This isn't fishing related but.....

[Walleye Wisdom]

I am wondering what you do with an animal hide after you skin it from the animal. Do you soak the hide in salt and then let it dry after a while? How do you make the skin soft and bendable?
Thanks for the help.

[sib]

wisdom, don't know, never did it, but this guy tells ya how.
http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_l/l-103.html

"go outside and play"
sib

[Gabe]

Making animal hides like deer soft, means you should first start by tanning.
The type of tan doesn't matter, but soaking in salt won't do.
Soaking in salt only and allowing to dry will make hides about as soft as plywood.
Tanning itself doesn't soften the hide though .
that is done by breaking.
breaking simply means busting up the fibres (stretching over a relatively straight edge) , back and forth in different directions until it's as soft as you want it.
It usually takes many hours of breaking to do a hide manually, to get it soft

[IaCraig]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-27-01 AT 11:28AM (CST)[p]In past years I have tanned 6 or 7 deer hides, and made some neat things like Black Powder possibles bags, gun slings, and even a hair-on deer skin rug. Most the things I did turned out pretty darn good, but after the novelty wore off the process became too labor intensive and time consuming to be worth the gratification I got from it any more.

But, if you really want to try it, Sib's URL above is about the best explanation I have ever seen. If you can't find the chemicals the URL recommended, Tandy Leather Company used to make a chrome kit called something like "Tannery in a box". I think this kit would tan 2 deer hides, and years ago cost around $25. I highly suggest using a do-it-yourself kit like this before going on to more primitive ways such as brain tanning and smoke pits etc. (brain tanning never worked for me)

To me taking the hair off was the worst part. You either have to soak it in water for a long time to loosen the hair or else use something more caustic like a lye water mixture. (this can get kind of smelly) I guess you can shave it off too, but I never tried that.

Good Luck
IaCraig

[IaCraig]

Sib. excellent URL for tanning, perfect!

IaCraig

[River_eye]

Remember, if you want to use the hide for any insulational value, ie. winter camping, clothing, whatever, don't tan it, leave it raw.

River eye

[stewart]

How'd you do on the river this year Walleye Wisdom?

[vetspet(ind)]

my partner is into the "original" of everything....he is an avid bow hunter and even makes his own bows with only a draw knife and axe...he once told me that the native americans used the brains of the animal they killed to tan the hide...not sure about how they did this but if you are into the primative sort of things i may be able to find out...steve