The Magic Ingredients That Turn Skin Into Leather, Barks, Roots and Leaves for Natural Hide Tanning
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ย. 2018
- Barks, Roots, Fruits, Nuts and Leaves are used for their tannic acid to tan skins. Tannin converts hides permanently into leather. Oak, hemlock, fir, mangrove, wattle, eucalyptus, acorn caps, sumac, pine, spruce, willow and many more have been used all around the world for this process that seems almost magical in it's ability to transform fragile, rot prone skin into a material with much loved unique properties. Natural Leather Tanning relies heavily on these tradtional materials. The full article and list can be read at Http://www.skillcult.com/blog/tanning...
My Playlist of Tanning Videos: • Home Tanning Skills, S...
Full Bark Tanning Process in This Video Series: • Axe Strops From Scratc...
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Tanning with tannic acid from plants is called vegetable tanning.
The collagen protein in the skin is converted into leather when the tannic acid combines with it permanently. Leather is not longer skin, it is a compound material of tannin and skin. It resists heat better than raw skin, and is remarkably resistant to rotting. Tannic acid is common in the plant world and many different barks, roots, leaves, nuts, fruits and pods are used to convert cattle, deer, elk, buffalo, rabbit, squirrel, goat and sheep skins into leather. Both skins with the hair on and with the hair removed can be vegetable tanned.
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I'm a city girl, born and raised in a big French city, in the suburb more precisely. Despite having a really "urban" family, I only crave for hunting, choping and carving wood, learning how to identify trees and plants, getting my hands dirty with mud, splinters and blood. But I haven't any person I know to teach me all of that. So thank you so much for sharing this kind of content.
You're welcome :) Look over there to see if there are any gatherings of primitive technology people. I know there are pockets of people that do that stuff in Europe and they can teach you stuff. If you search the net for topics like stone tools, tanning, firemaking etc. you might find them.
I moved to the Charente Region in May last year to be self sufficient, looking after the land and to return to my natural instincts. I've been tanning and working hides, carving bone and horn as well as working with silver. I love trying new projects and always try to make them as natural and historically accurate as possible. If you are still in France I could give you some pointers
Ce sont des savoirs faire qui se perdent malheureusement. Peu de gens tannent encore les peaux de nos jours. Même pour moi qui suis un campagnard chasseur et pêcheur j'ai encore jamais eu l'experience de tanner une peau.
i am 12 and this is really interesting to me
A lot of kids love this kind of stuff, especially around about 8 to 12. I know I did. Hope to be publishing some simple kitchen tanning projects soon and anyone can do with common stuff.
Same
Awesome i wish i was exposed to these skills when i was younger 😁
I’ve always found your aggressive way tossing of objects in your videos endearing and hilarious. That was a weird thing to say huh? Great video as always, thanks Steven :)
Sometimes I'm editing a video and I realize I missed an opportunity to throw something ;)
I noticed that too, he's like the Swedish Chef of homesteading
Lmao i just subbed because of that alone
This is such a good video. Informative, entertaining and well produced.
Accurate and detailed information delivered clearly. Great content as always. Appreciate the effort you put into these videos.
Awesome video. I love how you not only tell how to do it but also explain everything in the process and materials in detail. That's not something you typically get from survival type videos. It's usually just "Do this" without the why behind it. Excellent information and delivery.
Thank you. That's definitely my intent. In many cases, they are just repeating information. In order to deliver insight, you have to have insight.
@@SkillCult You absolutely demonstrate insight and that you know your craft inside and out. Sometimes repition is needed to drive the point home. I've been watching more of your videos and they're all fantastic. Looking forward to seeing more from you sir.
Thanks Steven.
As usual great knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
You rock man thanks for the info
Well, thank you. A neighbor came on the homestead in pursuit of a deer he shot. I asked for the hide. I've always wanted to try to bark tan. We have a saw mill and I trip over bark thats everywhere. I'm thankful for your videos. I'm going to follow advice and cut off legs to start small.
That list along the bottom was amazing.
I like the way you narrate your videos. Information laid out in a straightforward, easy to remember, way. Nice work.
Thank you.
Thanks for all of this!!
You are welcome. Thanks for commenting.
love you content man!
great work!
you have soothing voice :D
Great video, love it.
Thank god somebody did a proper how to tan hides with wild ingredients. Thanks so much
Thank you
That’s pretty dope, I believe walnut shells can be used to varnish wood too.
Another fabulous tanning video! This is my favorite time of year. We’re heading to our annual braintan gathering on Wednesday. Excellent list!
Sounds fun. A hide out.
i bought your book yesterday, very hard to find and very exspensive but im excited to get it
iv watched this more times than i can remember. each time i pick up something new that i didn't notice before.
man you are so cool. i love your channel.
I did an experiment once and tanned a sheep skin with used black tea. Worked pretty well.
Edit* one idea for people to try a small experiment on is to get a rolled upp dried rawhide often given as chew toys for dogs. Put them in water over night and you can start tanning it.
I've started tanning by watching your videos last year, i think. I tanned raw hide dog bones first. Worked well for doing experiments. But if nothing else is available i guess people could even use animal skins that we regularly eat (fish, chicken, pig, lamb etc.).
