eagle wings

after turning raw hide into buckskin - how do you tan it? Help please..

powwowbum49

If you have turned Rawhide into buckskin then it is tanned. Are you wanting to brian tan it or what?

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PB49

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." Pablo Picasso


My comments are based on what I have been taught and my experiences over the years I have been around the circle. They should in no way be taken as gospel truths and are merely my opinions or attempts at passing on what I have learned while still learning more.

eagle wings

I guess I don't know what I need to do - what do I do with hide after I work it into buckskin - to make it safe for use?

wyo_rose

Do you mean, "how do you smoke it to get the nice color and moisture resistance?"

Here's what my sis-in-law did:

Find some dry rotten wood. She walked along the river bottom and found old cottonwood she could kick apart.

Sew your hide up into a tube shape. Add an old pant leg to the bottom. Start a small fire in a coffee can with the wood. Put the pant leg over the can. Hand the hide so the smoke can go up the tube.

I hope this helps.

What exactly did you do to turn your rawhide into buckskin?

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Don't take life so seriously!
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powwowbum49

ok...if you kill and skin a deer you have a green hide. If you take and scrape the meat off the inside and hair off the outside and let that dry you have rawhide. If you take the rawhide and tan it by brain tanning or have it tanned commercially...you then have buckskin. Once a hide is to the point of rawhide or if it is tanned then it is safe to use.

If you can let us know what the hide is like right now and what you want to do with it we may be able to help.

__________________
PB49

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." Pablo Picasso


My comments are based on what I have been taught and my experiences over the years I have been around the circle. They should in no way be taken as gospel truths and are merely my opinions or attempts at passing on what I have learned while still learning more.

Lyricsdad

okay, this is from memory, I have been taking a class and we discussing this topic, and this is what I have gotten out of it.

1. you need to put moisture back into your rawhide, so soak it get it back to the pliable form it once was.

2. you need to have brains, I was told you can find buffalo and cow brains but the people who have them don't want mad cow or that buffalo disease linked back to them, so they are reluctant to give them out. The next best thing I was told was pig brains.

3. mix your brains and water in equally (1 gallon brains, 1 gallon of water...) I was told to "purree" them lmao like in an old blender or something that can smash them together to make a mixture.

4. start heating up your mixture which will look disgusting, and make sure to to fully cook it (I have no idea how that looks have never done it....)

5. once the brain stuff is mixed heated and together, someone said that you can put a little bit of "fabric softener" in your mixture.. I dont know how true this was but they said it works for them.

6. now you get your soaked rawhide scraped hyde that was prepared, and start trying to mash that brain stuff into the fibers of the hyde.

7. twist the brain matter in like your wringing out a mop, or if you have access to one, use a "Towel or shammy" dryer they used to use at carwashes, (they are little roller things that usually are hand cranked, and you don't want to get your finger caught in...). You basically want to get as much of the oils and brain material smashed into the hyde as much as possible.

8. I was told that as you do this more and more, the hide will start to soak it all up, and begin to dry.

9. If you have used up your tanning brains, and your hide has it all worked in, you have to stretch it. I was told a nice pole in the ground works well if it is placed in extra good. Or even a rope that is tied up nice and tight. You have to work the hide back and forth stretching it and basically further softening it up.

10. Like I said I never did this yet.. i believe we are going to be doing this soon though, and well the hide should be pretty dry before your done, you may need to take a few smoke breaks here and there while doing this as your arms will get tired i assume.

11. once complete, you have the option of smoking the hide or not.

I was given a piece of hide to make my strike-a-light pouch, and its not smoked, but wow it has the best texture and it is the best for putting a needle into..

Once you use hand tanned stuff it is hard to go back to the commercial stuff!!!! believe me!!

I can't wait for deer season, as I am going to have to try this method out...

Ed