Hola-
Tanned my first hide yesterday, a pine marten. Didn't come out quite as I had hoped. A lot of the fur is matted together, I think because I got some tanning oil onto the fur in certain places. I combed it out the best I could, which helped, but the fur is not completely soft, full, and flowing. So, my question is how can I clean tanning oil off of fur without damaging the pelt? Thanks for any help you can give me. Doug Dillingham Ohio City, Colorado

Wash it with dish soap in warm water from the fur side. If the soap stops foaming in the process, it means there's still too much grease in the fur; in this case, rinse and wash with soap again, then rinse with warm water very thoroughly, until it's squeaky to the touch. Wrap the pelt in a towel, roll the towel and let it sit for a few minutes to absorb most of the water, then put it on a stretcher with a wedge, like when you board a raw skin, and let it dry, or use a hair dryer on low heat. This way the skin won't shrink ot lose shape and will be nice and symmetrical. Take it off the stretcher when it's almost 100% dry and stretch it just a little bit, to restore the original softness.

Thanks for the advice. I'll be trying this. Only question/concern is how careful do I need to be to only get the fur side wet? To wash and rinse thoroughly is going to be tough without getting the leather side [pretty wet also. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

If it is tanned properly it won't damage it to get the hide wet. I'd actually submerge it in water and dish soap if it is bad greasy. Dry it best you can with a towel like Tatiana says and then dry it on the stretcher for shape.