braintanned elk hide....

[billy]

I was looking for the thread about braintanning but couldn't find it, so I started a new one.  Posted is a picture of an Oregon elk hide that I braintanned about a year and a half ago.  It hasn't been smoked yet, but is thick and very soft and comfortable.  After braining, this hide took 9 hours of constant pulling till it was dry.  My finger joints were sore for a week afterwards, but no matter...cause I finally have a softened elk hide, my very first!  Haven't decided what I'm gonna make out of this one, but I just can't bring myself to cut it since it's so cool just leaving it full sized. 

I used the wet-scrape method that I read in Matt Richard's book Deerskins into Buckskins .  That is a great book for anyone interested in braintanning.

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[Caveman]

awesome hide my friend. I'm interested in dabbling in tanning. this being your first, what was your method? Brain tan or chemical? what kind of tools did you use and did you use a frame to stretch it or just you and a friend pulling? Alot of questions I know but its a very nice hide. I hope to make one of equal or better quality on my first try.

[Pappy]

Good looking hide billy,we plan to do some deer this spring,got 5 or 6 in the freezer.Hope
they turn out that nice.
   Pappy

[GregB]

That really turned out nice Billy! I'm going to be paying special attention this spring when Jesse is demonstrating the process on some deer hides!

[billy]

Caveman,

I braintanned that elk hide....no chemicals.  Well, actually I soaked it in a lye solution for about a week before I scraped it, but it was commercial lye crystals, not wood ash, even though they are pretty much the same and both accomplish the same thing.  I draped the hide over a smooth, rounded wooden beam and scraped all the hair and epidermis off with a metal scraper....that took a few hours cause I Really had to wail on it to get that stuff off.  Then I brained it and let it dry and stay dry for about a year.  Then I resoaked it and pulled it soft.  I pulled it soft on my own, but one thing I really like to use is a 4x4 post sunk into the ground and set in concrete.  I hang the skin over it and pull it back and forth over the top of the post.  It really gives the hide a deep stretch and helps loosen any stiff spots.  You could even cut a 4-inch diameter tree about 6 feet up and essentially have the same thing.  I almost hang all my weight on the hide and drag it back and forth over the top of the post.  It really helps and lets a weakling like me really work that hide with the best of them.   

[Caveman]

so i was correct in assuming you could use wood ash solution. cool. and why did you let dry for a yr? does that significantly effect the hide?

[billy]

I left the hide dry for a year because even after you brain a wet-scraped skin, sometimes the brain doesn't get all the way through.  Leaving the hide dry for at least 6 months causes the glues in the hide to break down, allowing a skin to be softened after just one attempt.  If you brain it and immediately soften it, sometimes the skin will have stiff spots...then you have to go through all the trouble to re-brain the thing and soften it again.  It's not as hard to soften it after you've done it once, but it's still extra work which I (and I think anyone else) hates doing. And since this was a big elk hide, I wanted to make sure it would come out soft.... I REALLY didn't want to have to go through another softening with that big thing. 

 I talked to a guy named Ben Kirkland and he noticed the same thing: let a deer hide stay dry for several months and it softens up much easier.   I also brain it one more time after re-wetting, just to be sure there is thorough brain penetration.  I like hides to be soft after one attempt.  With dry-scraped hides you can soften them immediately and don't have to wait.   

[Caveman]

so what are some ideas to do some tanning in the cold winter,  without using a frame for stretching.  I was thinking of using an egg tanning solution, after doing a good once over to remove extra meat, fat and oils, ( I want to keep the fur) so i would lay it fur side down, spread my solution, let dry, cover with solution again after drying, and do a dry scraping, have I got it so far? I have a question about using the furs though, what's the best way to stretch it? If I got this wrong please inform me. I need these answers.

[billy]

caveman,

When ever I did furs I'd rub the brain solution into the flesh side several times, then roll it up and let it sit in a warm spot for an hour or two.  Then I let it dry a little, then really start pulling it.  I pulled it over the back side of a chair, flesh side down of course.  Some hair may pull out, but that's to be expected with furs.  Keep pulling till it's totally dry.  I've never done one with eggs....let us know how it works.

 

[Sparrow]

 That's a great looking hide.Man, I can think of a million things I could make with such a hide,starting out with a super shirt. Nice !  Frank