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Last updated 5th December 2013 by Suzee
Tanner Hall: Basic Tanning Techniques
Basic Tanning Techniques
Soak the hide for at least one full day.
Flesh the hide. The only concern is to remove the meat and the fat. Then place the hide in water and soak overnight. Make sure the hide is completely soaked (the greener the hide, the easier to dehair).
Freeze the hide until it is to be used. When ready to use the hide, thaw it out and soak it in water for twenty-four candlemarks.
Dehairing : Take the hide from the water and place it over a beam to dehair. The objective here is to get remove the brown layer (epidermis). Keep in mind, the fresher the hide, the easier it is to dehair.
Pre-braining: It is better to pre-brain the hide after dehairing, but while the hide is still pliable. After the hide is de-haired, put it in a brain solution. If it has gone to rawhide, soak it overnight in cold water and then stretch it by hand. The objective is to open the pores, which only takes a couple of minutes. The hide can be soaked in the brain solution for as little as twenty minutes or over night. The hide will whiten noticeably.
After pre-braining, hang the hide to dry. It iss not necessary to wring out the hide, and it should not be folded on itself, but hung on the drying rack straight up and down.
Soak the dried hide in COLD water over night in preparation for the pre-stretching phase. Before staking the hide, sew all the holes. Lace the hide on a frame to whiten it. The weather dictates how often the hide needs to be staked. Remember, this phase is not intended to soften the hide, but just to whiten it.
Pre-smoking: After the hide is whitened and dried out, smoke it for three candlemarks in a smoke house. Hang the hides horizontally about three feet from the smoke pot, but not close enough to bake the hides.
After smoking, put the hide back in the brain solution for thirty minutes to a candlemark. Take it out and rub it over the band. Put it back in the brain solution, where it can be left for from three candlemarks to overnight.
Remove the hide from the brain solution, and wring it dry. Work the hide on a rope, beam or cable to soften it. Remember that a smoked hide does not require much work to soften it. The idea behind this method is the hide does not need to be worked constantly until it is dry. It requires the tanner to be a bit lazy, since it is possible to overwork the hide.
Brain Solution Recipe
Mix one bovine brain with two gallons of water to look like a weak tomato soup, but don't eat it. Heat the solution until warm, NOT hot. The beauty of this pre-smoking method is that several hides can be worked with one cow brain. If re-using the solution, adding more water when needed, the hides will get easier and easier to soften and the solution will smell more like smoke than brains. Rainwater works best when making the brain solution, since any kind of chemical in the water seems to have an adverse effect. As many as twenty-two to twenty-four hides can be tanned with two bovine brains.
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Soak the hide for at least one full day.
Flesh the hide. The only concern is to remove the meat and the fat. Then place the hide in water and soak overnight. Make sure the hide is completely soaked (the greener the hide, the easier to dehair).
Freeze the hide until it is to be used. When ready to use the hide, thaw it out and soak it in water for twenty-four candlemarks.
Dehairing : Take the hide from the water and place it over a beam to dehair. The objective here is to get remove the brown layer (epidermis). Keep in mind, the fresher the hide, the easier it is to dehair.
Pre-braining: It is better to pre-brain the hide after dehairing, but while the hide is still pliable. After the hide is de-haired, put it in a brain solution. If it has gone to rawhide, soak it overnight in cold water and then stretch it by hand. The objective is to open the pores, which only takes a couple of minutes. The hide can be soaked in the brain solution for as little as twenty minutes or over night. The hide will whiten noticeably.
After pre-braining, hang the hide to dry. It iss not necessary to wring out the hide, and it should not be folded on itself, but hung on the drying rack straight up and down.
Soak the dried hide in COLD water over night in preparation for the pre-stretching phase. Before staking the hide, sew all the holes. Lace the hide on a frame to whiten it. The weather dictates how often the hide needs to be staked. Remember, this phase is not intended to soften the hide, but just to whiten it.
Pre-smoking: After the hide is whitened and dried out, smoke it for three candlemarks in a smoke house. Hang the hides horizontally about three feet from the smoke pot, but not close enough to bake the hides.
After smoking, put the hide back in the brain solution for thirty minutes to a candlemark. Take it out and rub it over the band. Put it back in the brain solution, where it can be left for from three candlemarks to overnight.
Remove the hide from the brain solution, and wring it dry. Work the hide on a rope, beam or cable to soften it. Remember that a smoked hide does not require much work to soften it. The idea behind this method is the hide does not need to be worked constantly until it is dry. It requires the tanner to be a bit lazy, since it is possible to overwork the hide.
Brain Solution Recipe
Mix one bovine brain with two gallons of water to look like a weak tomato soup, but don't eat it. Heat the solution until warm, NOT hot. The beauty of this pre-smoking method is that several hides can be worked with one cow brain. If re-using the solution, adding more water when needed, the hides will get easier and easier to soften and the solution will smell more like smoke than brains. Rainwater works best when making the brain solution, since any kind of chemical in the water seems to have an adverse effect. As many as twenty-two to twenty-four hides can be tanned with two bovine brains.
See Also: No articles yet
Referenced By: No articles yet