Written Step by Step Summary of this excellent video Materials Chemicals: -50lb bag of non-iodized, not water softener salt. Just plain old NaCL (I use Diamond Crystal pool salt from Ace Hardware, he recommends a feed store) - 10+ oz of Baking Soda - 16 oz of Citric Acid or 2.5+ oz of TruBond Safety Pickle. - Trubond 1000b tanning solution * If you buy tanning kits, just follow their amounts - Optional: Knoblachs Kemal 4 degreaser/soap for initial wash and the pickle - Optional: Pro-1 Odor Neutralizer for initial wash and the pickle - Optional: 1 or 2 liters of white vinegar for initial wash only of hide before the pickle - Optional: Fleshing board or improvised version Tools: - Large storage bin with lid. *I used a 5 gallon bucket and lid (keep lid on pickle to keep debris out, pickle in and exposed skin moist). - *optional long kitchen gloves to protect your skin - fleshing knife or filet style knife - fleshing board or improvised version (see step 3) - pH strips (litmus paper) - Large old dry towel I used his Matuska Taxidermy link to purchase 1 L (32oz) sizes of the chemicals below. I can likely do 10 hides or so with this amount vs. 1 hide with a kit and the extra chemical options are well worth it in my mind. My cost was $120 including shipping vs. $55 for 1 Trubond kit and it took 6 business days to receive in AZ - Trubond 1000b tanning solution - Trubond No-Harm Pickling acid - Pro-1 Deoderizer Concentrate - Knoblachs Kemal-4 Preface - Hide Considerations 0:00-01:20 min - Assuming a deer or similar hide - If animal harvested in temps warmer than 5c or 40F and may be a couple days to get to the pickle, then can very liberally salt the skin to help preserve it before it gets into the pickle. - freezing conditions, don't need to salt 1st Step 1 - wash hide in cleaning/rehydration bath 01:20 - 3:30 min - In a bathtub or similar oversized tub add cold water - Add a couple handfuls of NaCl (salt) if hide wasn't salted previously - Add 1-2 liters of white vinegar to bath to retard bacteria and help clean - If hide not dehydrated you can do this over 10-15 minutes. If needs to be rehydrated you can go up to 1 hour but not longer (bacteria risk for hair slippage). - If 1st bath is really bloody or dirty, just do this step twice. - The cleaner the hide, the easier it is to maintain pickle pH. - You could add the Kemal 4 here and deodorizer to help cleaning as they are pH neutral. He doesn't recommend dish soap or household cleaners. Step 2 -- Make pickle and soak hide for 3+ days 03:30-18:45 min I USE 5 GALLONS H20 (IN VIDEO he prefers 7 to give more buffer room to maintain pH of 2 so adjust by multiplying 5 gallon amounts by 1.4 or 1.5 to get 7 gallon amounts if you choose). - 5 lbs NaCl (1lb per gallon) - 2.5oz Safety pickle or 15oz citric acid (0.5oz Safety Pickle or 3oz Citric acid per gallon) - 1oz Knoblachs Kemal 4 degreaser per 5 gallons - 4oz or 1/2 cup Pro-1 Deodorizer concentrate per 5 gallon - Once mixed add hide and come back in 2 hours to check on pH with litmus paper. May need to add more acid to maintain 1.5-2 pH - Check pH again after 24 hours and it should stabilize - 1st days mix hide every 6 hours to ensure all the skin is submerged or hair side is up not skin side. - After day 1, swirl hide and recheck pH once daily Step 3 -- Scrape/Flesh hide after 72+ hours in pickle 18:45-27:14 min - Let drain 1 hour before skinning and then roll in a towel for 10-20 minutes to get excess pickle out - You can alternately throw in spin cycle of washing machine while wife isn't in the house to make it quicker. Just don't ask first and beg forgiveness when caught;) - Can use a fleshing knife or a filet knife if extra patient and careful. - Can do this over your knee but helps to have a fleshing board or an improvised slanted surface to work with. (I use a plastic folding table with the legs down on 1 side to make a 45 degree angle and a large flat surface I can work on). - I use sharp scissors to help get the meat/skin overhanging the fringe or edges of the hide after scraping. - After scraping the hide place it back in the original pickle for a minimum of 24 hours or as long as you need until you can get to step 4 assuming pH is stable at 2 to pickle that newly exposed skin. - While you work the hide, don't leave out of pickle solution for longer than 6 hours as a general rule.
