# Anyone tan hides?



## 11hunter11 (Apr 6, 2007)

I have watched my taxidermist and he fleshes it real good, it took him around an hour or so, then he salts it real good. The next step he sends it to a tannary. 

Van ***** and Wasco sell videos on this, also they make a kit that tans the hide in a couple of days, all you have to do is flesh it and stick it in a bucket.

Good luck.


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## proskinnertts (Mar 8, 2005)

if want want a nice soft hide you will have to take it to a taxidermist and have him ship it to a tannery, you could do it yourself but it will come out like a piece of smelly cardboard


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## Reel-Break (Nov 21, 2005)

I have done several. Matter of fact have one sitting in the office right now pickling.Must flesh alll the fat and skin. Do what you can right after skinning. Then salt and stretch salt for 3-4 days while stretched remove any remaining fat & skin glue. You will have to scrape it very clean all the fat must come off especially around the outside and neck middle back area.The ones I do are rugs with hair on.To remove hair soak in limeslake solution.If I can find it there are some good recipes on the net.My pickle solution is 4oz hydrochroric acid or surlfric will work 3 gals water citric acid 1/2 cup 4lbs salt all mixed in 5 gallon bucket.Warm water salt ctric all mixed then slowly add the acid.A ph of 4 seems to be good.But this I got from the net so its very doable and after it sets for 3-4 days in pickling solution remove and stretch again removing and scraping again.A old ironing board is good to break down the leather while softening process begins just work it back and forth. It takes more work than most want to do but for a rug with hair the softness can at your discretion. Mine turn out good the softer the more work.Boil some walnut hulls in container and mix some with neats foot oil and rub it down gives good color and will last can`t say for ever but I got some I did 10 yrs ago.All the acid can be gotten from auto center, drug store.


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## proskinnertts (Mar 8, 2005)

Reel-Break said:


> I have done several. Matter of fact have one sitting in the office right now pickling.Must flesh alll the fat and skin. Do what you can right after skinning. Then salt and stretch salt for 3-4 days while stretched remove any remaining fat & skin glue. You will have to scrape it very clean all the fat must come off especially around the outside and neck middle back area.The ones I do are rugs with hair on.To remove hair soak in limeslake solution.If I can find it there are some good recipes on the net.My pickle solution is 4oz hydrochroric acid or surlfric will work 3 gals water citric acid 1/2 cup 4lbs salt all mixed in 5 gallon bucket.Warm water salt ctric all mixed then slowly add the acid.A ph of 4 seems to be good.But this I got from the net so its very doable and after it sets for 3-4 days in pickling solution remove and stretch again removing and scraping again.A old ironing board is good to break down the leather while softening process begins just work it back and forth. It takes more work than most want to do but for a rug with hair the softness can at your discretion. Mine turn out good the softer the more work.Boil some walnut hulls in container and mix some with neats foot oil and rub it down gives good color and will last can`t say for ever but I got some I did 10 yrs ago.All the acid can be gotten from auto center, drug store.


What is your tanning solution? You only explained how to make a pickle. A ph of 4 is not strong enough to do what needs to be done. An ideal ph would be 2 and then it would have to be neutralized.


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## Double S (Mar 30, 2008)

I use Lutan F from Van *****. it comes in a kit and very home friendly. It comes with very good Instructions for the Home tanners.


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## M.Magis (Oct 2, 2003)

Proskinnertts is right, that's nothing more than a pickle and a poor one at that. A Ph of 4 is way too high, and I don't know why anyone would use those acids when there are much better and safer ones available. With the work and equipment needed for a good soft rug, it makes little sense to do one at home.


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## Reel-Break (Nov 21, 2005)

Tanning the Skin
Place 3 gallons water in another container. To this add 11/2 pounds salt and 2 pounds of alum or aluminum sulfate (feed store or garden center purchase) and stir well. Place the skin in this and stir until thoroughly wetted. Stir twice daily until the hide turns a light green (although not every hide will turn green).
The process may take from 6 to 12 days. You cannot over tan the hide with this process. Between stirrings, the container should be covered.
Although its a poor pickle in your opinion its only what I`ve been doing seems to work for my needs. I was only helping with some info I noticed you were more into bashing my methods than assisting the man.So I`d be into a better solution so post me a recipe and I`ll give it a shot.Matter of fact I`ll post you the results in my honest opinion.I`ve only had the oportuity to actually check the ph once so I`m guessing I`m running around 4 maybe less.

