I "smoke cure" mine! The whole process is traditional and doesn't use any chemicals, so it's super easy, just time consuming!
I've never successfully done any tanning , watched a video once where , in the process , they used the brains of the animal whose hide they were tanning in a cleaning or treating process . Can someone here explain what exactly that does to aid in the process of tanning the hide ??
Braining breaks down the colligens and fats from the brain of the animal and gives the hides it's suppleness and water repellentcey Kind of how you would use the under layer of the hide and tendons to make glue and sealants! Same idea, but different application! I like to boil mine with the skull and lessor bones to thicken it up and to toughen hides like pants where they need to be tough. I only treat small sections like the seat and knees/elbows this way, but its easy to add when needed, just toss the bone in the pot after you have treated what you want, and let'er go! You can also do this to really toughen up a hide, like for making a saddle, or even armor! Drying and curing over a smokey fire cures the hide and "sets" it for a second washing, again, a good smoke while stretched will soften it and make it really nice to work with! You can add your dye at this point during the second boiling/washing or you can brush or wipe it in during the second smoke!
I'm with you Dune,,, I'd need some hands on teaching , with the teacher standing right there telling me and explaining what I'm doing and why I'm doing it .
I figure it would be good to make clothes from the hide. Deer or elk. I could see making gloves or some kind of moccasins also.