Step 4 - Return to pickle for 24+ hours - After scraping the hide place it back in the original pickle for a minimum of 24 hours or as long as you need until you can get to the next step assuming pH is stable at 2 to pickle that newly exposed skin. Step 5 - Neutralizing solution 27:14-32:50 min - Remove hide from pickle and let drain for 1 hour then roll up in a towel to get excess moisture or place in spin cycle as mentioned in Step 3 while you mix neutralizing solution - 1/4 pound NaCL per gallon (1.25lbs for 5 gallons) - ADD 1/2 BAKING SODA UPFRONT AND REMAINDER AFTER 30MIN INTO SOAKING THE HIDE! - Use 2 oz Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) per gallon or 10oz per 5 gallons. - Place hide in bath for 1-1.5 hours and stir every 10-15 minutes - Goal is to increase hide pH 3.5-4 Step 6 - Rinse hide with mild salt water solution 32:50-35:23 min - Prepare a bath or tub of cold water and a handful of salt - Swirl hide around in this bath for 5 minutes - Hang dry 1 hour or spin in washing machine - Get excess water out by rolling hide up in a towel 20 minutes - Let it hang again for up to an hour to get relatively dry and ensure no water is pooling Step 7 - Tan with TruBond 1000b 35:23-38:49 min - Spread tan on the skin side and ensure completely coated with a light coating. - Spread with hands, cheap paint brush, or sock covered hand - OK to get on hair side Step 8 Dry and Stretch 38:49 - 42:52 min - Over several days stretch out hide every 12 hours by hand for 5 days - Don't put any direct heat on it, we want it to dry slowly - You will see dark spots turn whiter as the fibers are stretched - Stretch the dry areas as they darken in every direction - When hide is completely dry and relatively soft after being stretched twice daily for 5-6 days move on to sanding Step 9 Sand Hide 42:52 - End - Use 60-80 grit sandpaper on a palm orbital sander - Go over hide relatively carefully so not to burn or go through thin spots with too much pressure - May take 30 to 60 minutes to go over whole hide - Blow off dust with blower or tumble dry in dryer - Hide should be ready!
The fact that you broke absolutely everything down simply and went into detail with what you were using is fantastic. Thank you so much!! I’m about to start my first whitetail hide !
Thank you for taking the immense amount of time that it probably took to make this video, walking us through the steps needed. I've got two whitetail hides that were in need of rescue, I'm like, now what do I do? I love deer, they are majestic in their own way. (The hides came from two deer who had been hit nearby our property. It's a drive that, unless ill, I make daily. The first, a buck, had been there for about 36 hours in below-freezing temps before I decided to go for it; he was frozen when I cut him open. The second, a doe, was there for about 6 hours. I couldn't leave them there to rot like the garbage flying around. So I determined to get the hides, to give them SOME dignity. Sounds silly, I'm sure, but that's the way I see it.) I put the capes in the freezer and voila, here I am.
After a horrible experience with the orange bottle, I am happy to say I will be using the TruBond products next time. You simplified everything in a professional manner, thank you.
Man this is the most detailed explanation of the tanning process that i have seen on you-tube !! I have done multiple deer skins and a bear skin and i found that a power washer work's amazing at fleshing and cleaning the hyde. A normal size deer cape i can have done in an hour-fiftheen minuets .
This is the most straightforward, well done video I have seen on DIY tanning. I haven't seen anyone else bring up the pH of the pickle bath. That seems very important and I'm glad you explained it. Well done video.
Excellent Video: You sound like a teacher. Excellent on explaining everything and speaking very clear. Best video I've ever seen in a long time if ever!! 👍👍
Howdy, Brother! This is the best and most detailed, respectful tanning instruction on the market. The time and effort you put into this lesson is very much appreciated. Thank you and Drive-On, Cowboy!! 🤠
Thank you so much for this video! You have no idea how informative this has been to me to understand the process. I feel like now I want o do my own hides in the future and not pay a billion dollars for someone else to do it!!
I'll be putting mine in the neutralizing bath this weekend and working on it all week! Looking forward to using all the steps you've explained so thoroughly. Thank you for this incredible information!
I grew up in the Shuswap area (Gardom) - thanks so much for putting the time and energy into this tutorial - I'm glad I stumbled upon it. I live on the North Coast now - hunting moose, blacktail, and goats. I will indeed be tanning some blacktail hides next season thanks to your inspiration!
Hi. I am from all the way The Netherlands and I hunt in Germany. I have a really nice thick hide from a roe deer which I tan at home. I am using a recipe from a taxidermist. So far everything goes fine. I watched your video and just confirms that I am doing it the right way, although I have some of my own habits. I have already tanned several hides, but not all are very souple. So I hope this time it is somewhat more flexible. Good idea of sanding the hide. I did that too with one of my previous ones. By hand, that is. Not with a machine. Thanks for the video!!