I usually cut my finger and see how bad it stings to see if I need more acid Just kidding


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## M.Magis (Oct 2, 2003)

We’re not “bashing” your method, but simply stating that it isn’t even a tanning method. It’s dangerous and weak pickle, but nothing more. A pickle needs to have a Ph of 2 or less. It serves a few purposes, but tanning is not one of them. There are numerous tanning agents on the market and they all have their own instructions. The only “home brew” tanning method worth trying is brain tanning. But again, if I want a rug tan, it’s going to a tannery where they have the equipment to do it properly.


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## proskinnertts (Mar 8, 2005)

I understand you may like playing in pickles and tanning agents and oils and stuff, I like it too. But a large tannery has hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in equipment, so if you anyone reading this thread wants a well tanned hide it is better off to have it sent off to a tannery but if you want to experiment with hides, tanning and leather, go for it, but your results are going to be inferior of what a professional operation is able to accomplish.


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## crazycrow (Dec 8, 2008)

I have been home tanning hides for years and i can put out a tan just as good as any tannery,so don't say it can't be done.It just takes alot of practice.
As for the pickle with the Ph.4,any skin put in that for more than a day would be no good.The purpose of a pickle is to inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes the hair to slip and remove untanables.A Ph above 2.5 and bacteria starts to grow


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## pop-up addict (May 17, 2005)

Crazycrow is right. You can do a good job tanning at home, but, it is ALOT of work and you will probley mess a few hides up. If you are new to tanning, go to a meat processer and get some extra capes. Experiment with them. 

Crazycrow is right about the PH too. A ph of 4 will cause the cape to slip. You MUST keep the ph at 2 or under. I know this because I own a tannery. If any of you guys would like me to do some tanning for you, you can call me at 479-651-6079. If you have any questions about home tanning, I will be glad to help any way I can.


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## reptileran (Dec 25, 2008)

*home tanning done easy*

I use krowtann 2000 or special whitetail formula.It is sold at van *****,or wasco.It works good for mounting deer or small animals.You can use it to make a deer rug,but you will have to buy some tanning oil ,and rub in the oil to keep it soft.A quart will be $24.00 enought to tan 4 deer capes or 1 or 2 full deer hides.It includes directions with each bottle you buy,i have used this tan for over 20 deer and they all come out fully tanned and stretchy.


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## smshinall (May 16, 2008)

I do rabbit all the time. I actually made some rabbit skin booties for my kid. Take the hide and flesh it really good. For the hard little parts, use a green dish scrubber pad and scrape it with that. Stretch it out as thin as possible, and salt it really good. Fold it up flesh to flesh and wait a day or so. It should be almost dry now, take a knife and scrape the salt off. The remaining tissue should come off easy with the salt. Get it damp again with a cloth and then RESALT it the exact same way before and let it sit for a day. Repeat this process until you feel you got ALL of the flesh off of the skin. Now take a bucket and fill it with 1 lb of salt per 1 gallon of water and stir it up. Now let the fur soak in this bucket for 12-16 hours if you want fur on or longer if you want fur off. After you take it out of the salt bath, wash it good with antibacterial soap and ring it out so it is just damp. Now take "Deer Hunter and Trapper Tanning Solution" (comes in an orange bottle from cabelas I think) and warm it up. Now work it into the leather side of the fur a little and fold flesh to flesh and store in a dark damp place. I put it on an unused towel rack in my old bathroom. Every 8 hours or so, go grab the skin and while it is damp, stretch and pull the hide apart lightly until you see it start turning white where you are stretching. You'll notice the white part is soft and smooth versus everything else is kinda hard. Keep getting it lightly damp and stretching it and after a while it will be really soft and nice. The rabbits I used to do would be really soft at least. Hope I helped. This won't be tannery quality unless you really work at it but it will be really nice still and YOU did it. That tanning solution is like 6 $ a bottle and a whole bottle can do a whole deer. I tanned over 16 rabbits, and 8 rattlesnakes all over 4' long and the bottle is HALF full still.


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## sva9843 (Apr 23, 2008)

Thanks guys..I may have to give this a try!


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