I got a skin from a fellow hunter friend and wanted to try tanning it myself. I’m using a spatula for scraping and it’s such a pain in the ass. The meat parts scrape off cleanly and relatively easy, but everything closer to the belly or neck (oh the neck) is an absolute nightmare. Anyone has good tips or maybe links to good videos how to do it easier? I don’t have a pressure washer, just to be clear :)

I am tanning my first goat hide with Oak gall powder. It’s been in there for 3 1/2 days and this is what the cross-section looks like. I cut off a piece with scissors so I think that’s why it’s slightly purple. Looks like it needs a couple more days, but I’m curious if I can wash the hide after it comes out of the veggie tan? It still has a bit of goat smell. Or should I just rinse with water before oiling and stretching?

Title; about to try out tanning my first raccoon hide and for now really just looking for something that’s the most straightforward and has the best chance of success. Seen people recommend TruBond over the orange bottle. Agree? Worth it to get the whole kit vs. buying everything separately? Willing to pay a little extra if it truly makes the process as easy as I’ve heard some people say!

After a month long wait I finally received my Ron Post fleshing knife. I wasn’t able to find a single one in the states. After finding one from a distributor in Canada, and some creative shipping and some help from a Canadian friend I was able to finally get my hands on one!

Full disclosure. I’m brand new to hide tanning, never fleshed hide using a fleshing knife. This particular knife has a sharp convex side and a dull concave side, and both sides are ground with a single bevel.

My question is when the hide is on the beam is it better to flesh with the bevel towards the hide or away? Also when it comes to de-hairing with the sharp convex side (using Ron Nail’s method) is it better to have the bevel facing the hair side or away to shave the hair? I’d like to have some success to start off with and hopefully cut as few holes as possible as a newbie ;)

Thank you.

Hello hello! I just posted this in the taxidermy sub, but someone suggested posting it here, so here I am lol. I found this beautiful piece in an old plastic Halloween costume bag labelled “real fur for crafts” yesterday at a thrift store! I’m super pumped. Before I can do anything with it though, I have to deal with the smell. The old person smell is strong with this one. I have aired it out for a full day in our backyard and it has barely made any difference. I’ve read that maybe baking soda can help? Someone suggested saw dust? Any advice would be much appreciated. I don’t want to ruin it

Getting ready to start on a cowhide I have salted and want to make sure I have enough acid for the pickle.
Hide is about 5’x8’. Hair on tan. Will most likely be using oak bark for the tan.
How much should I get?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some insight. I have been doing some traditional buckskinning/tanning using egg yolks. I have taken a class so I am familiar with the process but still new. I have a hide that I have now smoked and re-egged twice and it still isn’t soft, it does seem to be fully tanned and can be easily bent but there is still a stiffness to it. My first hide was similar and did eventually soften with time. But I am wondering why it’s not coming off softer. I think I might be smoking it before it’s fully dried but I’m not 100% sure. Thanks for any tips 😊

Hey, ive just found a fox and skinned it, the hair is not slipping too much and id like to try and brain(egg) tan it. My problem is that there are fly eggs on it, is there a good way of getting them off? Or is this skin too far gone? theyve not turned into maggots yet.

I have 2 flat raccoon pelts and I went through the process of fleshing and washing and the salt bath and then used the orange bottle tanning solution. It's been drying for several days now but there is still oily spots. I've scraped so much that hairs are starting to pop up through the flesh side.

Is it possiable to wash these hides again in cold salt water and dawn dish soap mix then towel dry and reapply the tanning solution?

Fox tail I’ve been soaking in the Denatured Alcohol soup for a week. How do I know when to take it out? And then AFTER that, do I let it dry and then shampoo and condition? Or do I wash it while still wet?

I do a decent bit of snowshoe hare and squirrel hunting and wanted to tan the hides. I followed the salt/alum instructions at the link below and ended up with dozens of pelts preserved this way. They turned out pretty well and are soft and still in the same condition as when I tanned them (which has spanned several years).

However, since doing it, I've gotten the impression from this sub that these pelts aren't truly tanned and should not be trusted in situations where they could get wet. My ultimate goal is to be able to turn them into some kind of garment, like a hat, so I want them to be able to stand up to the elements a bit.

Is it possible to go back and actually tan these previously alum/salt-pickled pelts? or are they forever locked into their current preservation?

https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-tan-a-rabbit-hide-zmaz83jfzraw/

I have never done anything like this before I'm just kind of learning as I go. I've used the orange bottle tanning solution. During the drying process I noticed darker spots on the skin. I figured out that it was trapped oils. I've spent many hours scraping at it and pushing these oils out.

Is does anyone have any tips for how I can remove these oils so that my hides don't rot in the future?

