First try egg tanning

[paulc]

So I had 3 deer hides to work w. Left them in clean garbage can w water for several days, Temps maybe up to 45 during the day, low 30s at night. About 4 day in I could almost pull a pinched bit of hair out of hide but very little. Started scraping w derelict lawn mower blade w only a little edge, wouldn't grab my thumb nail....took several sessions over 2 or 3 days to get hides fleshed-easy, and hair removed-good deal harder. Tore all kinda holes in the hides. Wrung out, soaked in dozen egg yolks and 3 or 4 cups of warm water, little squirt of palmolive. Soaked and wrung out twice w egg solution. Hides smell like dead animal, one has turned basically black. I let then dry too much, he'll of a head cold- so breaking/cabling them is near impossible.
Do I rewet and cable them before they dry? Seems unlikely I get the dead animal stink out...make hide glue out of them? Second round of egg? Try again next year?
Thanks as always, yall are the best.  Paul

[GlisGlis]

my only experience with eggs tanning is with salmon skins
skinned, well scraped, detached as much as many scales as possible, left to dry (taking out scales is probably better done before skinning)
When almost dry i spread and rub the yolk with very little water. I Roll the hide and leave for 24h in the fridge.
After that i rinse out almost all the yolk. Let it start to dry and before all moisture is gone I starts the breaking
Done it 2 times. It worked quite well
Sorry not to have more relevant informations

[bjrogg]

I have never done egg tan , but I’m guessing the dead animal smell won’t come out. At least if it’s a rotting dead animal smell. Is it a rotting smell or just dead animal smell.

My wife often says I smell like dead animals after I work hides. But not rotting animals. I think she just has a sensitive nose.lol On the bright side that is one of the reason I got my man cave.

Tanning hides is always a lot of work no matter how I have done it. I hope it’s not all for not.
Wish you luck.

Bjrogg


PS hope you get over your head cold. It’s been going around. I’ve had a headache for a week now

[Aaron1726]

I tried egg tanning once.  After smoking the hide it smelled better, but it still has a little bit of that dead animal funk to it.  I've done some squirrel hides that are just essentially raw hide that I broke and oiled and they have no smell so may just be the egg, I don't know.

As for breaking/cabling them, I'd think if you just re-wet them you would be ok, but the one that's black... not sure about that. Good luck, hope they turn out for ya