If it were me, I’d do an alum paste tan.

I’d use a “real” tan for something like that, preferably a submersible for something that thick skinned. It really should be thinned before tanning, but I’m sure she doesn’t have the means to do that. Hope she won’t be too upset if it doesn’t turn out. Thats not a project to learn on.

Thanks guys, I'll pass it along. I had an inkling that the orange bottle stuff might not be the way to go... We'll keep researching.

Mike

Years ago I tanned some tame rabbit hides with alum. I had a terrible time finding alum. Finally got some from one of the last independent drug stores in ths area.
just

Don't expect a home tanned otter to resemble anything as soft and pliable as a professionally tanned otter. There is a real art, and science to getting skins to come out like the pros; especially skins like otter.
On a side note; it seems like I have had a lot better luck getting skins soft and pliable when home tanning land animals such as coon, coyote, and cats as compared to muskrat, beaver and otter. I've often wondered if aquatic animals have a different structure to their skin.

I tried to tan an otter. Not a good first project..

Actually otter tan up very nice compared to other pelts.
Need to thin out the leather on the neck and shoulder area during the pickle,unless you start of with a parchment otter.

I agree and was pleasantly surprised. I will be doing a couple in the next month or so. I’ll do a thread on it.

[/quote]
Don't expect a home tanned otter to resemble anything as soft and pliable as a professionally tanned otter. There is a real art, and science to getting skins to come out like the pros; especially skins like otter.
On a side note; it seems like I have had a lot better luck getting skins soft and pliable when home tanning land animals such as coon, coyote, and cats as compared to muskrat, beaver and otter. I've often wondered if aquatic animals have a different structure to their skin.[/quote]

You are correct typically they have a finer, denser fiber. It is harder to get it to swell, open up, meaning harder to thin and get consistent penetration of both the tan and the oil. It doesn't help that they are harder to de-grease, which also hinders the tan and oil.

Put your pelts in a pickle bath then use the orange bottle tan after the pickle. It does a decent job on coyote pelts.

I've dabbled with tanning but haven't done anything other than wallhangers so far. I was going to do a bobcat rug, but after mounting the head I lost motivation in that project. Maybe I'll finish it up this summer. I tried the orange bottle on a few hides and wasn't happy with how they turned out. After that I started using Lutan. It's a multi step process but I like it much better. One of these days I'd like to try my hand at making a hat, and maybe even a coat eventually.

I have only tanned a few hides using orange bottle. The possum I did was satisfactory, the 2 coins I did were good toward the hind end, and the beaver I did is stiff as a board! The biggest concern I have is with the face of these animals, how does one break this area to get it supple?

lol

Sharp edges and frequent visits to them in between working the rest of the pelt. My faces were crunchy because I called them done way before they were. It’s a small space and during the working they heat up and leave the impression they are dry but aren’t actually.

I don't worry too much about the faces...they aren't useful or anything anyway, imo If I can turn the face inside out relatively easily, they are good. For a wall hanger a stiff face is actually good for hanging it up. Same goes for for like a bag flap or critter hat. Get alum at your local garden center in the form of aluminum sulfate. Used for acid loving plants like blue berries. Wagglers got it right: trying to DIY stuff and comparing it to commercial/professional stuff will just bring a person down and I think stops alot of folks from doing stuff they find interesting and cool. That's a big problem with tons of stuff nowadays no matter what one is doing. Does that mean that you can't get awesome results? No not at all. But people are obsessed with mechanical precision and comparing themselves to full time professional factories and others. Experience, lots of hands on, and no small amount of varying amounts of personal natural talent all factor in. Just have fun!

Thanks for the info. I've been doing more research on tanning and have about decided not to go with the orange bottle. I have limited knowledge, but think the Rittel's may be the way I go. I caught another big buck otter this morning to tan. I also have coyotes , coons, and beaver if I really get into this thing.

Here’s a couple coyotes from this year. Used Lutan, followed directions from Boco’s home tanning threads

Been doing a bunch of tanning..,I typically brain and egg tan deer hides but wanted to try a modern method…using the EZ tan and it works great! My main focus recently has been tanning flying squirrels…as a geologist, one of my other loves is mineral fluorescence…recently discovered flying squirrels are fluorescent!!!

Now THAT is cool!

Awesome