I'd love to see how to tan a predator hide! This video really helped me out a lot with tanning a hair on hide! Before this I could never get one to turn out, thanks so much for taking the time to teach how to do this!
Amazing, just what I am looking for. Thank you for sharing and your attention to details. My 2 time trying to process the hide myself turned into disastres and waste of deer hide. Now, I can retry with confidence.
Thank you so much I'm 29 just got my first doe and I wanted to learn everything and do everything on my own this video is absolutely perfect thank you so much
I just harvested my first deer here at our retirement cabin in NC and I've always wanted to learn how to tan a hide. After watching many videos thankfully i came upon this one! I ordered the Tru-Bond 1000b kit (it arrived today). I had rinsed the hide in cold water twice to clean it, let it drip dry for an hour outside (luckily we've had a cold snap-45° day time, 20° night time). I salted the hide, rolled it up, put it in a bag and put it in the freezer (just to make sure). So, instead of rehydrating before pickling and then fleshing, I'm going to try the pressure washer method to flesh out the skin. Then, rehydrate, pickle, and tan. I'll probably give her a good soak before starting to make sure it's completely thawed out and limber before pressure washing.
Don't put a salted hide in the freezer! The salt lowers the freezing temp of the water in the hide. When it's rolled up tight, the middle never freezes properly and can cause slippage.
@shuswapoutdoors thank you! I also didn't drain it before freezing, but luckily a low point hanging off the shelf collected much of the liquid. I now have the hide sitting on an upside down bowl in a five gallon bucket in my garage (35°) thawing and draining. The deer was harvested Saturday, skinned on Sunday, double rinsed outside (only for about 15 min each time) in 40° daytime temps on Monday, drip dried for an hour and then salted, rolled, and put in the freezer that afternoon. Hopefully I didn't screw it up! My intent is to rinse again (just to make sure the hide is relatively pliable) before pressure washing tomorrow (high of 60°/low 40°) and then get it in the rehydrate solution (per the TruBond instructions), then get it in the pickle solution.
Ok. So far so good! I pulled the hide out of the freezer, rinsed in cold water, and pressure wash (a tarp over a pallet) fleshed, then made up my pickle. The hide stayed in the pickle for four days, then I used the "over the knee/filet knife" to touch up the fleshing. No incidents, but it was a little sporty around the edges! (Close to MY flesh!) I'm not sure it I got all the fat/meat off the hide, so I ordered a fleshing knife (A Weibe 12" from Sheels), and fabricated a fleshing board. I'm going to go over the hide one more time before I neutralize it. While it's drying, I need to sew up some holes (while it's soft and I'm using dental floss). Then, on to the tanning, stretching and sanding. So far, I'm really enjoying this. I'm thinking about contacting some processors and seeing if I can get a couple hides to work on. So do you mix a fresh pickle for each hide, or reuse your pickle? I can always use my old pickle to keep weeds down in my gravel driveway! Thanks for your video. I'm constantly referring back to it!
Fantastic video! I really appreciate your attention to detail and use of tools that us amateurs may already own. I'm working on my first ever tanning project; a whitetail. I was dreading the thought of needing special equipment to stretch and break the hide. Your video relieves much of that anxiety. You have a new Sub here!
Im about to try my first whitetail too, and a few salted goat pelts from months and months ago…. Hoping the best for the goat pelts but I’m terrified about slippage! I hope that they’ll be ok, I salted them really really heavily. I guess if they slip I’ll make something out of the hide, some kind of clothing/apron/baby shoes 😅
Thank you so much for your step by step guidance - I am looking forward to getting my hide and tanning it. First experience in doing something like this and you made it sound like I could handle the task but made sure we were aware there was work envolved. Thanks again. I can't wait to get into this because it is something I have wanted to do for a long time.
This video will definitely help keep this art alive. Awesome video, I’m going to make room in the freezer tomorrow for some meat cause I need a hide now 😂. Haven’t looked on your page yet but I’m interested in a predator tanning video
Sometimes the wives are the hunters. My hubby would lose it if I put one of my hides in our washer 😂 thank you for the vid. I have my second elk hide and two deer hides I am working on and this is very helpful
Fantastic guide! I have previously tanned hides, and my results were not as good as yours. I plan to use your instructions later this year, and hope to see a massive improvement in my hides. Thanks so much!
No way! Im working on a my first buck right now and I am from enderby. cant believe you made this from right down the road. Thanks for the info I learned a lot. Currently at the tanning stage and will sand it like you did afterwards
Thank you from a fellow outdoorsman down here in Pennsylvania. I’m going to do this project with my kids. I appreciate you show this process. I’d love to see you tan a bear hide. I think there would be a lot of interest in that. Thanks again!
