wash hide after tanning (2024)

FAQs

Can you wash a hide after it has been tanned? ›

Make sure you do not make the hide entirely wet! Don't put it into your washing machine or bring it to a dry cleaner!

Remove solid matter with the blunt edge of knife by scraping gently in the direction of the hair. Then wipe with a damp (but not wet) sponge or cloth using mild soapy solution. You can wipe and rub the hair vigorously in any direction.

At this point, depending on how well you are set up for doing hides, you can break down the hide to a fine softness in several different ways: (1) continue working over the beamer, pulling and stretching until it is dry, (2) with a partner, pull the hide between you, rotating so the whole hide is stretched, (3) doing ...

Mix a salt bath in a separate bucket with enough water to immerse the hide. Use 1/2 lb of table salt per gallon of water and extremely hot water to dissolve the salt. Mix thoroughly until salt is dissolved and let the water cool. Immerse the hide in the solution and leave for six to eight hours.

Use OdorXit Before You Mount

Before you mount a hide that smells bad, add some OdorXit to the water you soak the hide in and let it work (1 or 2 ounces per gallon of water). When you are ready to mount the hide, the odor will be gone, and in a few hours, the OdorXit smell will be gone too.

Apply a layer of salt to all areas of the flesh side of the hide. Applying salt on the hair side is not necessary. After salting, roll the hide up and place on an incline to allow fluids to drain away from the hide. Wait approximately 12 hours.

If your piece takes a spill, spot clean as much of the liquid as you can. Then, simply use a clean damp cloth to blot the area. Cleaning solutions are too harsh for the fur, so avoid using them or saturating the piece in water. If your hide becomes matted, a heavy metal comb can be used to brush it out.

Store in cool place with no air flow, so they won't dry out. Use air-tight plastic and wooden containers. Salt will rust metal, which will then stain the hide. One or two hides will fit in a five gallon plastic bucket, while a big pile can be put into a garbage can.

To rehydrate the skin after being tanned, soak in plain water with a small amount of bactericide added for a least one-half to two hours depending on the thickness of the skin. Drain, roll up and cover with a damp towel until the skin is completely rehydrated. Re-soak for another one-half hour if necessary.

For every gallon of lukewarm water, add 2 to 3 ounces of Hide Relax. Next, place the skin in the solution and agitate and stretch the skin for 5 to 20 minutes. After relaxing the skin, rinse the Hide Relax out of the skin and hair thoroughly with lukewarm or cold water.

Does smoking a hide soften it? ›

This means that when they get wet they will dry hard if not continually stretched again as they dry. In order to combat this effect, traditionally tanned hides are laid over a smoky fire to “set” the tan and keep them softer if they happen to get wet. Smoking also adds a nice buckskin color to the hides as well.

Lay the hide flesh side up and apply a heavy layer of table or canning salt – not rock salt as the crystals are too large to break down. Rub this into all areas of the flesh and let it sit overnight.

“Pickling the skin helps prepare it for tanning and sets the hair,” Wagner says. Make a pickle bath in a plastic tub using equal parts distilled white vinegar and water plus two pounds of salt per gallon of solution (a typical deer hide requires about four gallons).

A tanning mixture made of brains, liver, soapweed, and grease was rubbed into the hide. Tanning made it soft. "Then women had had a great deal to do when buffalo were killed. As soon as they had skinned the animal, they spread the skin on the ground and pegged it down to stretch and dry.

Because of its toughness and flexibility, tanned deerskin can be used to make all kinds of things, from bags and gloves to tool straps, knife sheaths, and ax strops. So have fun experimenting, knowing that each year you can add to your collection and feel the satisfaction of using even more of the deer you harvest.

I'm still pasty… If you showered after just a few hours, you might notice your skin is not as tanned as you'd expected. Don't fret! Your colour will continue to develop and darken for a few hours (and a spray tan takes up to 24 hours to develop fully).

Since a hide cannot easily be over-tanned using this process, it would be better to leave the hide in solution too long rather than not long enough. OR: Because alum affects some furs, it may be best to first test a scrap piece of the fur in the tanning solution.