Only after doing very small scale experiments with local oak bark and the dog bones i moved on to getting a deer hide. I think small scale experiments with materials that everyone is able to get are a very good way to get started and gaining a bit of experience (tanning, softening) before moving on to bigger projects.
Yes, what he said!
Extraordinarily grand presenter.
You're the man
Thanks man! As a Cali girl preparing move to Alaska you have my appreciation!~
Ha, that's quite a difference in climate. Alaska has great laws regarding subsistence hunting and lots of good hides. Have fun :)
Since my last posting I've finished half a steer hide in walnut husks. I let it soak for about 6 months and a deer hide for about 3 months. They came out good. Very dark brown. The steer hide was all cut into 1.5 and 2" strips but I sure a solid hide would've fully cured in that ammount of time. I'm not thrilled with the color , especially for the deer hide but I totally expected it. They do dry out quite stiff and I would advise people to work the leather as soon as it comes out of the tub.
If it comes out of the bath stiff, it's likely not tanned very well, or maybe not tanned through. Typically, leather, if well tanned and dried slow, should come out leather like, though maybe a bit stiff, but never really stiff or crunchy. What usually happens is just not enough tannin. In a black walnut bath, there is a whole lot of color that is not equivalent to tannin, so it's going to be hard to tell what's going on. If there were enough tannin, a deer should finish much faster than 3 months, though how long would depend on methods, tannin strength, weather etc.
I'm not crazy about black walnut color either. A lot of people soak their braintan in it, but I'll pass.
@@SkillCult It was super stiff till it dried out. This was a half "steer" hide. Also it was a highlander hide and was probably a four year old , so it was thick! The deer hide I didn't keep a close eye on and may have , probably would 've been done a lot sooner. I cut a cross-section , like you suggested previously and it looked cured thru. Over-all I liked the result. I'm making strap material for adirondack pack baskets and I don't want to supple a material , just pliable enough to work with. Thanks for the reply and the advise , cheers.
@@SkillCult I think next time I will use hemlock bark. I have a close hand supply. Keep you posted.
Great info. Thanks for the 1-3x tanning amount to hide weight. I definitely didn't use enough bark on my first efforts.
Don't worry, no one does :)
Helpful, thanks! I had no idea I could use fir, which I have acres of. I’ll try that.
Allegedly the young trees have more tannin, but I'm not sure. The Muir McDonald tannery used mature bark from what I remember. Anyway, any of it will work. I'm talking douglas' fir. not sure about the true firs. Usually with any of those conifers there are tons of trees that need to be thinned out anyway.
Hi, I wanted to try this process. I recently received access to a hide. Does anyone have any experience with mesquite wood, tanning? or pecan tree bark tanning? I have access to both of those as I live in the desert southwest thank you.
I've been using white oak leave tea and olive oil for full grain deer, paste it to a smooth surface and let dry in shade. Makes a wallet grade type style leather, brown gold color. Works good. Love the vids man!
Cool. are you using green leaves, or fall leaves? It must take a lot.
@@SkillCult Fall leaves from yard. I have a large stock pot about 3 or 4 gal. I first do a weak solution for a week or so then juice it up strong for the rest of the time. Takes about 6 stock pots worth all together. This will be my third with full grain using leaves and olive oil. Every chance I get through out the process I will warm the solution and work it in the hide, speeds it up a little.
@@rivervalleysurvivalandbush8126 If you haven't already, you might try with the later batches cooking multiple batches of leaves in the same water to get the strength up. It might allow you to leave it longer once the first part of the tanning is finished. If you can get it into a strong solution toward the end, it can preserve enough to get a more thorough tan. Striking to the center is minimum, but you can get more substance out of the leather if there is time for it to absorb all the tannin it can. Sorry if you already know all that. I need to try dead leaves, becasue people ask about it a lot.
@@SkillCultYes, I recycle the solution with each batch of leaves I cook. After a month or two I will cut a thick piece off and check the center. I'm glad you made the video about oiling and pasting, really made the difference. I wasn't using oil and would try staking it. No good lol
@@rivervalleysurvivalandbush8126 I'll try to do a vid on actual finishing., Start to finish he he. If you haven't yet, try cooking several batches of leaves in the same water for a stock solution. I would expect that the tannin content is pretty low. I'd probably expect to cook at least two batches of leaves in the same water, even to get started, maybe three. Since I haven't done it that's just speculation, but take a look at the density of the liquors I use in some of my videos to get an idea of the strength of the liquors used. With a lot of manipulation you can tan very fast if there is enough tannin available. A typical scenario for me is that I'll cook a batch of bark twice, just covered with water, and use the second cook to start the hide, often with a little of the first cook added to strengthen it. Before the end of the day, I've usually added more of the first cook to compensate for the rapidly weakening solution. Then adding more every day or so. If it gets used up before the hide is done, I'll cook another batch. If I'm going to leave the skin for a while, I'll try to make sure the solution is quite strong so the hide is well preserved and will not run out of available tannin. So, think of tannin amount in terms of concentration and available tanning at a given time for both preservative effect and tanning power. I would like my next tanning video to be on the that subject of liquor strengths and timing.
Does ash bark work? I’ve run out of oak bark for a hide and can only find ash in my area as of now. I can’t find any info on the tannin content either
I red once that huge hemlocks around here ( north east US) were felled just to harvest there bark for tanneries. They were to huge to transport and saw. Probably to gnarly as well and being cleared off for agriculture. Leather was the plastic of the day. I find leather in old bottle dumps. Hundred years old or more!