Great video, this is the first I have seen from start to finish. I have some hides I want to do with hair on and will follow this example you have given. Thanks again, new subscriber.
Thanks. I did my first whitetail hide a few years ago and it turned out well. Considering doing more and appreciate your video to improve my technique.
Came for the info, stayed of the undying eye contact and comedy. Skunks haha nice one pal. This vid was great, all the best from the Highlands of Scotland!
Excellent video! Thank you for taking the time to show each step and explain. I plan to do some of this in the very near future. I would be very interested in seeing how you do coyote hides or bobcat. I plan to get into hunting predators and would like to tan some of them up and make a nice coat as well as some other projects. Thanks again!! (subscribed)
Thank you for the info, my husband and I are salting our first buckskin now, I'll follow the rest of the steps you provided. I'd like to get to a point where I do this regularly. I WOULD appreciate a video on how to do predators as well, as hubby loves to hunt it could be a win win for both of us, I can tan hides and he can hunt all year 😂 thanks for the work you did to make this video.
The ph of the old pickle may be at 2, but the actual strength of it is gone. The acid is dissolving the non tanable proteins out of the hide. So the pickle solution is full of that substance.
@ hi, sorry, another question here… I stuck my deer hides straight into the freezer until I have all my supplies on hand. I should have it all this week. I never salted them. Do I need to salt them before starting anything else? I didn’t think I noticed that it was a necessary step in the video, but maybe I missed something? Thank you!
I jumped into tanning hides because of a steer i loved. I am doing several deer right now and appreciate your explanations and the why behind them. I am ordering some safety pickle, I did order a kit, but I am saving it for the steer.
Thank you so much for the outstanding video! I wish I had found this before starting my first tanning project. Tanning a coyote hide for my wife to use, and the measurement of the salt bath I was advised to use was off, and started to lose fur, so I put it in the freezer until I could find a solution. I will try to save it now. If you have the time, I would appreciate tips on coyote tanning. I'm subscribing to your page now... Thank you so much!
There is no saving a hide. If the hair is falling out, it's too late. Toss it out. Predators have an added step of degreasing. Either a tanning degreser or something like white gas can be used. Thanks for watching!
Outstanding video. I have a bear hide and would very much love to see how you do it. Please keep the informative videos coming. You can really tell your passion and love for your work, and teaching others. Once again, THANK YOU
That's what it's called. It's a taxidermy acid specifically made for tanning. It's called safety acid because it won't harm your kids if they get in it and won't kill your dog if he drinks it
I definitely think it's an important step to include the salting process. After 3 days in the pickle, I am having hair slippage. I've been reading mixed results about pickling without salting, as it's usually a storage method. But as I'm noticing this time around, it's very important to remove the original moisture from the hide with the salt to set the hair. I either had bacteria form, or my Ph was off (did not have ph strips until day 2, which read between 2-3). It takes a good tug to get a tuff of fur out, and various hairs are all over the place. Hoping it tightens up after fleshing and tanning.
Salting the hide doesn't set the hair. It's only a way to preserve it if you can't freeze it. The hide may already be bad before salt is applied. Salting it won't save it.
Stop tugging on the hair. If you have to tug on the hair to come out, that's not full on slippage. It's the starting stage. Real slippage is when the hair sluffs off in large sections
@shuswapoutdoors I was hoping all would be okay and kept going. During the fleshing process, large clumps were coming out from underneath. I definitely have hair slippage. I had it rolled in the freezer and thawed it out in my cold garage for about a day. Either bacteria got to it then, or my pickle wasn't strong enough. Every other forum or article states to salt the hide, even the trubond catalog. I will try again with salting and see if I get the same results. Luckily, this was a practice hide with a tear, but still bummed to say the least. I don't have a use for buckskin leather at this time.
There are so many variables. How long was it from time of kill to when it was skinned? Temperature? Time from skinning to being put in the freezer? When I'm working with a frozen hide, I thaw it out in my cleaning bath with salt and vinegar (roughly 6 gal of cold water). It unthaws in less than 10 minutes. Then right into the pickle.
The trubond instructions make zero sense. Why would you salt a hide to remove water to only rehydrate it again? I've tanned over a hundred hides without salting, and the end product is the same as the hides I've salted (ones I've salted in the field) big commercial tanners that do hair on cow hides don't salt their hides. Straight into the pickle. Most taxidermy tanning studios only accept salted hides because they don't have enough freezer space, so that's what they are use to working with. The owner of trubond worked in a tanning studio before starting his own company making trubond.
