Another Deer Harvested Today - Anybody Know How to Tan Hides?

[897tgigvib]

A friend I've known since 1965 knows how to. He also knows how to dry them for drums.

I bet if you do some google searches you'll find some ways, probably some folks at Indian reservations sharing their ways.

 

[Jared77]

Maybe if we collected some Omaha steak boxes I might make a trip to the NY area & thin them out a bit?

I hate seeing parts of an animal go to waste but I don't know that there would be THAT much use for deer hides. Rabbit pelts have much broader uses because they are a fur product. Quite a few crafters will buy them. Friend of the family made doll clothes from fur. She made the most beautiful full length coat, hat, & muff out of black rabbit pelts for a doll. Was absolutely gorgeous. VERY classy uptown kind of look had that Audrey Hepburn kind of look.

I hope to one day have enough hides of the same color/quality to do a throw blanket out of rabbit for my mom (who is ALWAYS cold). Have it be double sided with fur, would be really soft & if you get cold under that there's something seriously wrong.

Deer hides I'd think are a pretty niche market because it's more of a leather based product. Lot more specialty equipment goes into sewing with leather too. Don't get me wrong I'd LOVE to have some deer skin gun cases made for my shotguns but after that I'm not sure what else I'd have use for them.

I priced out having the hides sent out & was quoted at 20/rabbit. I'll try it on my own first at that price.

 

[MontyJ]

survival.outdoorlife.com/blogs/survivalist/2011/11/survival-skills-brain-tanning-hides

No chemicals needed. It also brings a premium price for the hides.

EDIT: Journey reported that her AV software freaked when she clicked the link. I removed the linkable section, though I visit the site regularly and have had no problems. Norton also ranks the site as safe. To be safe though... To view it you will have to add the http stuff or paste it into your browser.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Tanning would just be a nice thing to know. I figure that if I'm ever homeless I cloud stitch together all of my deer hides and make a tent. They make gloves from deer hide, they seem more heavy duty than the cow hide gloves to me. Maybe make some French fur-trapper clothes from the deer hide, complete with coonskin cap? Imagine walking through Wal-Mart in that!

Cool Marshall, I have this small drum that I got from a garage sale, could possibly me a modern Indian creation. Nothing unnatural on it; seems to be animal skin on top stretched over the wooden cylinder with animal tendons, coontail attached to side, strand of beads coming of side with some strands of horse hair? It has a silhouette of an Indian mounted on a horse on the front, you can see the brush strokes but it looks like who ever made it didn't use a normal paint brush.

 

[journey11]

Monty, that link made my antivirus software bug out. Or sent up pop-ups that claimed it was. Did yours not?

If I ever get to tanning my own hides, I'd like to make things out of them. Bags, gloves, jackets...that kind of thing. I like to sew. But I don't want to pay $50 for them...

 

[MontyJ]

That's odd journey. I have no problems with the site and visit it often. Not even a quiver from AV. Norton also ranks the site as safe: Computer threats = 0, Identity threats = 0, Annoyance factors = 0, Total threats = 0

 

[journey11]

It works fine now, Monty. I'm not sure what happened before...

 

[MontyJ]

Maybe your AV doesn't like brain tanning

 

[Nyboy]

If you check ebay, most tanned deer hides are selling for under $20 unless colored.

 

[journey11]

Must be because my AV doesn't have a brain.

I took a peek at eBay earlier this week out of curiosity. I have seen some go for around $100 at different times, depending on the size, where they were shot up and the quality of leather achieved by the process used. I don't know, I guess I just like the thought of doing it myself. Many of the things I end up doing will only break even if I'm lucky, or run me in the hole if not, but either way, I get a lot of enjoyment from doing it myself. There's also folks around here who will take your hides and give you $3.00 a piece for them.