Author Topic: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?  (Read 1437 times)

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Offline toomanyknots

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Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« on: September 19, 2013, 08:21:54 pm »
Hi yall. I have zero experience with tanning, but I recently recieved a nice fur hide I would like to tan. It appears to have been just dried out naturally. I was wondering if I could rehydrate it, and then bark tan it or something? 
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Mike Joe

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #1 on: September 20, 2013, 12:08:37 pm »
I have very little experience, but I've shot squirrels in the fall, salted and dried them, then re hydrated the skins, and tanned them with eggs the next spring. Putting it in water should rehydrate it pretty quickly. What kind of critter is it?
"Son, we don't really care how it looks, We want it to work." - John McPherson

Offline bubby

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #2 on: September 20, 2013, 07:24:14 pm »
tmk do a google search on tanning, egg or not there is a good one from mother earth news using battery acid that I have used and it works great, it's a step buy step, I assume you want to keep the fur on
failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2013, 12:40:45 am »
I have very little experience, but I've shot squirrels in the fall, salted and dried them, then re hydrated the skins, and tanned them with eggs the next spring. Putting it in water should rehydrate it pretty quickly. What kind of critter is it?

It's a wolf. It's not cut at the belly, it's whole and hollow, if ya know what I mean. I am guessing I would want to cut down the belly to tan it.

tmk do a google search on tanning, egg or not there is a good one from mother earth news using battery acid that I have used and it works great, it's a step buy step, I assume you want to keep the fur on

Yes, I would like to keep the fur if possible. Thanks!
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2013, 08:42:48 am »
I was given 4-5 skrat pelts that where dried down years ago. I bought some tannit tanning solution. It worked good and I never rehydrated them.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2013, 01:13:19 pm »
I was given 4-5 skrat pelts that where dried down years ago. I bought some tannit tanning solution. It worked good and I never rehydrated them.

Sweet, I will definitely check that out. That's exactly what my pea brain needs, is just something easy, as I am a pro at screwing things up, :). Thanks Pearl drums.
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Rehyrdating an old fur pelt and tanning it?
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2013, 01:23:30 pm »
Its cheap to! You simply wipe it on wet hide and let them hang for 4-7 days until the solution is dried up mostly. Its not a soft tan. You will have to soften them up by working them over my hand. Roll them up and wring them out then roll them another way and repeat until they are to your liking. I left mine as is and have a life time supply of silencers now.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.