I will be skinning my deer today. I also ordered my TruBond kit today however it will be at leas a week before it arrives and temps are supposed to be rising to around 60* F by Tuesday. Should I freeze the hide until I'm ready or would you recommend salting or what?
I’ve been wanting to give this a try for a while. Any advantages to fleshing after it’s been in the pickle for 72 hours? As far as I can tell, most people flesh before the pickle.
Thank you for this video! I will be trying to tan my own hide this year for the first time ever, and I will definitely be using your process! I just feel like I've always wasted so much of the animal in the past, and I no longer want to do that. I want to use as much of the animal as possible so nothing goes to waste. Also I would definitely be interested in seeing a predator video! Maybe something like a coyote or bobcat, thanks!!
Im no pro, and I just started a couple years ago, but a power washer makes quick work of fleshing a hide.....I can flesh a hide in 20 minutes or less, and it turns out perfect every time. I wouldn't bother using a fillet knife or fleshing blade. I tried that one time and gave up quickly, fired up the power washer and was much more satisfied. Its its too cold outside, I just freeze the hides and wait for a sunny day.
@@shuswapoutdoors Ive done two Racoon hides. Everything else ive done has been white tail. The coons are greasy, but it removes the fat easily. The back of the neck on the coon is usually really fatty, and yes I had to take a little more time there. Its all about the ANGLE of the power washer nozzle, and the angle of the wand, as you hold it. Ive found that a 15 degree angle on the wand, with a wide angled nozzle works the best. The larger the angle on the wand, the harder it is to remove the fat and connective tissues/twitch muscles. But anything less than 15-20 degrees, it become unaffective.
Hi from Vernon. Lots of good info. Thanks for tje info. If tou get a chance that would be great if you do a video on tanning a bear, wolf or other predator
Another iteration of directions: Materials: Cleaning the Hide: - Clean Cold Water (7 gallons) - Non-Iodized Salt (2 handfuls) - White Vinegar (2 liters) Pickling Solution: - Clean Cold Water (7 gallons) - Citric Acid (3oz per gallon = 21oz) - Non-Iodized Salt (1lb per gallon = 7lbs) Fleshing the Hide: - Fleshing Knife - Fleshing Beam Neutralizing Bath: - Clean Cold Water (7 gallons) - Sodium Bicarbonate (2oz per gallon = 14oz) - Non-Iodized Salt (1/4lb per gallon = 1 3/4lbs) Clean the Hide (again): - Clean Cold Water (7 gallons) - Non-Iodized Salt (Handful) Tanning Solution: - TruBond 1000b (Backskin) Sanding Process: - 60-80 Grit Sandpaper / Palm Sander Deer Hide Tanning Process: - Clean the Hide in cold water mixed with salt and vinegar, no more than 1 hour. 15-20 mins will do. - Transfer the hide to the pickle bath, maintaining a PH level of 2. Check back in 2 hours, stir and re-check PH level. Let sit in the pickle for 3 days, stirring every 12 hours leaving the hair side up. - Pull the hide out and let drip dry for 1 hour. - Flesh the hide, make sure to clean your tools so they don't rust. - Place the hide back into the pickle for a minimum of 24 hours. - Pull the hide out and let drip dry for 1 hour. - Prepare the neutralizing bath by mixing in the salt with half of the baking soda, making sure to not shock the hide. Add the hide and stir every 15 mins, adding the other half of the baking soda 30 mins into the mix. - After 1 hour of neutralizing, transfer the hide to clean cold water with a handful of salt mixed in, clean for 15-20 mins. - Dry the hide completely by letting it drip dry for 1 hour and using towels to remove the rest of the moisture. Skin side should be damp, but not wet. - Grab the tanning solution and shake well. Adding little amounts and rubbing it in well, a light layer with no pooling. - Let the hide dry skin side up for 2-3 days, stretching and working the hide every 12 hours. - Using a Palm Sander, carefully sand the hide down for 2 hours or so to achieve a soft and flexible end product.
Just come across your channel and subscribed , great info. Yes please do the predator tan , im wanting to do a coyote trapper hat , and maybe some othe things. Thanks for your vids.
I just subscribed, only video I've watched of yours so far. Very informative, and cant wait to try this on my sons deer, different process than ive done before. Thanks you!
Great video! I just started a mule deer and black tail hides that I’ve had in the freezer for several years. I’d like to see the degreasing process for predators and beaver if it’s any different.
