vefangels.blogg.se - Tanning hides with eggs

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The butchers produced a pretty clean hide. Using my hunting knife, I cut away as much flesh and fat as possible. High temperatures / humidity accelerate bacteria growth, while temperatures too low inhibit drying (not to mention are miserable for working) a heated garage in the winter was perfectįleshing (5 hours).

#Tanning hides with eggs free#

A clean, dry work area between 40-70F and free from critters / pets.

Fine-grain, non-iodized salt (I used ~6lbs for a medium cow elk).

Periodically drain the bucket over the first few days and store up to a year. Fluids will drain from the hide, so place a brick beneath it to prevent the hide from soaking. (E.g., The Tannery.)įor storage, the safest bet seems to be "wet salting." Lay the hide flat, cover with salt, let sit overnight, then roll and store in a bucket. Caution: some tanneries don't accept frozen hides, claiming freezer burn alters the chemistry and tanning process. But if time pressed, a hide can be safely stored in a freezer or once salted. In general, the best results seem to be fresh hides. (E.g., the " orange bottle" tanning solution instructions.) For hair-off, most guides recommend immersing the hide in plain water bath to loosen fur before shaving. For hair-on, those guides seemed to be in the minority. I found a few guides that caution against salting, claiming it's unneccessary for fresh hides and / or only required for dry storage. From a quick Google search, I realized I needed to flesh and salt the hide immediately. The hide was folded in a cardboard box in my truck bed.Īt that point, I still planned to send the hide to a taxidermist. Flesh and saltĭriving back from my butcher (Matt's Meats in Jackson), I stopped at Smith's for non-iodized salt. I lacked some of the tools / materials in these tutorials, and keeping to a reasonable budget, improvised.

McKenzie Taxidermy: Tanning Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 – for a mount, so not everything's applicable.

#Tanning hides with eggs how to#

Advanced Tanning Solutions: How To Tan an Elk.

Store: The hide should be hung somewhere not too hot or moist, breathable to inhibit mold and inaccessible to mice / insects.

Condition / waterproof: I applied mink oil to waterproof the hide – created a leather texture.

Thin: I used a hand sander after the hide dried to create a velvet texture can also thin with a knife before tanning.

Prevents the hide from becoming rigid when dry. Break: While drying, stretch the hide until fibers turn white.(I used " orange bottle" brush-on solution.)Īlter protein structure to increase durability / prevent decay. Tan: Apply brush-on or soak-in tanning solution.Rinse and drain: Quick rinse in cool water, then drain.If too acidic, tanning solution can't penetrate. Neutralize: Quick soak in a slightly less acidic solution (pH 4-5).Kills bacteria sets hair by contracting hair follicles removes non-structural proteins to allow tanning solution to adhere to structural proteins. Pickle: Soak the hide in a mildly acidic (pH 2) solution.Drain: Allow the hide to partially dry.Once salted, the stiff hide can be difficult to clean at some point, you'll need to remove dirt / blood. Rehydrate / clean: Quick soak in salt / detergent solution, gently rinsing blood and dirt from the hair.Inhibits bacteria growth some sources claim salt damages the hide (in the minority) others claim it's mandatory to set hair once salted, hides can be stored for months, maybe years a hide can also be frozen for some time before salting.

Salt: Cover the hide with non-iodized salt to draw out moisture.Flesh the hide: Remove remaining flesh and fat.

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Summary of my steps, plus my best guesses at the why's:

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I'll link to other articles for hair-off tanning.īonus: Check out the full Instagram story for my hunt. Some steps will change if you're looking to remove hair. (Most guides lacked satisfying explanations.)

I'll break down the steps that worked well – plus links to helpful resources – and take my best guess at the purpose of each step. I pieced together the common elements for my best attempt. Each article / tutorial had unique tanning steps, each "critical" to the process. So, I Googled and YouTubed, growing frustrated by conflicting steps. All the shops within a few hundred miles didn't tan hides. After a few days dialing taxidermists, I realized they're very expensive and hard to pin down. More context in the full trip report.Īt my Dad's suggestion, I asked my butcher for the hide to get it tanned. Just before Thanksgiving 2022, I bagged a ~400lb cow elk on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson Hole, WY. How to Tan an Elk Hide with Hair-on Finished product