True, the Hemlock bark industry was huge. I saw a photo once of a bark yard up there and it was insanely huge. Very interesting about the old leather. It really is incredibly durable. It lasts longer than bark or hide and those are the only significant ingredients. We had the same situation here with tan oaks. They would just peel them and leave the wood. Sometimes they would even just peel the bases and leave the trees standing dead.
@@SkillCult It was a time of plenty
awesome channel - you ROCK !! One thing about bark tanning = I had made knife sheaths and gun scabbards with bark tanned leather - the metal started rusting after only a few weeks (acid in the tanning medium). From now on I line the sheaths with rawhide (knives) and flannel or linen for the scabbards
I've never experienced that and veg tan is a very common sheathing material. I have seen corrosion at the interface of copper or brass and veg tan. I've stored guns in it for long periods of time, though I've heard to avoid it. It's possible there is something else, even salt maybe? dunno.
Hi, your channel is super helpful!!! I live in New York and was curious if some of the invasives here- privet, dogwood, tree of heaven, or autumn olive bark could be used for hide tanning- I was trying to look it up but couldn't find much and wanted to get your thoughts!
I don't know on any of those. You might try scientific literature using latin names to see if there is analysis of tannin content. There almost certainly is. Tree of Heaven (horrible name, it should be tree of hell lol) is too stinky. I hate that rotten peanut butter smell. Dogwood, I'm guessing yes. Someone has almost certainly done the assays, it is just a matter of finding them
Amazing! Thanks for sharing! Is it some natural way to color leather in black, during or after tanning?
Yes! almost all, if not all tannins will turn black if iron is applied, though some plants are preferred. you can just add iron solution (dilute iron dissolved in vinegar is usual) until the skin is black enough, then rinse in weak tannins to remove extra iron. The downside is that it weakens the hide over time. I try to use as little iron as possible by repeated use of dilute solutions and just on the surface as much as possible. This is the old way of doing black leather, though there are recipes using specific ingredients like logwood and urine. I may do a finishing video soon and do that process.
Cadillac leather cleaner works well and does not darken the leather. Also, regular shampoo and conditioner also works nicely.
What materials and method of tanning should I use for sheepskins (and other hides of course) if I want to use them for clothing? Can anyone please answer because I've looking everywhere and none so far gave me a proper answer. Thanks
Do you have any numbers on white pine bark
Not if it's not in the article on my site
Copseing trees often encourages lots of new growth I’d love to know more about eucalypts as I’m in Australia we do have some other trees that I think would be fun to try like some rare timbers like jarrah and hues pine both trees that have nearly gone extinct but there are a few patches left being harvested under strict control
My article I linked has info on the Eucalypts. I think you have a lot of wattles too. they are actually cultivated for tanning.
Do you have a video about natural balms o homemabe balms for leather?
I don't. many of them are soaps and emulsions. If something is really dried out, I tend to use egg yolk and oil blended in warm water and sponge that on liberally. The egg yolk disperses the oil into the water as an emulsion and has it's own great conditioning effect. Then I use oil over that otherwise, I generally use oils. The problem with straight oils is that they have to creep into the leather by spreading over the fibers. You can't just saturate the skin with oil, because it becomes greasy and it may or may not penetrate the leather. But, you can saturate it with an emulsion, in which case the water helps carry a smaller amount of oil deeper into the skin.
Mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane), in Southern Africa.
A truly remarkable tree.
And the "Rock tannin-bush" (Osyris lanceolata), also in Southern Africa, but stretches up as far as Ethiopia.
Nice. I've dabbled just a bit with tanning. Done two groundhog hides, its a squirrel right? One with red oak bark that came out very dark brown, and one with staghorn sumac leaves that came out a pretty golden brown color, like an overdone baguette and much much softer. I've never done anything with the leather though.
I have some sumac sent to my by friends, but haven't busted into it yet. It's supposed to make soft leather. If you want lighter colors, cook at lower temps. Sumac is also supposed to be degraded by high temps, so keep it low.
The recommended temp should be in the blog post.
You the man, you teach me shit I didn't I wanted to know.
That's the plan tehehe...
Love this stuff, the more I watch the more I want to keep watching and keep learning. I don't know if you've stated this in any of your tanning skill videos but what is your reasoning behind 'gluing' the kin to a board and stretching it that way vs. stretching it with strings on a wooden frame?
There are clamps that grab the edge of the skin, but otherwise, framing, staking and nailing all require putting hole in the edge of the skin. You also can't get the skin as flat. Sometimes that matters and sometimes it doesn't. Pasting down, you can get the skin very flat and work down high points.
Hi. I have been watching your channel for around a year now but I am yet to try tanning as I am unsure of the tannins available near me. I live on an island in Croatia. I have read somewhere that you can use the waste from wineries as a tannin, obviously a wine high in tannin so a red wine. Any thoughts on this? There is an abundance of wineries, olive trees and animal skins here but I'm having a hard time connecting the dots. Is there any way of measuring tannin content?
You must have oaks. Oak bark, oak galls, acorns and acorn caps. Did you look through the list? There is a lot in there. I would not be surprised if you have at least one species of sumach too. Grape pommace might work, but the excess sugar might be a bit much. Not sure on that. The skins have quite a bit of tannin.