I’m doing my first doe hide today and find the scraping beforehand to be very cumbersome, I wish there was a video on cleaning up the hide before salting it, I think I spent 4 hours scraping and still have some membrane on there but I did my best, salted and rolled it up and sat in a bucket on a block of wood. I honestly have no idea what I am doing but this video has really helped me figure out the process. I was also completely grossed out by the hundreds of ticks on the hide, after a couple barfs I think I can continue to do this, maybe I should have tried a rabbit first 😂
It doesn't need to be perfect before you start the process. The first cleaning is called a rough fleshing. If you salt the hide, don't put it in a bucket. The fluids that are pulled out by the salt need to drain. If the hide sits in the fluid, there is a chance for bacteria to grow.
Great video. I would like to tan a deer hide following the method you used. Can I freeze my hide until I have time to do it and if so is there anything I need to do special to the hide before freezing it, and how long can I freeze it?
Thank you for taking the time and making the video very user friendly. If you do have holes in the hide that you need to stitch, at what point would you do that? And is there a certain type of needle and thread that you would suggest using?
Thanks for staking the time to make the video! I genuinely enjoyed watching the process and hope to give her a go this fall. I would love to see the predator edition of the process as well.
Thanks for your post, appreciate the detail and explanation. Question: During the pickle stage, (about 11:00 of your video) the emphasis on skin down and insuring contact with fluid, could a press or device be used to "hold everything under the solution" ? I envision a plastic grate or similar that would push hide under solution and insure contact. (or is this just overkill and not necessary? 😁) Thanks
You don't want to weigh the hide down. That can compress the hide and cause the pickle to be pressed out of the area, causing dry spots even though it is under the pickle. You want it to float loose.
1st one will be this year and your way. Nothing to loose and EVERYTHING to gain. Ihope when i get on my computer i can pull all the products used up and locate then. Thanks for all you do. Do you have a plan for your fleshing board?
Thanks for watching! I purchased the fleshing beam from a trapping store and made the stand with a 2x4 and a hinge. Pretty easy to do. www.fntpost.com/Categories/Fur+Handling/Fleshing/Fleshing+Beams/
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. I have a question if ya don't mind, how much of the citric acid would you use in the pickling for whitetail
It's an option, but there aren't any full-time tanneries that use pressure washers. Most of the hides I do are in the winter, so it's not an option at -10C
It is pretty messy, and will spray a slush of flesh, fat, blood, and hair all over the place including on you lol. You can kinda direct it and stuff, but from everything I’ve read and watched, it still ends up everywhere lol. And if you use too high of a pressure, you can damage the hide.
Only question is why do you have to mix it so much? If it’s submerged in the pickle what advantage is this? Why can’t it just remain submerged for the time needed. Thanks awesome video!
You need to expose the entire hide to fresh pickle. When the hide floats, some areas are skin to skin and there's no real contact with the pickle. Professional tanners use tumblers that keeps everything mixed up while in the pickle
Have you ever used a pressure washer to remove the flesh from the hide? What are you thoughts on it? AND a big thank you for putting this video together.
@@shuswapoutdoors Thanks for the information. I have several hides in the freezer. Most I will brain tan, but I will do 2 or 3 hair on using your process. TC
Great video, thank you. If I skin a deer in the field and will be four or five days getting back home, will I be able to roll the hide up and keep it on ice. Do I need to salt it also? Thank you
Written Step by Step Summary of this excellent video
Materials
Chemicals:
-50lb bag of non-iodized, not water softener salt. Just plain old NaCL (I use Diamond Crystal
pool salt from Ace Hardware, he recommends a feed store)
- 10+ oz of Baking Soda
- 16 oz of Citric Acid or 2.5+ oz of TruBond Safety Pickle.
- Trubond 1000b tanning solution
* If you buy tanning kits, just follow their amounts
- Optional: Knoblachs Kemal 4 degreaser/soap for initial wash and the pickle
- Optional: Pro-1 Odor Neutralizer for initial wash and the pickle
- Optional: 1 or 2 liters of white vinegar for initial wash only of hide before the pickle
- Optional: Fleshing board or improvised version
Tools:
- Large storage bin with lid. *I used a 5 gallon bucket and lid (keep lid on pickle to keep debris out, pickle in and exposed skin moist).
