A tour de force, a saver, and the most enjoyable tanning video on TH-cam. Nice music. We needed a before and after shot of the smoking process. There seemed to be little difference. I was led to believe that different woods impart a different color to the finished product. In the Southwest, mesquite producing a brown color and cottonwood a tan. Any feedback or clarification from our host or fellow enthusiasts is greatly appreciated.
Hey Dan, thanks for the comment, and glad you liked the video. As for the smoking, (as far as I understand) the final color is based on a few factors. First, as you mention, the wood used. I use cottonwood since it is widely available in my area. Second, the length of time exposed to the smoke. Third, is the "intensity" of the smoke. In the past, I've smoked projects pretty dark but went for a light smoke on this particular project. As far as I understand, there is not much added benefit for darker smoke in terms of waterproofing. As long as it is smoked, it will return to soft after exposure to moisture. Thanks again, and hope this helps.
Yep. Let it soak till the hairs starts to slip. Good luck. I learned quite a lot online, and wanted to add something to the pot. Thanks for checking it out.
i just bought lye from the store and thats working fine fro me but you have to mix around a quarter of a gallon of lye with 6 gallons of water. it worked fine for taking the fur off although i still havent finished my buckskin
Thanks man. More than anything, it's a convenience deal. I get my hides in the winter and tan in the spring. I don't want to freeze the brains all winter, and you can't hardly buy them anymore. I also can usually get all the eggs I want for free so that makes it easy. Thanks for checking it out LoboPro
Do you mean in the egg solution? If so, usually overnight is long enough. Also, you break it until it is thoroughly dry. If you are having trouble with the details, you might find the guide I wrote helpful. It accompanies the video and adds those sorts of details. Hope the video helps you! www.frontierlife.net/shop/hhge3ti2m0ud712l49mtk501p9oyl7
I will say that wetscrape is incredibly frustrating for me. I am soon going to attempt dryscraping as a result of my previous experiences. I always found that wetscraping is not a time/labor-efficient method if you are tanning multiple hides simultaneously. In my experience, wetscraping requires you to be very thorough to remove all of the grain, and I find myself completely exhausted after graining three or four hides.
I hear you there. It certainly will take it out of you. I've dry scraped some hides too, and I have to say that I've found that more difficult. However, the scraping tool I was using was not top-notch (to say the least). Good luck with your next hides.
lol I tell yah doing multiple hides as I do every deer season I salt them till they are ready to be worked. Mounting the hide on the frame for dry bucking alone equals the time of wetscraping. Not to mention the lye does alot of the work for you.
You can do a hair on deer, hide but I never have. For hair on, I do all furbearers. It's a similar process, except you don't want to get any of the egg solution on the hair.
I saw people demonstrate how the Native Americans used to do this. It was incredibly similar, but I am pretty sure they used the animal's brains where this guy uses eggs.
Yep. And plastic totes. And modern tools to make my tools. And gloves. I have much appreciation for the incredible amount of WORK it took to make them back in the day. It's hard today with modern tools. Thanks for your comment.
I see you have a booklet that explains what you didn't. Not a bad idea or price for 6 bucks. So many ways to tan hair on and off, I think I've tried em all. We do it much in the same except I use hydrated lime instead of ashes but have done both. Brains became scarce so I to switched to the egg yolk, cooking oil, dish soap dressing solution.
Thanks, Randy. Yes, there are a lot of ways to tan. I tried a bunch as well and had poor results. After finding one that works, I'm going to stick to it for any primitive tanning projects in the future. Thanks for checking the video out.
I've used this tanning solution to tan furbearers quite a lot. You just don't want to get the tanning solution on the fur. Tanning furbearers has a few different wrinkles, but overall the process is very similar. If you're talking about removing the hair and making just skin, I think the same process would work. However, personally, I don't think I'd take the time. Coyote skin is so thin and the hide so small, you're not going to get a lot for your effort. But, if that's what you have and want to use, it should work. Thanks for your comment.
@@Estelle_H They should work just fine. You'll probably want to pay close attention to the hide when you put it in the lye (wood ashes). Lye is caustic and can deteriorate the skin if left in too long. If I were you, I might practice on a small section of hide to make sure you get the soaking time figured out before committing a full hide to it. Good luck!
if you dont have good hard wood ash you can use your own urine to get the hair off as well and just follow the process the same. I would recommend saving up about two weeks worth of urine in a washed out milk jug. Thats what i use cause i mean we all have to pee and it makes something thats waste be useful.
I prefer these types of videos of no narrative. Great video!
Thanks. Appreciate your comment and glad you enjoyed the video.
A tour de force, a saver, and the most enjoyable tanning video on TH-cam. Nice music.
We needed a before and after shot of the smoking process. There seemed to be little difference.
I was led to believe that different woods impart a different color to the finished product. In the Southwest, mesquite producing a brown color and cottonwood a tan.
Any feedback or clarification from our host or fellow enthusiasts is greatly appreciated.