I use black tea not sure if its good not a professional i just us it on coastal frog hid we have a issue with them and there bad for are dogs but they seem to come out ok but great video thank you
Hi Steven, I will be ready to send you a package by next week finally. It's taken me a while to get things together. In this package I am including a piece or leather tanned with Sassafrass. Thanks to your great instruction I have been training a friend in the , "what Davey knows so far about tanning from Skillcult arts". Indeed this other Steve has been watching Skillcult. I feel confident to a degree about tanning only to realize there is lots more to learn but I am learning. And I have another source of deer hides from a group of friends asking, how many do you want? In the package I am also including a photo of my GGGrandfather the shoemaker. Hope the fires are well away from Skillcult Holler and all is safe. Hope that last years smoke was the worst of it. Thanks Much! DaveyJO in Pa.
It finally rained, so we are good with the smoke.. I didn't have it nearly as bad as some people, but it was pretty bad. If we just rake all 163,696 square miles of California next year, I'm sure we won't have wild fires anymore lol. Sassafras showed up in one of those tanning materials lists. I don't need any raw deer hides right now. I have some old ones that need to be used up first. I have a copy of my braintanning book out to send you.
Thanks Steven. I was husking some black walnuts earlier this fall and after getting my hands stained black I wondered what kind of leather they would make. Have you used them before? If so, did you use the husks green or dried?
I haven't. All of that coloring matter does not equate to tannic acid. They can be used.
Mr. Edholm, is there any chance that you have ever been experimenting with dying fabrics with bark tan solution? I just go myself a pair of working pants in cotton but I really dislike the white colour, so cool be cool to change them some brownish stuff.
Yeah, I have done that with oak galls on a pair of white pants. My depression era grandma was very impressed lol. Just experiment first and remember that different fabrics might respond a little different. You might try black walnut for something darker. Also, if it is not exposed to the liquor evenly, or not moved a lot, it will be kind of uneven and streaky that way tie-dyes are.
Thank you! Great info and I was happy to learn that trees like Lobloly pine and live oak which I have access to are useful. I am curious about your sources of information.
Most of the sources are listed in the blog post. Some is random pulled from my brain.
I also included some tips on researching if you want to dig deeper for more on a certain species.
@@SkillCult Thank you.
Het man...very informative video.
Do you have a basic one which explains from start to finish product?
There are so many stuffs, make me confused.
Regards
Hi Satria. The best I have right now is the series on making sharpening strops from scratch. I'll do more when I can though. th-cam.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJCcE3gKzj0GkadKlSF_8xbj.html
Cool! Thank you ;->
Also, With your natural bark tanning or vegetable tanning, how do you control what color the leather comes out as? Is that in part by what your tanning it with or do you add colored finishes or dyes to the leather when its all done to color it and polish it?
In the past, light colored tans were often preferred because it allowed the leather workers and curriers to modify the color as they wanted it. I don't really do much dyeing, but it was done a lot in the past over bark tan. Most home tanners will probably be very happy to get interesting dark reds, chestnut, tan and brown from naturally darker tans though.
@@SkillCult When I attempt this on a deer hide, I think at first my primary uses for the leather will be to make journals so it would be fun to experiment with different coloring methods, so either tanning the hide all one light flat color and then adding a darker finish to it later or cutting the hide up into parts and tanning them that way in smaller containers with different tanning materials.
Do you have any methods of tanning a hide with the fur on?
I havne't really done any content on that and probably won't in the future. but other people will.
Great video! Question, what if I want the fur? I have a piece of goat skin, I want to use plants so I can use it
It is possible to bark tan with the fur on.
Well Indian tea leaves are rich in tannic acid may use this for tanning?
Yes, but I don't think they are very high in tannins. The mature leaves probably have more though. If you use enough though, it will work.
Hi apart from the oak material and all other stuff you mentioned is there other materials I can use for tanning in this part of Africa looking forward to your reply
What part of Africa? Did you look at the list on my website? I think there are some wattle species in drier parts. I'm not sure if they are imports or native, but there has been a tanning and tanning extract industry there using wattle I believe.
Great channel!!!! Thank you for this priceless information!! I have a question: did you tan hair on hides without alum? I mean, I found on internet some information about tanning with oil and dawn, but I've never tried. I used to tan with alum but it is a waste of time, money and hides, because the sulphuric acid produced because air moisture damage the pelt. Thank you again! Regards
Has that happened to you with alum? I've used it, but not very much. Tannic acid in these plants has the ability to fix the hair in place like alum.
@@SkillCult yes, i have tanned some pelt with tanic acid from quebracho powder. Everytime I have failed. Maybe I didnt flesh the hide properly. I know that lime helps the hide to open the pores so the tanic acid can came in. The hair-on hides, we dont use lime. In my case, the tanic acid did not penetrate the skin. In other way, the bark tan will rigidize the skin, so maybe is not convenience for rug or taxidermy.
I will be happy if you can share your opinion. Regards!!
would this be good for car upholstery? would it be too cold in winter and too hot in summer like these usual car leathers? do you have any idea?
See answer to that in another comment.
Would cacao shells contain the correct tannins for tanning leather? I work in a chocolate factory and I have bags of the stuff and no useful purpose for them.
