11-09-2004, 06:19 PM
[cool][cool]Hi Dave I started here but just had to put something on the 16 species.
I've been tanning for about 8 years now. I've done a number of hides and enjoy it. I've been doing an old indian method of brain tanning, which involves smoking the hides after you scrape and strech them. this is good because after they are smoked they are them preserved for when you want to do a project. Right now I have about a dozen hides waiting for the final step which is the soaking in the brain solution.
The worst part is the scraping of the hide, which can take up to two hours to do one (both sides). I use a draw knife for that and it has to be extremly sharp and held at the right angle so as to remove the hair but not cut through the hide.The only project I have around right now is a hide I did many years ago (18) of the first deer I shot and that hangs in my office.
I used to have a jar of comercial alum that a professor here at school gave me but have used it up. now I have some pickleing alum from the store, I hoping that works as well. We will see.
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I've been tanning for about 8 years now. I've done a number of hides and enjoy it. I've been doing an old indian method of brain tanning, which involves smoking the hides after you scrape and strech them. this is good because after they are smoked they are them preserved for when you want to do a project. Right now I have about a dozen hides waiting for the final step which is the soaking in the brain solution.
The worst part is the scraping of the hide, which can take up to two hours to do one (both sides). I use a draw knife for that and it has to be extremly sharp and held at the right angle so as to remove the hair but not cut through the hide.The only project I have around right now is a hide I did many years ago (18) of the first deer I shot and that hangs in my office.
I used to have a jar of comercial alum that a professor here at school gave me but have used it up. now I have some pickleing alum from the store, I hoping that works as well. We will see.
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