# Survival > Primitive Skills & Technology >  Tanning

## Walking Bear 1954

Been doing leather work since retiring and during this deer season while butchering 2 deer my brother looks at me and says why don't you keep the skins and make hide.  I looked at him and said "Never been taught".  So does anyone know of a course for tanning ?  Thought about just doing it from a book.  Please share your experience and any special equipment.  I research and know it is a task for sure.

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## Alan R McDaniel Jr

I tanned a few "hair on" coons and such.  I used Alum.  The results were questionable.  I did a couple of deer skins a while back "hair off"  with ashes.  the results were not questionable at all.  They had to go.  From what I've read, most natural tanning procedures are really kinda gross (and a lot of work) unless you just enjoy the smell and feel of rotting animal tissue.  The chemical methods aren't much better.  

Most taxidermists down here have a pretty good line of communication with the "Mexico connection" and tanned deer hides (hair on or off) can be bought much quicker than tanning them yourself. Then you just get to the leatherwork.  I think I remember hair on cow hides for under $70. They are a little green but can be used for most applications where "smell" is not an issue.  

Good luck.  I hope you figure out a way to do it that suits you.

Alan

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## crashdive123

I don't think you'll find a better tutorial than this one.  http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...mplicated)-way

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## JohnLeePettimore

I'm embarrassed to admit that when I saw the subject "Tanning" I thought someone had posted about UV exposure.

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## crashdive123

Well.............I am in Florida.

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## Rick

Just don't tell us you have no tan lines. That would be too much information.

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## JohnLeePettimore

> Just don't tell us you have no tan lines. That would be too much information.


Telling is fine.

Don't show.

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## madmax

FL tan

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## crashdive123

Well, there is that one picture that Rick has.

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## Rick

Yeah. There is that ONE picture. There are others but there is that ONE. I can post it if anyone wants to see it. Anyone?

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## Alan R McDaniel Jr

I remember reading in my Foxfire book that God gave each animal enough brains to tan its own hide.  This thread is going in a direction that may bring that axiom into question.

Alan

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## Rick

Tanning my hide was usually up to mom or dad. They were certainly convinced I did not have enough brains to get the job done myself or at least did not trust me to do it properly. They even threatened to enlist Santa Claus on more than one occasion and I believe, the Easter Bunny, a time or two. After just a few demonstrations I think I had the basics down pretty well but that did not sway them one iota. I must have been a slower learner than I thought.

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## Bishop

Brains and water

Or 91% rubbing alcohol is how I do skins on a hot day it will be done in a hour.

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## Chī

I practiced on squrell hides believe it or not, I get them all the time and you won't feel too down if you mess up, they are so small I can get a small container of brains from Walmart (eggs also work), and is enough to tan like 50+ of those little guys, brain tanning methods don't really vary to different from each other, find a good instructional like the one crashdive recommend, and go from there. The main mistake I see people make is putting holes in the hide while scraping or breaking the hide (if you can do it with a squrell you can do it with a larger hide no problem, you just have to break the hide to soften it, practice fur on or off, and adjustments as needed, for example more or less brains, more or less scraping/ breaking, more or less smoke(different woods) hair on hair off ect.   Salt or freeze your good skins until you are comfortable to work them. Soon enough you will have your own method that fits your preferences and needs. Good luck.

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## BushCraftPilot

I am tanning some sheep hides right now, and I am using acorns steeped in water. This is best for hair on tanning because the acorns contain tannic acid. All parts of an oak tree contain tannic acid, but acorns are more readily available for me. Acids are best for tanning hair on, but alkaline fluids are best for hair off. I got the hides at a local butcher for free. That is what you want to do if you are just starting.also, make sure you flesh the hides. There are a ton of YouTube videos about oak tanning. Check them out if you can.

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## BushCraftPilot

Also, I tanned some raccoon hides before I started the sheep hides and the coon hides were grease, grease and more grease. They took about 5-8 days with oak chips. They tookbabout a week with about 4 hours a day because they were so greasy. There are 100s of ways to flesh. The two most common are fleshing on a board or fleshing on a paddle as I like to call it. Fleshing on a board requires nails, or you can make a frame. Either way, you have to make holes to hang it up. Stretch it as far as you can go. Scrape as much muscle as you can and as the muscle is removed, the skin isn't as tight as it was when you first stretched it. This means you have to stretch it again. If it gets loose again, stretch it again.

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