For almost all industrially processed foods, there are studies on waste composition. This indicates tannins are low, but you could always do multiple extractions. Your leather might smell like chocolate, that would be awesome lol. www.asianjab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/12-AJAB-2017-07-075_Final.pdf
Question, can the tannin used for wine making can be used to strengthen the liquor? Also, anybody know what would be the best resource to use in central Florida with the highest tannin content. I know pretty much every river here is tannin stained so it is out there.
I would imagine so. Probably not the cheapest source though. not sure on the florida materials. I think that color is from cypress, so check the materials list on my website for that.
Hay can you make a video on caring for and stretching leather. I have leather boots and keep having to buy new ones after about 8 months because they shrink in the toe box and squish my feet. The leather of the toe box gets wet from walking in dewy grass every morning so I'm guessing that shrinks the leather over time and damages the leather.
If you oil regularly you can prevent that easily. You don't have to oil every day or anything, but you have to do it before they leather really shrinks and becomes brittle, because once it cracks, it's cracked for good. If the leather is already shrunk and dried up, you can reverse it by washing with a warm solution of egg yolk blended with warm water and some oil. Olive oil is fine. I don't know how much, just put the egg yolk and a little warm water in a blender and drizzle in a couple tablespoons of oil or so. then oil the surface again as they leather dries and repeat if necessary.You can also wear them as that nourishing lubricant dries in to re-supple and stretch it.
Can you please recommend a leather book for beginners. Thank you!
Best thing I know of on bark tanning is lotta rhame's book.
FIRST OFF THANKS YOUR A BEARD OF INFORMATION I love how enthused he sounds reminds me of Ron Swanson of leather maybe you should try tanning with bacon and then finish it off with rubbing in some more bacon 🙏🏻
lol
I've been compared to rob zombie, bob ross, techno viking, john malkovich (my least favorite ;(. but this is the first Ron Swanson. There is some video where I"m slicing home made bacon and say something that sounds exactly like Ron Swanson he he.
Hi Steven. I'm a stone age teacher here in the UK. I make my own leather for school projects and outfits. I am wandering if you have ever seen or know of a way to add colours to leather in the tanning process. I don't mean just the vegetable colour but perhaps a more vibrant colour like ocher reds. If this isn't possible in the tanning process do you have any idea how to achieve this after tanning and what types of vegetable matter would possible work.
Check out traditional morrocan tanning. They do a lot of dyeing. There is less info out there on tradtional leather dyeing than tanning, but there is some. I published a huge collection of old literature on my site at www.skillcult.com/freestuff In the old days, very light colored tans were generally preferred, because it allowed the curriers to dye the skins other colors. Some tanning materials were rejected for commercial tanning simply on that point alone. I the US and tropic regions, there is cochineal for red. In europe there is something like that called Kermes, so there is a start. I haven't dove into dyeing leather, but if you end up getting multiple good colors, I'm pretty sure you'll have to earn it with a lot of research and experimentation.
@@SkillCult thank you for the help. I have already started looking at some of your info on the website. I'm now saving up for your book so I have a goto guide. Thanx again. Keep up the great work and I hope you enjoy this year.
Your Channel Rawks Steven! i just subbed and have looked around- Amazing content! its what every father should be teaching their Children!
This is priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Renaissance Men and Women the DNA is evolving- lets lead the way! Steven there are a few others on this tip- #LoveWins and this Video is Love In Action Here!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing your life with others to learn from...........No matter what happens- worst case scenario we all go to heaven... however if there is cataclysm that is not fatal to Earth Herself then these skills learned will ensure the survival of Mankind as a species........... on the flip side with how bad things are out there- the world population is so violent on so many levels do we deserve to evolve if we are going to stay a predator species??????????? deeper questions afoot. thanks for your priceless observations Steven! Mahalo(thank you) for your Kokua(hospitality) blessings and aloha td
Hey I really get a lot from your videos thank you so much for putting so much great information. I wondered if you could do a video on road kill. Like if you can or should use furs from it and how to determine if it’s worth it. I’m from NJ and we have a LOT of road kill. And if I could practice on it before I get my hunting license it would be great. Anyway thanks again can’t wait for more content and to spread your name around to people who would be interested!
That is a good idea. I think it's already in my very long list of vids to make. I think it's fine to use them. Look at how clear the eyes are and if they are dried out real bad. Also, rigor mortise is not that bad, it sets in pretty fast. Later it goes away as the enzymes in the muscles basically break down the tissues. That's when you really need to worry, but by then it should start to smell. If you want to keep the hair, the sooner you pick it up, skin it and either tan, dry or freeze, the better.
SkillCult thanks a bunch, I’ll have to try it out. Can’t wait for more videos!
Do you know anything regarding Tribe Leather? Like what is used to tan it
And what about drum dying?
I'm not sure what you mean by tribal leather. As in dyeing drum skins different colors?
Get a chance to use an old wringer washer with wash basin and adjustable rubber wringers.
(1) Use with wash basin, doing brain tanning, and loosely wind leather around the rollers, and pressing brain fats/oils into the leather, then tighten up wringers and press out the water. Can also use a squirt tube of lanolin lotions (sheep vit D oils) or saddlesoap lanolins in the wash basin into the leather going into the rollers and pressing into the fibers.
(2) Reverse and turn over the leather and be able to wringer-press stretch the leather, back and forth, making it softer and more pliable.
