How to Cure Rabbit Hides
Curing rabbit hides requires patience and a long amount of available time to wait. Rabbit hides are ideal for beginning leatherworkers to start curing since they are a plentiful resource; both wild and tame rabbits are used for meat. Rabbit hides must be scraped clean to cure properly. This means removing all of the fat, meat and blood that you possibly can before you begin the curing process. Any blood, fat or meat left on the rabbit hide will turn brown and leave irregularities in the skin side of the hide.
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Things You'll Need
- Mink oil
- Pickling salt
- Rabbit pelt, scraped clean
- Loaded staple gun
- Plywood larger than the rabbit pelt when stretched out
- Borax or baking soda
- Very mild detergent or powdered soap
Instructions
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1
Use the staple gun to staple the hide, fur side down, to the piece of plywood. Stretch it as far as it will go without tearing.
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2
Cover the skin side of the hide with the salt. Rub it into the edges and into any wrinkles or folds. Use approximately 1 lb. of salt per pound of hide.
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3
Refresh the salt whenever the topmost layer of salt becomes moist. This curing process will last approximately two weeks. It is best to keep the hide indoors to lessen the exposure to insects.
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4
Dunk the pelt in a wash made of 70 percent water and 30 percent borax or baking soda. Do not use a metal container for this since the salt will react. Soak the pelt for approximately 24 hours in this mixture.
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5
Rinse the pelt with the detergent or powdered soap and water. Wash gently until the pelt is clean.
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6
Rub the skin side of the pelt with the mink oil once it has dried. This will help preserve it.
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