- *optional long kitchen gloves to protect your skin
- fleshing knife or filet style knife
- fleshing board or improvised version (see step 3)
- pH strips (litmus paper)
- Large old dry towel
I used his Matuska Taxidermy link to purchase 1 L (32oz) sizes of the chemicals below. I can likely do 10 hides or so with this amount vs. 1 hide with a kit and the extra chemical options are well worth it in my mind. My cost was $120 including shipping vs. $55 for 1 Trubond kit and it took 6 business days to receive in AZ
- Trubond 1000b tanning solution
- Trubond No-Harm Pickling acid
- Pro-1 Deoderizer Concentrate
- Knoblachs Kemal-4
Preface - Hide Considerations 0:00-01:20 min
- Assuming a deer or similar hide
- If animal harvested in temps warmer than 5c or 40F and may be a couple days to get to the pickle, then
can very liberally salt the skin to help preserve it before it gets into the pickle.
- freezing conditions, don't need to salt 1st
Step 1 - wash hide in cleaning/rehydration bath 01:20 - 3:30 min
- In a bathtub or similar oversized tub add cold water
- Add a couple handfuls of NaCl (salt) if hide wasn't salted previously
- Add 1-2 liters of white vinegar to bath to retard bacteria and help clean
- If hide not dehydrated you can do this over 10-15 minutes. If needs to be rehydrated you can go up to 1
hour but not longer (bacteria risk for hair slippage).
- If 1st bath is really bloody or dirty, just do this step twice.
- The cleaner the hide, the easier it is to maintain pickle pH.
- You could add the Kemal 4 here and deodorizer to help cleaning as they are pH neutral. He doesn't recommend dish soap or household cleaners.
Step 2 -- Make pickle and soak hide for 3+ days 03:30-18:45 min
I USE 5 GALLONS H20 (IN VIDEO he prefers 7 to give more buffer room to maintain pH of 2 so
adjust by multiplying 5 gallon amounts by 1.4 or 1.5 to get 7 gallon amounts if you choose).
- 5 lbs NaCl (1lb per gallon)
- 2.5oz Safety pickle or 15oz citric acid (0.5oz Safety Pickle or 3oz Citric acid per gallon)
- 1oz Knoblachs Kemal 4 degreaser per 5 gallons
- 4oz or 1/2 cup Pro-1 Deodorizer concentrate per 5 gallon
- Once mixed add hide and come back in 2 hours to check on pH with litmus paper. May need to add
more acid to maintain 1.5-2 pH
- Check pH again after 24 hours and it should stabilize
- 1st days mix hide every 6 hours to ensure all the skin is submerged or hair side is up not skin side.
- After day 1, swirl hide and recheck pH once daily
Step 3 -- Scrape/Flesh hide after 72+ hours in pickle 18:45-27:14 min
- Let drain 1 hour before skinning and then roll in a towel for 10-20 minutes to get excess pickle out
- You can alternately throw in spin cycle of washing machine while wife isn't in the house to make it
quicker. Just don't ask first and beg forgiveness when caught;)
- Can use a fleshing knife or a filet knife if extra patient and careful.
- Can do this over your knee but helps to have a fleshing board or an improvised slanted surface to work
with. (I use a plastic folding table with the legs down on 1 side to make a 45 degree angle and a large
flat surface I can work on).
- I use sharp scissors to help get the meat/skin overhanging the fringe or edges of the hide after scraping.
- After scraping the hide place it back in the original pickle for a minimum of 24 hours or as long as you
need until you can get to step 4 assuming pH is stable at 2 to pickle that newly exposed skin.
- While you work the hide, don't leave out of pickle solution for longer than 6 hours as a general rule.
Step 4 - Return to pickle for 24+ hours
- After scraping the hide place it back in the original pickle for a minimum of 24 hours or as long as you
need until you can get to the next step assuming pH is stable at 2 to pickle that newly exposed skin.
Step 5 - Neutralizing solution 27:14-32:50 min
- Remove hide from pickle and let drain for 1 hour then roll up in a towel to get excess moisture or place in spin cycle as
mentioned in Step 3 while you mix neutralizing solution
- 1/4 pound NaCL per gallon (1.25lbs for 5 gallons)
- ADD 1/2 BAKING SODA UPFRONT AND REMAINDER AFTER 30MIN INTO SOAKING THE HIDE!
- Use 2 oz Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) per gallon or 10oz per 5 gallons.
- Place hide in bath for 1-1.5 hours and stir every 10-15 minutes
- Goal is to increase hide pH 3.5-4
Step 6 - Rinse hide with mild salt water solution 32:50-35:23 min
- Prepare a bath or tub of cold water and a handful of salt
- Swirl hide around in this bath for 5 minutes
- Hang dry 1 hour or spin in washing machine
- Get excess water out by rolling hide up in a towel 20 minutes
- Let it hang again for up to an hour to get relatively dry and ensure no water is pooling
Step 7 - Tan with TruBond 1000b 35:23-38:49 min
- Spread tan on the skin side and ensure completely coated with a light coating.