(3) Use the same wash basin with tanning wash, and the wringers for pressing the dye into the leather. Connect the leather into a huge loop and running it continuously through the wash basin and the wringers. Wet and press, wet and press, until the final dyeing color and tanning process is desired.
If I get a tannery shelter set up, I might resotre the old wringer washer I have and try it out. I've not doubt they would be very useful.
Hi again, I really found your channel the best, so I am coming back to you with my questions again and again. :)
I got a red-fox yesterday for free from a local hunter... usually they just throw them (too much foxes in Norway), and I have just skinned it and will flesh it later. But, what can you reccomend for tanning a fox skin, I guess I have to leave the hair, ? or is it possible to make a nice thin piece of leather from it? ( to dehair ?). Do you have experience?
Thanks!
that's kind of too big a topic to try to tackle you can always freeze it until you figure out what you need to do. You can definitely take the hair off, but it probably won't be too great. I don't have any vids on hair on tanning yet, but might do some eventually because everyone asks all the time. You could look around youtube for vids on braintanning furs. I'm not sure what is out there.
@@SkillCult Really no good videos about braintanning furs. But I think I managed my fox.
Do you know if I can wash braintanned fox fur after smoking, as it got a bit of soot on the fur tips? Better if I could wash with a bit of green soap, but I am scary to ruin everything.
@@neverstopexploring8655 I haven't looked, but I'm a little surprised. There are a lot of braintanners out there. There is a group I think called hide tanning traditions or something like that on facebook. That's a good resource and place to meet tanners. You can wash it, but dry it as soon as possible. Air circulation helps. And comb the hair open as it dries to fluff it out and dry it faster. It is a risk any way you do it though. It may cause the hair to slip. The only real ways I know of to insure slippage doesn't occur is to fix the hair with some astringent like alum or tannin.
SkillCult Thanks! Hope I smoked it long enough.
Is it possible to vegetable-tann fur?
When you use bark to tan do you use it for smoking?
No, that is a different kind of tanning. this is soaking the skin in strong solutions of bark liquor.
I am an arborist by trade, i have read in your materials about Oak heart wood can be used. Our company could easisly provide me a whole truck load of Oak (quercus robur specifically) woodchips (the whole tree fed through an industrial chipper). Do you think extracting the tannin from this type of mulch is viable? Love the content by the way, excellent videos full of knowledge.
I suspect it might be worthwhile. If you have regular access, I would go with the bark still, but it could be a resource worth using. You can probably find the tannin content of some of your oaks published somewhere. I imagine all of them have been studied at some point.
Thanks for your wonderful webcontent. It's been a pleasure reading, watching and learning/thinking. Some of the stuff you post doesn't really teach me something new, but it makes me think about the stuff that I do already know but put into practice in a bad/inefficient way. So indirectly they still do teach me...
I watched your videos from last year too, and you mention health issues. I was wondering if you are still struggling those. Because maybe I can offer you some insights/help in return for what you have given me... I have a somewhat similar living situation as you, and have quite a bit of experience (empirical) with chronic health issues and how to solve or cope with them.
If you are interested, tell me how to reach out to you with more private messages. (this is a purely altruistic offer, I don't stand to gain anything from it, except maybe appreciation by a person whom I've come to respect)
You are welcome. You can email me through my website, or try youtube contact through the about me tab. Chances are that I've tried or know about stuff you've done or know about , but always interested in people's real world results. I've tried a lot of things and some worked, but not in the long term for the most part.
Can mahogany be used for tanning
Im not sure, did you check the list on the website? I don't remember seeing it. If it has been, it's probably written down somewhere with the tannin content.
Will spruce tree work on tanning
Yes, click on the reference in the video description.
I`d like to tan a pig`s skin, for a ¨human skin book¨ prop, can I just buy online a tanning liquid or something?
Any tips?
Would it be possible for you to do a video on tanning with sumac? Thank you.
It doesn't grow here. I have some stashed, but it would be the same as anything, crush it up, cook the liquor and use it. Not sure on the proportions. The one thing I read about it though is that it can be damaged by high heat. It destroys the tannins or something. Keep it at or beolow 120 degrees f.
If you follow my strops from scratch series I show all the veg tanning steps except finishing in there.
Will do. Thanks for the reply!
Nevermind the tanning info provided. This video answered the ages old philisophical question: if a tree falls and there is not a Man around, does it still make a sound? The answer is, as Steven told us, yes it does. So ha! Take that first year philosophy college students!
Your full article and list link it's not available any more. Can you please give new link witch it's working. Thank you.
skillcult. com/ blog /tanningmaterials. Remove the spaces.
@@SkillCult Thank you.
Tannins can be found in anything that stains the water brown/reddish. Coffee and tea included. The darker it can make the water, the more tannins it has. The more you crumble up the bark into mulch, the faster the tannic acids will leach into the water, especially if you start with hot water and let it cool before adding the hide. Chicory, dead peat moss, bark, leaves, used coffee grounds... Test different dried organics in cups of water overnight to see which is the darkest, and you'll find decent tanning material in your own area.
My experience has been that color is not a reliable indicator of tannin content. Used coffee grounds have a lot of color and low tannins for instance. There are many other coloring agents in plants and the darkness of those and of different tannins varies. I've seen people make the mistake of tanning in spent liquors that still have significant color. I did it myself quite a bit. But it is some indicator and the main one that actually use. but then I'm usually working with the same materials.
