I use pork brains. Can't hardly get cow Brain now either, but pork brains are still sold for eating.

You do great work PA skinner.

Thank you. I have always pickled furs, didn’t know if I needed to pickle the deer skins.

I tan some smaller coons for my daughter for crafts. The first time I did it I over pickled. Even after I thought I neutralized it the pelt would leave your hands tingly when working with it.

So....its important to actual check the pH and not just guess.

I use pork brains in a blender. To smoke I hang them in the yard shed and smoke using a contained hot olate and chips.

For pickling furs, what type of solution are you using? And do you do anything to get the grease out of raccoons before you pickle? I have only brain tanned deer hides into buckskin. I am guessing the pickling step replaces the bucking step.

I have had good luck with Rittels safety acid.... you want to check the pH at first. It can go up when you first add the hides. Citric acid works, even vinegar, but vinegar is a very weak acid. Alum is probably the most common used pickle. I know others will tell you different, but I usually don't degrease. Flesh them very well.

I dont degrease but I do comb borax through and tumble.

I use citric acid from Menards in the canning department.

PAskinner you're right about the vinegar being weak but that's what I use with citric acid. Straight vinegar is around 2.5ph I think. I like to get that down to below 2 (1.5ish) before I add the hides as like you say it will raise a bit when you do. I like to take them out of the pickle after a couple days and re flesh.

i use alum, get it in the garden section. i have used vinegar instead of water- reduces the amount of alum needed to get down to 1.5-2. i have degreased with dawn dish soap but i usually dont. and when brain tanning i dont pickle.
for smoking i have a smokehouse i use. its about the size of an outhouse. i pipe the smoke in from my fire(smoldering) to make sure its cold smoke! i built a rack above the pipe inlet and lay the hide on it. then i cover the hide with a sheet to hold the smoke in. its not perfect and takes a little longer to get good penetration but it works

Young bull moose hide

Framing big hides helps. Nice unsmoked caribou notice the bot fly scars.

Nice, I've done a lot of elk, but moose are crazy thick.
I try to avoid the bulls and mine are farmed elk hides.

ive been wanting to try that frost scraping. I might make a frame to attach to my cabin this year and give it a try. any ideas on what to use for a scraper?

Thanks PA. I'm sure I'll never tan as many as you!

Well these (http://www.braintan.com/mm5/merchan..._Code=DRYSCRAPER&Category_Code=Tools) are skookum dry scrapers and they might work for frost scraping I don't know. I flesh on a beam then frame and dry the big hides for graining. I use a sharp filet knife to shave off the moose hair before I grain it with the dry scraper.