fat or meat, and you get to the braining pretty quickly after the hide dries, you don't really need the salt. All it does is buy you some time between fleshing and the actual tanning process in case you can't get to it right away. It just makes things messier IMO. If you think you will have some layover time between skinning the animal out and getting to the tanning, the best thing to do to preserve it without making a mess is to just roll the hide up and put it in a freezer bag and into the deep freezer. Take it out when you get ready, air dry it, and start working the brain slurry in. Jason __________________ "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." -Amendment II, Constitution of the United States of America