@@SkillCult Coffee isn't low in tannins... There are tannins found in most plants, especially in the bark, seeds (like coffee beans) and foliage. Some plants have more tannins than others, and for those that contain less, you just add more plant material. If in doubt, use a ph strip. You will find most often, it corresponds with the tint of the water.
Pena que não falo inglês,para aproveitar todo o conteúdo do seu canal pois é do meu interesse aprender essas técnicas. A quia no Brasil não temos um conteúdo assim!
Hi, have you ever tanned or heard of anyone tanning rabbit hides for leather? would you recommend them as a good starting animal similar to squirrels?
How does it compare?
wild rabbits are too thin to bother with. They were always used as rawhide as far as I know. At least anything in this country. But domestic rabbit can be much more susbtantial. It's good to learn on and easy to tan usually.
@@SkillCult Thanks so much for responding ive been binging you a lot and really appreciate all the knwledge youve dropped. Ive even added some new ideas to my repitoire.
I have meat rabbits (new zealand) im breeding and growing and trying to see if theres the pssibility to make small leathers or "light leathers" with these hides or if they are better served sold with fur and preserved. Maybe flanders, since they are large could be a happy medium, but im not sure.
Leather crafting seems like a great hobby and something to pass down to children similar to the historic peple.
Hi! Can rawhide (parchment) be made into Leather?
In most cases, probably. some rawhide is treated with something, like varnish. if it is very old it may tend to be brittle and hard to work with. but if it is just skin and nothing added, most likely.
the first steps are basically the same as making rawhide, then you go on to tanning.
This has been quite helpful Steven thank you. I have around thrity rabbit hides in my freezer that I plan on experimenting with this spring/summer. It seems like there are almost endless variables to play around with. Any more thoughts on tanning I would love to hear.
Excellent thing to experiment on!
So, I got ahold of a bobcat hide. I had my Alum & Salt solution waiting while I flesh the hide, but someone went ahead and put it in...and I couldn’t flesh it! A few days later it smelt horrible (probably because of the rotting flesh), so I dried it without stretching it out. Then, I tried to break the hide but it was hard because I didn’t flesh it. I was told to pin it to a wood board and let it dry. I tried to stretch it out the best I could. It’s been drying for months now and is super hard. What should I do? I really want to keep this hide because the rest of the animal went to waste besides the skull I saved. It was a bad situation for the bobcat, but I tried to make the best situation of it as it wasn’t my kill. It’s still sitting outside. Do you have any ideas?
I don't use alum much, but my friend that used it all the time found that it was always easier to flesh them I thought. Maybe you used too much alum? I'd re soak it and see if it will flesh out. Drying a hide them rewetting usually helps a lot in relseasing the membranes from the flesh side.
SkillCult
Thank you so much! I’m soaking it in cool water. But before I washed it off using pretty warm water, so some of the hair slipped.
I hope you still reply to old video comments.... I've watched your videos for quite a few years now and have only done brain tanning for about 5 years. I've decided to stretch out to veg tanning and boiled up my first liquor tonight and got the deer hide soaking. It was a hide I was planning on brain tanning; so I had fleshed, soaked in ash, dehaired and granied, bucked in vinegar, and let dry to rawhide. It sat at rawhide like that for over a year before I got it soaking the other day and broke it over a stake to open up the fibers to take the liquor. Anyway, my question is can I get enough tannins from oak wood instead of using the bark? Do you know a rough ratio of how much tannins are in the wood compared to bark? I have pretty well unlimited access to firewood and most of which is oak, so I grabbed a bunch of it and split it into about 3/8-1/2 inch square pieces and filled a metal 5 gallon bucket about half full with that wood. Stacked fairly tight. Filled the bucket almost full with water and boiled over a camp fire for around 2 hours. The resulting liquor was a very dark brown, about like coffee. I poured half of that off into another bucket and topped with tap water for a 50% concentration and added the wet hide. I figured a wet hide wouldn't take the water as fast, and that along with the 50% concentration of liquor will help keep it from case hardening. As it takes the tannins, I'll top off with the full strength liquor and towards the end I'll dump out most of the used liquor before adding more to up the tannin percentage. Basically I guess my question is, can I use oak wood instead of bark or are there not enough tannins in the wood? Is the bark a better concentration?
First off, don't worry about case hardening with oak. It's not going to happen. I don't think you will have gotten all the much tannin out of that wood. It will be used up in half a day probably. Bark has more and it is easier to get out. If you can find oak firewood with bark still on it, just chop that off, as long as the tree was cut green and hasn't been rotted or rained on a lot. You can use various weaker materials like that, but you have to use tons. Instead of diluting, I'd probably use the same tea to boil on anothe batch of wood. Now if you had access to fresh, quality sawdust, I think that would be more viable. but I would still do a double extraction. If you haven't , watch my bark tanning videos. this series si super long, but very valuable. th-cam.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJBsE5mbHhW2gQMILnndQN9o.html
@@SkillCult unfortunately I don't have access to shavings. The firewood i have access to is all piled outside and been weathered for some time. What about walnuts? Can I leech tannins out of them for my liquor?
