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Brain Tanning Hides #8196789 08/15/24 11:31 PM 08/15/24 11:31 PM
Joined: Feb 2020 MT S Slick Pan OP trapper
Slick Pan OP trapper S Joined: Feb 2020 MT	Curious if anyone does it and how they do it.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196858 08/16/24 06:51 AM 08/16/24 06:51 AM
Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper"
HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper" Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland	I’ll have to find the actual recipe but I believe I used 1 dozen egg yolks, 1/4 cup of neatsfoot oil, a tablespoon of dish soap and enough water to cover the skin/pelt. 1. Degrease the skin after THOROUGHLY fleshing. 2. Block it out and salt it dry. 3. Hydrate till pliable. 4. Put in solution and stir twice a day (I did a full sized deer skin, took 4 days in the solution) 5. Rinse and squeegee the excess water out. Let dry for a bit before breaking. I started the breaking when it began to feel “tacky”. When you think you are done, keep breaking for another 2 hours. I’m no expert, ruined a number of pelts with my first attempts. Reach out to PATrapper, he can give you the real scoop on brain tanning. Don’t forget to smoke them after. I made this guitar strap with part of the skin I used this method on. -Goofy

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196861 08/16/24 07:01 AM 08/16/24 07:01 AM
Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI K k snow trapper
k snow trapper K Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI	Yep, have tanned a half dozen or so. Finally have it figured out to turn out nice soft hides. I would HIGHLY recommend getting the Deerskins into Buckskins book and video. Very good information. He runs you through the process step by step, with all of the little details you need for good results. I am using a wet scrape method right now, and a cable to soften. He also covers dry scraping and frame softening. Its a lot of work, but worth it in the end. There is nothing nicer to sew or do beadwork on. Here's my biggest project to date:

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196870 08/16/24 07:21 AM 08/16/24 07:21 AM
Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper"
HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper" Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland	Correction, PAskinner is the brain tanning specialist you need to reach out to. -Goofy

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: HobbieTrapper] #8196872 08/16/24 07:25 AM 08/16/24 07:25 AM
Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI K k snow trapper
k snow trapper K Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI	Originally Posted by HobbieTrapper Correction, PAskinner is the brain tanning specialist you need to reach out to. Yep, he is one HECK of a brain tanner. His hides are absolutely gorgeous.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196873 08/16/24 07:26 AM 08/16/24 07:26 AM
Joined: Dec 2020 Wisconsin Scott__aR trapper
Scott__aR trapper Joined: Dec 2020 Wisconsin	Nice looking coat, Kyle Megapredator ... top of the food chain! Member of WTA Member of U.P. Trappers Member of NTA Member of FTA

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196878 08/16/24 07:34 AM 08/16/24 07:34 AM
Joined: Aug 2010 PA P PAskinner trapper
PAskinner trapper P Joined: Aug 2010 PA	Natural tanning has been a business and obsession of mine for many years. These are just a few recent pictures. Lately my daughter does most of the scraping, because I have been having health issues and I finish them out. I think Matt Richards video is now on YouTube. I would start with watching it and Ron Nails videos. Too much to explain here. I much prefer real brains on buckskin but will use egg yolks on furs. Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196881 08/16/24 07:41 AM 08/16/24 07:41 AM
Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI K k snow trapper
k snow trapper K Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI	Amazing work there, PAskinner. Furs are something I would like to try tanning. Do you just brush the egg/brain solution on the flesh side? I can't imagine soaking the entire fur in the solution. I did one squirrel years ago using neatsfoot oil, and just kept applying it to the flesh side as I cable softened it. It turned out pretty nice.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: k snow] #8196896 08/16/24 08:22 AM 08/16/24 08:22 AM
Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper"
HobbieTrapper "Chippendale Trapper" Joined: Dec 2008 Eastern Shore of Maryland	Originally Posted by k snow Amazing work there, PAskinner. Furs are something I would like to try tanning. Do you just brush the egg/brain solution on the flesh side? I can't imagine soaking the entire fur in the solution. I did one squirrel years ago using neatsfoot oil, and just kept applying it to the flesh side as I cable softened it. It turned out pretty nice. I did an otter and brushed it on. Memory serves, I brushed it on then covered with plastic wrap over night then repeated that for like a week. I cut a small sliver off a leg to check progress. Turned out okay. It could be used for mittens or a hat but it ain’t coat making good. -Goofy

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8196954 08/16/24 09:40 AM 08/16/24 09:40 AM
Joined: Aug 2010 PA P PAskinner trapper
PAskinner trapper P Joined: Aug 2010 PA	I like to use a pickle on furs. After pickling for say a week, neutralize with baking soda water for half hour, ally oils on flesh side as it starts drying. Fox are pretty easy, you can almost soften them with any oils, stuff like coyotes or otter are likely to take a lot more yolks or brains, I just rub it on or use a rag. You can add heavy oils like rendered fat but the experts all say use an emulsifier like the yolks too. Soften with a cable and hand wo rk. The little bag has carp skin. Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8197220 08/16/24 06:48 PM 08/16/24 06:48 PM
Joined: Feb 2020 MT S Slick Pan OP trapper
Slick Pan OP trapper S Joined: Feb 2020 MT	So my question is more related to hides rather than tanned fur.So looking at K Snow jacket photo it appears to be a brown color.Yet looking at deer hides I have seen over the years they appear to be the lighter yellow hides and some almost white.Very soft.More like PAskinner but maybe even whiter.What process makes them soft and why the color differences ?