Hey Dan, thanks for the comment, and glad you liked the video. As for the smoking, (as far as I understand) the final color is based on a few factors. First, as you mention, the wood used. I use cottonwood since it is widely available in my area. Second, the length of time exposed to the smoke. Third, is the "intensity" of the smoke. In the past, I've smoked projects pretty dark but went for a light smoke on this particular project. As far as I understand, there is not much added benefit for darker smoke in terms of waterproofing. As long as it is smoked, it will return to soft after exposure to moisture. Thanks again, and hope this helps.
@@FrontierLife Thank you.
Good stuff, thank you for sharing. I have yet to tan any hides of my own. Looking forward to it though
Good luck, and I'd recommend just getting after it. No time like the present!
Do you put hard wood ash in the water for d-hairing the hide? Just learning. And thanks for the video.
Yep. Let it soak till the hairs starts to slip. Good luck. I learned quite a lot online, and wanted to add something to the pot. Thanks for checking it out.
i just bought lye from the store and thats working fine fro me but you have to mix around a quarter of a gallon of lye with 6 gallons of water. it worked fine for taking the fur off although i still havent finished my buckskin
Great video! Do you like the egg yoke better than brain?
Thanks man. More than anything, it's a convenience deal. I get my hides in the winter and tan in the spring. I don't want to freeze the brains all winter, and you can't hardly buy them anymore. I also can usually get all the eggs I want for free so that makes it easy. Thanks for checking it out LoboPro
What's with the egg, if it floats the mix is correct?
And the eggs and oil?
You got it, Rob. The lye solution is correct if the egg floats, and the eggs and oil serve as the tanning agents. Thanks for giving it a watch.
how long do you dry and soak it for? we froze our hides this year and are new to the craft thanks!
Do you mean in the egg solution? If so, usually overnight is long enough. Also, you break it until it is thoroughly dry. If you are having trouble with the details, you might find the guide I wrote helpful. It accompanies the video and adds those sorts of details. Hope the video helps you! www.frontierlife.net/shop/hhge3ti2m0ud712l49mtk501p9oyl7
I will say that wetscrape is incredibly frustrating for me. I am soon going to attempt dryscraping as a result of my previous experiences. I always found that wetscraping is not a time/labor-efficient method if you are tanning multiple hides simultaneously. In my experience, wetscraping requires you to be very thorough to remove all of the grain, and I find myself completely exhausted after graining three or four hides.
I hear you there. It certainly will take it out of you. I've dry scraped some hides too, and I have to say that I've found that more difficult. However, the scraping tool I was using was not top-notch (to say the least). Good luck with your next hides.
You could use an angle grinder when dry scraping larger hides.
You will need a massive smooth table
lol I tell yah doing multiple hides as I do every deer season I salt them till they are ready to be worked. Mounting the hide on the frame for dry bucking alone equals the time of wetscraping. Not to mention the lye does alot of the work for you.
is it warm to wear i wanna keep the hair
You can do a hair on deer, hide but I never have. For hair on, I do all furbearers. It's a similar process, except you don't want to get any of the egg solution on the hair.
I saw people demonstrate how the Native Americans used to do this. It was incredibly similar, but I am pretty sure they used the animal's brains where this guy uses eggs.
Yep. And plastic totes. And modern tools to make my tools. And gloves. I have much appreciation for the incredible amount of WORK it took to make them back in the day. It's hard today with modern tools. Thanks for your comment.
I see you have a booklet that explains what you didn't. Not a bad idea or price for 6 bucks. So many ways to tan hair on and off, I think I've tried em all. We do it much in the same except I use hydrated lime instead of ashes but have done both. Brains became scarce so I to switched to the egg yolk, cooking oil, dish soap dressing solution.
Thanks, Randy. Yes, there are a lot of ways to tan. I tried a bunch as well and had poor results. After finding one that works, I'm going to stick to it for any primitive tanning projects in the future. Thanks for checking the video out.
Can this be done with predator hide, such as wolf or coyote?
I've used this tanning solution to tan furbearers quite a lot. You just don't want to get the tanning solution on the fur. Tanning furbearers has a few different wrinkles, but overall the process is very similar.
If you're talking about removing the hair and making just skin, I think the same process would work. However, personally, I don't think I'd take the time. Coyote skin is so thin and the hide so small, you're not going to get a lot for your effort. But, if that's what you have and want to use, it should work.
Thanks for your comment.
@@FrontierLife Thank You! Just the info I was looking for. I want hair off wolf or coyote leather. I want to make medicine pouches out of them.
@@Estelle_H They should work just fine. You'll probably want to pay close attention to the hide when you put it in the lye (wood ashes). Lye is caustic and can deteriorate the skin if left in too long. If I were you, I might practice on a small section of hide to make sure you get the soaking time figured out before committing a full hide to it. Good luck!
interesting
if you dont have good hard wood ash you can use your own urine to get the hair off as well and just follow the process the same. I would recommend saving up about two weeks worth of urine in a washed out milk jug. Thats what i use cause i mean we all have to pee and it makes something thats waste be useful.
Epic
Glad you enjoyed it.
Why no commentary, instructions etc?
Was kind of pointless unless someone already knew what you were doing.