# Best way to break a deer hide by hand?



## indianawoodsman

What is the best way to break a deer hide by hand. I have been trying to roll and unroll it for what seems like a million times. Ive even used my wifes dryer with no heat with a pair of shoes to beat it. Still stiff like cardboard,with a lot of creases. Any help would be great.


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## indianawoodsman

oh and by the way the hair is still on the hide.


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## TimberlandTaxi

I believe the Indians used to chew on them.


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## OneidaPest

You could use a staking tool. This is a flat plate of steel about 1/4" thick and rounded on a pole to hold it. You work the hide side on it. Draw the hide back and forth like polishing shoes. This will relax the hide and make it more flexible. Hope this helps.


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## indianawoodsman

thanks for the help.


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## GenesisAlpha

> You could use a staking tool. This is a flat plate of steel about 1/4" thick and rounded on a pole to hold it. You work the hide side on it. Draw the hide back and forth like polishing shoes. This will relax the hide and make it more flexible. Hope this helps.


X2, depending on the method used to tan..................which was................................?


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## proskinnertts

sounds like the hide was not oiled properly, dampen the leather side with a spray bottle, once the water has soaked into the leather some, take some softening oil (depending on the consitency it may need to be cut 50/50 with water) let it dry into the hide and it should help a lot when trying to break it


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## Furbearer1

Having tanned many more skins than i can now remember. If you described your method of processing the hide it would be easier to help with this solution.
Furbearer1


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## bow hunter11

You could chew on it like the indians did


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## redbone311

TimberlandTaxi said:


> I believe the Indians used to chew on them.


The Indians did no such thing! And I'm an Indian/Native American and very active with the tribes.

First off you need to tell everyone how the hide was tanned in the first place. It makes a world of difference. 
One way to try and loosen it is to make a framework of wood. Then lace the hide all the way around to to frame. Then you take a very rounded blunt end of a piece of wood - from the skin side - warm and oil the hide and continually push against the hide to stretch it and loosen the cells. That will allow the oil into the cells which will help keep it loose.


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## MOC

redbone311 said:


> The Indians did no such thing! And I'm an Indian/Native American and very active with the tribes.


Yes, they sure did. Plenty of evidence to support this. Read the very first paragraph, as an example:

http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/tanninghides.pdf


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## redbone311

MOC said:


> Yes, they sure did. Plenty of evidence to support this. Read the very first paragraph, as an example:
> 
> http://www.state.tn.us/twra/pdfs/tanninghides.pdf


NO, They did NOT. If that was the way they did it, they would not have had any teeth left very early in life. Just because some dummy wrote it down somewhere doesn't make it true. Got plenty of people in the world making all sorts of claims that are not true. I'll take the word of my ancestors, and the other real and worthwhile documentation instead of some folksy clown who thinks he knows something. Common sense alone would tell you that is not how it was done. Or at least it should. Some people don't have any.


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## sharpshooter359

bolt a disc blade used for farming to a bench and you just have to put alot of work into it running the skin side (not hair) back and forth against the blade.


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## Tonto79

Yes, we did and still do, don't know what "tribes" you're talking about, but I've seen my uncles and grandfather and several other of us use this method. It does work, just takes forever. And all my relatives still have their teeth. And we're real indians too, not one of you politcally correct whine asses that want to be called "native american" . Just because you go hang out at the casino doesn't mean that you're down with the tribe. I love people like you, who have like 1/16th Sioux blood and you tell everyone that you're a direct descendant from Sitting Bull himself. You need to do your homework before you decide that you're going to be the voice for all of us, because you obviously don't know about every tribes tanning methods. Good luck with your debating skills Kevin Costner, I'll see you and Two Socks out on the trail.


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