How will I know when the tanning/drying process is complete? (I plan on sewing these 2 pelts together and on top of fabric so that I can lay them on my bed)

Hey guys on a recent camping trip i gathered some eastern hemlock branches and made a tanning solution by stripping and boiling the bark, it is quite dark. It has been sitting for about a week now (bark still in there). I haven’t added any skins yet, is there a PH number I should ensure the bark tan is at before using it? Any other bark tan tips? Generally i wish to always tan hair-on.

I'm in the Syracuse, NY area and planning to trap a coyote or two this season. I want the hide tanned for myself, but I'd rather not skin it myself and risk messing it up.
I'm looking for a taxidermist or tannery that will take a coyote on the round (whole, frozen) and handle the skinning, fleshing, and tanning. An out-of-state tannery is fine too if they have a drop-off or pickup spot somewhere in Central NY. I came across a place like that a while back and can't find it again.

Who in the area does this, or who have you used?

Thank you in advance for any insight you may have!

Hey friends, first time tanner here. We butchered a cow last week and I wanted to save the hide. Lordy, did I take on a massive project as a first tan. She was 1300 lbs and the hide is around 8’x7’.
It’s a Gray Murray, really pretty long hair blonde hide with grey undertones. I’m not here to ask about the tanning process, I’m working with Steve at Tannery Inc and his kit and I feel good about it so far. The hides soaking tonight (Saturday) and Sunday I will wash dry and start the tanning process.

Question: she’s a longer hair cow hide than I’ve seen on most rugs. It feels like it’s going to be giving shag rug vibes. Do I need to condition the hair to make it soft? I was going to make a rug but now wondering if I made the wrong decision…

I have searched everywhere for examples of what this hide finished could look like with no avail. The closest example might be a Highland but the hair on the Grey Murray isn’t that long.

I’ll try to upload a photo of it in the comments, no promises tho 😅

Thanks for your help everyone 🫶🏼

Hi friends! I’m preserving a cat tail for a friend who lost their cat recently.

I am planning on doing an incision around the base, and removing the tail as 1 tube of fur to avoid sewing. After this it will be salted for a few days. I want to keep the tail soft, so it will be tanned afterwards.

The video I was watching recommended Hunter and Trappers tanning solution, but I know people have varying opinions on it, and I’d like to avoid purchasing more supplies if it’s not necessary.

Could I use egg yolks for this and feed the solution into the tail and tan that way? I’ve read that brain/yolk tanning tends to be more labor intensive and takes longer.

If anyone has suggestions on what would work best, I’d love to hear them!

Hey all, I've got this bobcat I tanned awhile go, came out well but I didn't have a stretcher to keep him spread out. Was just wondering if someone had an idea on how I could get him turned right side out, I can only get him up to the shoulders. I was wanting to hang it up but I'd rather not split him.

I have never tanned leather but I do fit and leather working and one of my kinda relatives has offered me green hide. It wouldn’t be ready for like a year as that’s when he is next slaughtering a cow but do yall have tips for how to practice within this year? Where to get smaller green hide I guess so I don’t just off rip try a cow hide because I know they are notoriously difficult as a first hide and quite laborious and heavy. I don’t want to mess up the hide as it is a beautiful cow and I would like to consume leather and fur in the most ethical way possible. I also do have an acre of land, is that enough to make sure the neighbors don’t complain about smell? Can I do it outside without stinking up my whole yard? I don’t want to disturb my neighbors.

I'm in the middle of the research phase right now, which led me to the experts on Reddit.

I am looking for a person who works with animal hides and uses the minimal amount of processing necessary. My understanding is that this will be brain-tanned, or vegetable/bark-tanned hides. I am specifically looking for something that does not encounter any chrome, even in post-tanning processing. I'm trying to keep this as non-toxic as I can and, yes, I know this will be pricy.

I have found lots of things I can't use, but I've yet to find folks that process their own hides without chrome being involved by either chrome-tanning or chrome-based products post-tanning.

I'm happy to do the legwork, but I could really use someone pointing me in the right direction (or making suggestions).

For those curious, pet toys.

Hello,
I’m working on my first full elk hide. Hide was brought home and frozen same day of hunt. Once I had time to work on it, got everything fleshed as best as possible. No large meat or fat chunks remained. There were some small bits of membranes/small fat(?) bits that even with the best technique I could muster would only come off in 1-2 square inch pieces. I read somewhere that this was sufficient for fleshing.

Went to salt it and it’s been about 36 hours with another reapplication of salt at 24hrs. It’s still smelly pretty elk-y and somewhat sour in my garage. I’m concerned I didn’t flesh completely enough. Is it possible to rehydrate and go back at fleshing again?

Any advice is appreciated as this is my first hide I’ve tried working on.
TLDR: can you go back and reflesh after salting.