How to Tan Animal Hides at Home
While there are many ways to tan an animal hide, this method uses brains and can be done in your own back yard. Tanning with brains is often preferred because they are absorbed so well into the hide and the final product is extremely soft. If convenient, use brains from the animal you are tanning or you can purchase them from a butcher. The brains and the hide can also be kept in your freezer until you are ready to work with them.
Things You'll Need
- Fresh hide
- Round beam
- Fleshing knife
- Four, 2 by 4 inch boards, 5 to 10 feet in length
- Box of 3-inch nails
- Hammer
- Sharp knife
- Clothesline cord (100 feet)
- 1 cup water
- Cook pot
- Mild acid, wood ash or ground sea shells (optional)
- 1/2 to 1 cup brains
- Blender of masher
- Rounded paddle or stick with beveled end
- Rounded metal or bone blade or another person
- Rotten wood for fire
Instructions
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1
Place the hide flesh-side up on the beam. Scrape the hide using the fleshing knife. Remove all the fat and muscle pushing it away from you. Continue to scrape until every piece of flesh, fat and membrane is removed.
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2
Pound nails, 3 inches apart along the center of each 2-by-4-inch board. Do not pound them all the way in, leave part of the nail exposed. Construct a drying frame with the boards that is slightly larger than the hide. The shorter boards run horizontally, the longer boards run vertically. Make 1-inch slits all around the perimeter of the hide, 3 to 5 inches apart, staying parallel to the hide's edge. Insert a 12-inch piece of cord through the middle hole in the top of the hide. Tie this off to the corresponding mid-centered nail in the top board of the frame. Continue in the same manner with all the top slits of the hide. Tie off the bottom slits to the corresponding nails on the bottom board, pulling the hide tight. Tie off the side slits to the corresponding nails on the side boards of the frame and pull the hide tight. Place the frame up against a wall. Allow the hide to dry in the frame. This can take one to seven days depending on the climate.
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3
Soak the skin in mild acid or baste with a sludge of slaked lime to remove the hair. Use wood ash and water or ground seashells boiled in water for this process. Rinse the hide thoroughly before proceeding to brain tanning.
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4
Cook the brains in the pot with 1 cup of water until tender. Blend well in a blender or mash by hand. Apply the brain mixture to the hide. Let the hide sit for 24 hours.
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5
Work the hide using the rounded paddle or beveled stick, being careful not to tear the hide. Push into the hide with the paddle or stick and stretch the hide with the implement. This can take anywhere from four hours to a few days depending on the humidity level. Stretch the hide intermittently. Pull the hide over a rounded metal or bone blade or stretch it over a tree branch, or, pull at opposite ends of the hide with a partner. Continue rotating the hide and pulling. The hide is finished when it is white, soft and pliable.
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6
Smoke the hide by hanging it over a smudge fire (smoke only) until it is completely permeated. This makes the hide waterproof and repels moths. Trim the edges of the hide and wash it.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are leaving the hair on your hide, make sure the brain mixture only touches the flesh side and not the fur side of the hide.
Be careful to avoid sun exposure to the hide while it's drying or it will burn the skin.