@@KeithBair You can, but I hear it takes a ton of them. I would look at maybe acorns and acorn caps first. If there are any woods you can run around in, go look for oak trees that fell this year. You could also call tree service people and tell them you need some bark, or firewood sellers. they often burn big piles of it that fall off the firewood.
@@SkillCult thanks. I have a giant woods behind the house I can explore. My father in law keeps them clean for timbering though, so no downed trees. I'm headed out to check the pawpaws and I'll grab a bag full of acorn caps. Thanks for your advice
Thank you for making this very informative video on tannins...one thing I'm trying to find out is about sumac...my property is lousy with them and I know it's used in traditional tanning of Moroccan leather...what I Can't find is an answer on the bobs, which last throughout the winter on the trees, I've found mention of them being used for tanning but I can't seem to find an answer on How they are used...I know in this area, the bobs are used to smoke bees and to kill the mites in the hives, so they are known for their smoky properties, does that mean I should be using the bobs as a smoke or tea...which process is better anyway tea or smoke? Sorry if any of this sounds nube-like but that's exactly what I am 😕
I live in one of the few areas where there is no sumac. So my experience is limited. there is a book on sumac in tanning by the USDA that you can look at on my website. skillcult.com/freestuff
@@SkillCult hey, man, thanks!!
Can eggs be used for tanning?
For conditioning the skin by lubricating the fibers. they also can emulsify oil into water, which is used a lot for oiling the skin fibers deeply and evenly. I have a video on using egg yolks. It's called fatliquoring
wish you were near me so i can pay you to teach me but i'll learn on my own Just need some hides and tools.
Have you heard or read anything about using aligator Juniper bark for tanning? Its mostly whats near me. Otherwise I'll have to drive a few hours away.
Never heard of it. I would search the latin name and words like tannin tanning leather and see if anything comes up. You might at least come up with a paper stating the tannin content.
I would suggest a bamboo rake Steven. It is lighter than a metal rake though you will probably need on per square mile. Perhaps we fans, many of which are raked masters, can help. Thanks Much! DaveyJO. Can we send you rakes?
I'm going to buy a titanium alloy rake, made in America with a handle made from surplus, subsidized corn.
Thanks so much for this one! Will read the blog post soon. I enjoy the crazy chicken noise but my turkeys did not. The little ones went crazy beeping the whole video.
Turkeys are funny. I never raised them, but I have wild ones here. The way they gobble reminds me of pigeons all turning in the air at the same time.
I’m trying to find good information on brain tanning. It seems most of your videos, although awesome and great information, are on veg/bark tanning. Have any resources of where I can find info on brain tanning?
I don't have anything on braintanning yet. I wrote a book on it in the late 90s but it's out of print til we get it together to reprint. There are other good books, Deerskins Into Buckskins and Blue Mountain Buckskin, also you can watch mel beattie's video the Tanning Spirit on youtube now. th-cam.com/video/mmJz6Ok0GJw/w-d-xo.html. he was one of my influences.
This is my book, but it's really expensive at out of print prices. amzn.to/2JG4N60
As an Australian, I would assume that I could use eucalyptus, I'm thinking red gum or Ironbark. Any experience with using eucalyptus?
no experience, but do a web search for - vegetable tanning materials skillcult - and you'll find a long post I wrote with tanning materials from all over the world. There are some eucalyptus in there I think and wattles. Should be able to find out what was used and tannin %
@@SkillCult thanks. I live along the South Hobart rivulet (creek) in Hobart Tasmania. It was known as the most dirty creek in Tasmania during the eighteen hundreds mostly because of the large number of tanneries (at that time mostly wallaby and possum) along it's edges; I would assume the settlers of some 150 - 200 years ago would have utilised local sources of tannins.
Very informative video Steven. My package that goes to you has been delayed because of a number of factors. One being some info I am searching to find here in my rats nest of many things haphazardly stored,,,,or spread about. So it shall be a New Years package. And right now the PO is so swamped that I would wait anyway. I am sending you a piece of my Sassafrass tanned leather in the package. And I had huge dead white oak (with no bark) fall over and take down a sizable Sassafrass tree that was live with bark I have been harvesting. Talk about timing, as I have a hide ready to skud in lime water. Thanks Kindly as always! I also included a X-mas gift for you and I believe you will be able to use it well. Happy Holly Daze to you and you family and a new year of healthful and productive projects. DaveyJO in Pa.
Cool, no hurry. I'm old enough to be patient now as a default lol. I hope sassafras leather smells like sassafras, that would be cool :) I have a hide in the lime too. It was an august hide, so it's full of new hairs just coming in, which are sometimes a pain to get out. I'll probably get more of them out as the hide falls (unswells) during deliming and scudding. I hope anyway.
Okay so question for people who live where a lot of trees are scarce there is tannic acid that you can buy online it’s not bark it’s like a water salable mixture its advertised for tanning could that be used? Thanks for the awesome videos keep them coming!
I'm sure there are places you can buy tanning extract like quebracho, but I've never looked. I think Matt Richards may have sold it before on braintan.com a long time ago. What region are you in?
SkillCult I live in western Illinois but asking for family in western Oklahoma panhandle area
@@The_workshop11 I'm not really familiar with what grows there. Maybe osage orange wood?
SkillCult thanks man!
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Thought there was a cat meowing outside my window LOL freaked me out