# Hide tanning



## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

I just finished butchering this year's kids and I decided that this year I am tanning the hides, as well. I am very excited. 

I was all set to remove the hair and make leather, when I looked on eBay and Amazon. There they have all sort of adds from tanners selling haired pelts. No one is selling hairless leather. 

What do you all make when you tan?i thought I'd try to sell the skins to offset some of my farm costs.


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Hopefully someone knows.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I haven't done it yet but I have some skins and am going to butcher a wether, they are dqpple hides and I'm going to make bar stools with the hair on the cushions. Seems easy enough I guess lol also for Christmas I was thinking of using a small section of one of the hides and branding it with our cattle brand and framing it for my dad. Before those ideas I was just going to throw them on some end tables and such or pin on the wall


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## lottsagoats1 (Apr 12, 2014)

Musicians who play traditional African drums would be interested in the hides with hair for the drums. The actual drum head is hairless, but the edges are fully haired.


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

*tanning*



Baphomet said:


> I just finished butchering this year's kids and I decided that this year I am tanning the hides, as well. I am very excited.
> 
> I was all set to remove the hair and make leather, when I looked on eBay and Amazon. There they have all sort of adds from tanners selling haired pelts. No one is selling hairless leather.
> 
> What do you all make when you tan?i thought I'd try to sell the skins to offset some of my farm costs.


did you do it?


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## Baphomet (Jun 15, 2013)

Nope, still have the hides in the freezer. I'll get to it one of these days!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

OK Newby question. How do you tan a hide?


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Well as it just so happens I'm in the process of doing it!! Not very fun I can tell you that lol ok fast summary and then I'll find the video of the one I watched and am copying. 
Soak hide in salt water for 12 hours
Lay hides out and put A LOT of salt on them, it will pull the moisture out so place them someplace that will drain, it's pretty gross the amount of moisture and fat that comes out. Let sit for 12 hours
Flesh it.....I did that yesterday so that's why I'm saying it's not fun lol I got a putty knife and tried scraping it, that didn't work well and I put a few holes in the hide  so I used my fingers to pull all the fat and crud off......only took 3 1/2 hours.
Make a solution up, there's many different ones but the one I used was alum and salt and let it sit for a few days. Then will come the fun part!!! Take it out and as it dries keep rubbing it back and forth on something like a wire or a stick of wood. A friend of mine goes out to his pipe fence and does it on that. My uncle did it on a tree limb with a elk hide.
This is for hair on, my brother did it for just the hide and he did it with lye but I'm not sure exactly. Let me find my post I had going and I'll copy the link for you. Someone also posted another thing on it, if you want the topic is called 'kinda a morbid question.....something or other lol


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)




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## wyomingtrapper (Mar 27, 2014)

If you plan on doing much of it, buy or make yourself a fleshing board and get a proper fleshing knife. It will save you a lot of headache. When I was trapping, I always fleshed before salt. The salt will draw out more of the oils though, so you may squeegee them off.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Yes!! I'll be getting one. I thought my uncle had a knife but he didn't :/


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I don't think I wanna do it anymore


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

RPC said:


> I don't think I wanna do it anymore


 what was the turning point for this decision? Honestly now that my fingers feel better I can say it wasn't that bad. I can't imagine doing something large like a cow but then again I haven't gotten to the last step yet. According to the video the hide is done but I want to give it another day to make sure


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

Just sounds like a lot more work then I thought. Maybe I will just pay someone


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## wyomingtrapper (Mar 27, 2014)

Breaking the hide, oiling and working it, as it dries; after the tanning process is a lot of work. Those who do a lot of tanning usually have a tumbler that breaks it as it dries.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I watched a thing on YouTube last night about the whole process with big companies. Pretty cool really and if I ever got my million dollars lol I'm dreading the last part though, I was going to take it out last night and decided one more day wouldn't hurt lol everyone has said how working it is the hardest but I'm still not impressed with the fleshing process......what angered me on that was before my husband helped skin it I was just peeling it off and he showed up and there was bit chunks of meat on it so it wasn't even my fault I had to spend so much time fleshing it lol


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## odieclark (Jan 21, 2016)

Ours has been neglected, sitting well salted and waiting in the cold shed....just haven't found the time...


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

It's been hard making the time for mine too. I got one done though but I'll tell you when you work it be careful because it rips  but I can honestly say other then ripping it it wasn't that bad!! I'm still disliking the fleshing the most right now


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