Tanning/Curing
- Thread starter Badbuzz
- Start date
This is about the easiest and best tutorial I've come across, from our very own Northman999!
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391043
There are lots of methods and variations. If you're interested start reading.... you'll get very confused, since most information out there is written by tanners for tanners, so they leave info out, are completely impossible to understand and grumpy from answering the same questions over and over again
I personally do a lot of bark/vegetable tanning, but that's because I'm usually making leather rather than a fur.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=391043
There are lots of methods and variations. If you're interested start reading.... you'll get very confused, since most information out there is written by tanners for tanners, so they leave info out, are completely impossible to understand and grumpy from answering the same questions over and over again
I personally do a lot of bark/vegetable tanning, but that's because I'm usually making leather rather than a fur.Thanks for the link!
I know what it feels like being asked the same questions over and over. Kind of like
Being a chef, I get this a lot with apprentices, etc.
I am the type of person who wants to use most if not ALL of the animal I take, so I am interested in tanning of leather as well as curing/tanning furs.
The butchering/cooking is the easy part.
I am a fly fisherman as well, so most of the feathers from birds are used in making my own flies.
I know what it feels like being asked the same questions over and over. Kind of like
Being a chef, I get this a lot with apprentices, etc.
I am the type of person who wants to use most if not ALL of the animal I take, so I am interested in tanning of leather as well as curing/tanning furs.
The butchering/cooking is the easy part.
I am a fly fisherman as well, so most of the feathers from birds are used in making my own flies.
If you're prepping them as supplies for tieing flies you'll have to be making a heck of a lot of flies to make the tanning worth it If you just want the skins for fly tieing purposes, you could probably get away with leaving some as rawhides. Just stretch and dry flat and shave/clip the fur as needed. Any that the skin would be used as well would probably need to be tanned properly.
If you're interested in learning to tan leather with natural products (like tea, oak leaves, sumac etc) then rabbits and squirrels are a good place to start. They're small and easy to tan, and if the fur slips, no biggy, learn to make it into leather!
If you just want the skins for fly tieing purposes, you could probably get away with leaving some as rawhides. Just stretch and dry flat and shave/clip the fur as needed. Any that the skin would be used as well would probably need to be tanned properly.If you're interested in learning to tan leather with natural products (like tea, oak leaves, sumac etc) then rabbits and squirrels are a good place to start. They're small and easy to tan, and if the fur slips, no biggy, learn to make it into leather!
I tanned my own black bear rug a couple of years ago. I used the Lutan-F tanning kit from Van Dykes taxidermy supplies. My rug turned out nice IMHO for a first-time tanner. A bear skin is probably one of the hardest hides to tan successfully. As others have mentioned start out small (squirrels, rabbits, coons, etc) & work your way up to bigger skins. Preparation is key to gaining a good result. Skins have to be fleshed properly to remove all fat & skin before tanning. Follow the directions that come with the kit closely. Don't let people scare you off, tanning is NOT difficult if you take the time to prepare the hide, & follow directions.
George
George