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8197269 08/16/24 08:11 PM 08/16/24 08:11 PM
Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI K k snow trapper
k snow trapper K Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI	Hides that are dressed (softened) will be soft as flannel and white (or very near white). I smoke all of my hides after softening, so they will remain soft after getting wet. The smoking process imparts the color. Length of smoking time, penetration of smoke, material used to create smoke all affect the final color. The hides in PAskinner's pics look to be lightly smoked. I have two hides he tanned a long time ago, and they are lightly smoked.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: k snow] #8197304 08/16/24 09:08 PM 08/16/24 09:08 PM
Joined: Feb 2020 MT S Slick Pan OP trapper
Slick Pan OP trapper S Joined: Feb 2020 MT	Originally Posted by k snow Hides that are dressed (softened) will be soft as flannel and white (or very near white). I smoke all of my hides after softening, so they will remain soft after getting wet. The smoking process imparts the color. Length of smoking time, penetration of smoke, material used to create smoke all affect the final color. The hides in PAskinner's pics look to be lightly smoked. I have two hides he tanned a long time ago, and they are lightly smoked. That makes sence.I was wondering about smoking brain tanned hides.I was not aware why they were smoked.So as I read it smoking is only used to color the hides correct ?

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8197336 08/16/24 09:31 PM 08/16/24 09:31 PM
Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI K k snow trapper
k snow trapper K Joined: Oct 2009 east central WI	Smoking is used to make sure the hide remains soft after getting wet. If an unsmoked hide gets wet, it will become very stiff when it dries out. The color and smell are just pleasant side effects, ha.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: HobbieTrapper] #8197414 08/17/24 12:15 AM 08/17/24 12:15 AM
Joined: Nov 2023 NV 2 2bit trapper
2bit trapper 2 Joined: Nov 2023 NV	Originally Posted by HobbieTrapper I’ll have to find the actual recipe but I believe I used 1 dozen egg yolks, 1/4 cup of neatsfoot oil, a tablespoon of dish soap and enough water to cover the skin/pelt. 1. Degrease the skin after THOROUGHLY fleshing. 2. Block it out and salt it dry. 3. Hydrate till pliable. 4. Put in solution and stir twice a day (I did a full sized deer skin, took 4 days in the solution) 5. Rinse and squeegee the excess water out. Let dry for a bit before breaking. I started the breaking when it began to feel “tacky”. When you think you are done, keep breaking for another 2 hours. I’m no expert, ruined a number of pelts with my first attempts. Reach out to PATrapper, he can give you the real scoop on brain tanning. Don’t forget to smoke them after. I made this guitar strap with part of the skin I used this method on. That guitar is a little bit Ted Nugent, and a little bit zz top. Nice

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8197426 08/17/24 01:25 AM 08/17/24 01:25 AM
Joined: Dec 2006 NWWA/AZ Vinke trapper
Vinke trapper Joined: Dec 2006 NWWA/AZ	Very Nice K Snow,,,,... Ant Man/ Marty 2028 just put your ear to the ground , and follow along

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8197430 08/17/24 02:53 AM 08/17/24 02:53 AM
Joined: Aug 2010 PA P PAskinner trapper
PAskinner trapper P Joined: Aug 2010 PA	Yes, smoke color can vary widely. We smoke them anywhere from a light yellow to brown. They can also be dyed with natural dye like walnut hulls after smoking, which makes a more permanent color. Right now I’m having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this before.

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: PAskinner] #8197534 08/17/24 08:39 AM 08/17/24 08:39 AM
Joined: Aug 2008 ny U upstateNY trapper
upstateNY trapper U Joined: Aug 2008 ny	Originally Posted by PAskinner Natural tanning has been a business and obsession of mine for many years. These are just a few recent pictures. Lately my daughter does most of the scraping, because I have been having health issues and I finish them out. I think Matt Richards video is now on YouTube. I would start with watching it and Ron Nails videos. Too much to explain here. I much prefer real brains on buckskin but will use egg yolks on furs. Very nice! the wheels of the gods turn very slowly

Re: Brain Tanning Hides [Re: Slick Pan] #8198163 08/17/24 11:13 PM 08/17/24 11:13 PM
Joined: Aug 2018 South Dakota S SD Jake trapper
SD Jake trapper S Joined: Aug 2018 South Dakota	Very nice, awesome info, thanks for sharing

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