4/7/2023 0 Comments Tanning cow hides at home![]() ![]() I can't say that it will certainly get soft, because of all the chemicals that have already been used, but there can not be any lime or salt, or acid left in the hide, or it may not turn out. ![]() ![]() If the hide gets loose in the frame, simply pull up the slack in the twine or rope, and keep softening till it's dry. You can take short breaks, but don't leave it too long, or it will start getting hard again. Take that stick and push it into the hide hard, and scrape and scrape and scrape. This part will take a considerable amount of effort, but it's how it's done. Then get a very strong stick and cut one end into a beveled shape, so it is almost sharp. Put holes an inch from the outside perimeter of the hide, 3 inches apart, and after the hide is wet (as per Quills instructions), lace it up in the frame using a very strong twine or small strong rope. You should build a frame that is 12-24 inches bigger on all sides than the hide. (The fibers being stuck is why it is hard) If you do a good smoke job on it, and it gets wet, you can work the hide over with a beveled stick once an hour or so till it dries and it will return to it's former level of softness. Smoking the hide will coat the fibers of the hide and keep them from sticking together if it gets wet. Or it will sieze up hard and you will have to rewet it and then you are at square one again. Then you need to smoke it if it's a possibility that it might EVER, even accidentally, get wet. I've never bark tanned anything either, (have read quite a bit about it) but is a rule for ANY hide, that if you want it to be soft or even just flexible, you have to WORK it soft while it is drying, till it's COMPLETELY dry. Use your imaginationĭo some research.before beginning a project like a cow hide. sometimes fleshed a hide with a green river knife.or even a stone blade. Or you can put the hide on a frame and flesh it damp with a dry scraper tool called a wahintke. I can tell you from experience a cow hide in not a piece of cake to flesh this way. Ive used pieces of old telephone poles.with a draw knife specifically for fleshing or working wood ( wood one must be dulled some ) or a old lawn mower blade.fashioned into a fleshing knife.cutting edge wrapped with duct tape.and one edge sharpened. In a perfect world.the hide should have been fleshed first.before dehairing.Įither on a beam.which can be a tree trunk with the bark removed or something more sophisticated like a piece of PVC pipe.mounted so the working end is about waist hig. Holey really did not have all your ducks in a row to work on this hide.did ya? ![]()
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