# Pelt Preserving



## Annoth (Oct 21, 2013)

Anyone got some recipes for a universal hide tanning? I'm going to a small town in MI in a few weeks and will only be there around 10 days. Will be squrriel (main focus and we have grey, fox, & red squrriels), coyote, partridge (dont need preserving), and rabbit hunting. with current resources I cannot access the brain and may be able to get battery acid. I'm looking to make this pelt flexible so I can turn it into something possibly. Any tips guys? 

I may be going hog/deer hunting around my home area and want to know if hog hide is any good? I know deer can be tanned but whould a wild hog be worth it for a bag or something that whould carry items (might be interesting in using it to carry items to show with my steer :gaptooth: )


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## Snowfan (Nov 6, 2011)

I want to go squirrel hunting. Pick me! Pick me!


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

you could flesh and board them , those would be the appropriate steps before tanning any way 

squirrel use a female mink board or a squirrel board is, at 2 inches 1 11/16 at 9 inches 2 1/4 and at 19 inches 2 1/2 

the difference is only a about a 16 th at the nose but the mink board is longer and gets wider at the end

I just freeze everything till i get around to it they keep frozen well


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## Chaty (Apr 4, 2008)

After defleshing it you can do the 1 egg to 2oz oil to tan with after stretching it. But like pete said I would just freeze it till you have the time to work it. Not sure about the wild hog but it should be able to tan as pigskin is tanned. Just very heavy and a lot of work.


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## gunsmithgirl (Sep 28, 2003)

I would flesh and dry them, or freeze as mentioned above. When you get back home you could always find a butcher and ask if they would sell you some brains for brain tanning.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Yes if you can find some free range chicken eggs that would even be better. It's the fatty acids in both the eggs and brains that does the softening of a hide. 

For leather 1st scrape off all the flesh on the hide. Then find a you a trash barrel and fill it with about 10 gallons of water and a couple of shovels full of hydrated lime, which you can buy at most feed stores. Mix well then place your hide in the solution and weigh it down with something heavy, such as a cement block. Let it set in this solution till the hair starts slipping off. You will need to stir the solution daily. Then when the hair starts slipping off remove the hide and rinse it off with a garden hose. Place the hide back on your fleshing board and remove all the hair and then turn it over and reflesh the flesh side again. Then place in a clean trash barrel and fill with water and let the water hose barely trickle water inside the barrel all night long. This is to help rinse all the hydrated lime out of the hide. Now remove hide and stretch it out on either a loom or a 4 X 8 sheet of plywood which is what I use. Let dry. This will give you rawhide to dry and soften. 

If you want suede leather, you will need to scrape the 1st layer of skin off the hair side of the hide after removing the hair. Then proceed with the delimeing. This will take a while and time consuming, but well worth it when you have the finished product.

After hides have dried, mix up a dozen eggs with a bit of warm water to kind of make a soupy concoction. Then rub this mixture on to the hide and let soak in and let semi dry. When it's almost dry but still just a bit moist, take it loose from the loom or plywood and start stretching it in all directions to make it soft. 

It's a lot of work but well worth it when you start making clothings and leather crafts with the finish product.


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Okay if you want to keep the hair on, follow this method. Scrape the flesh side of the hide as mentioned above. Now instead of placeing in a de-hairing solution you will make a solution of 1 pound Alum, 1 cup salt, and one gallon water. 1 to 1 to 1 ratio. Mix well and make enough to cover you hide(s). You will need to leave this in the solution about 7 to 10 days, depending on temps and stir everyday. This will pickle/preserve your hide(s). Remove hide and rinse well using the method mentioned above. Then stretch and tack on plywood to let dry with the flesh side up. When dried make your eggs solution and apply. When semi dry, remove and stretch in all directions. You may have to repeat the egg solution several times to make the hide softer.

You can add neets foot oil to your egg mixture if you want. I've also used a combination of a half of bar of soap grated and boiled in water to dilute with neets foot oil added. When cool enough to dip your hands in you can then wipe your hide down with it.


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