- Spread with hands, cheap paint brush, or sock covered hand
- OK to get on hair side
Step 8 Dry and Stretch 38:49 - 42:52 min
- Over several days stretch out hide every 12 hours by hand for 5 days
- Don't put any direct heat on it, we want it to dry slowly
- You will see dark spots turn whiter as the fibers are stretched
- Stretch the dry areas as they darken in every direction
- When hide is completely dry and relatively soft after being stretched twice daily for 5-6 days move on
to sanding
Step 9 Sand Hide 42:52 - End
- Use 60-80 grit sandpaper on a palm orbital sander
- Go over hide relatively carefully so not to burn or go through thin spots with too much pressure
- May take 30 to 60 minutes to go over whole hide
- Blow off dust with blower or tumble dry in dryer
- Hide should be ready!
Jesus. Well done
@@shuswapoutdoors Great video, way better results than the salt and $8 tanning solution ones that makes a stiff, brittle pelt.
I’m not able to copy and paste this into a note. Are you able to send it to me directly?
@@frankroberts9661if you screenshot on your smartphone you can copy paste from the image
Do you sell your hides…?? How much
The fact that you broke absolutely everything down simply and went into detail with what you were using is fantastic. Thank you so much!! I’m about to start my first whitetail hide !
Thanks for the feedback, and good luck with your tanning!
Thank you for taking the immense amount of time that it probably took to make this video, walking us through the steps needed. I've got two whitetail hides that were in need of rescue, I'm like, now what do I do? I love deer, they are majestic in their own way. (The hides came from two deer who had been hit nearby our property. It's a drive that, unless ill, I make daily. The first, a buck, had been there for about 36 hours in below-freezing temps before I decided to go for it; he was frozen when I cut him open. The second, a doe, was there for about 6 hours. I couldn't leave them there to rot like the garbage flying around. So I determined to get the hides, to give them SOME dignity. Sounds silly, I'm sure, but that's the way I see it.) I put the capes in the freezer and voila, here I am.
Good luck!
After a horrible experience with the orange bottle, I am happy to say I will be using the TruBond products next time. You simplified everything in a professional manner, thank you.
Thanks for watching and good luck 👍
Man this is the most detailed explanation of the tanning process that i have seen on you-tube !! I have done multiple deer skins and a bear skin and i found that a power washer work's amazing at fleshing and cleaning the hyde. A normal size deer cape i can have done in an hour-fiftheen minuets .
Thanks for watching!
This is the most straightforward, well done video I have seen on DIY tanning. I haven't seen anyone else bring up the pH of the pickle bath. That seems very important and I'm glad you explained it. Well done video.
Thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback! I'll be uploading a predator (greasy hide) tanning video this winter.
Excellent Video: You sound like a teacher. Excellent on explaining everything and speaking very clear. Best video I've ever seen in a long time if ever!! 👍👍
I appreciate the feedback! Thanks for watching
Howdy, Brother! This is the best and most detailed, respectful tanning instruction on the market. The time and effort you put into this lesson is very much appreciated. Thank you and Drive-On, Cowboy!! 🤠
Thanks Robert, I know it's a little long, but I wanted to cover as much detail as possible. Thanks for watching!
Definitely not too long. Very much enjoyed. BTW, the Deer Sausages at Home video as also great!
bros definently texan
@@ScentBowhunting Best of luck with your bowhunting this year! Drive-On, Cowboy!! 🤠
Thank you so much for this video! You have no idea how informative this has been to me to understand the process. I feel like now I want o do my own hides in the future and not pay a billion dollars for someone else to do it!!
I'm glad you liked it, and thank you for watching
I'll be putting mine in the neutralizing bath this weekend and working on it all week! Looking forward to using all the steps you've explained so thoroughly. Thank you for this incredible information!
Good luck and thanks for watching
I just used your method on 4 whitetail hides I had sitting in the freezer for a few years. Worked great. Thank you!
Awesome! Have a great Christmas
I grew up in the Shuswap area (Gardom) - thanks so much for putting the time and energy into this tutorial - I'm glad I stumbled upon it. I live on the North Coast now - hunting moose, blacktail, and goats. I will indeed be tanning some blacktail hides next season thanks to your inspiration!
Awesome! I'm glad you found the video useful! Cheers!
Hi. I am from all the way The Netherlands and I hunt in Germany. I have a really nice thick hide from a roe deer which I tan at home. I am using a recipe from a taxidermist. So far everything goes fine. I watched your video and just confirms that I am doing it the right way, although I have some of my own habits. I have already tanned several hides, but not all are very souple. So I hope this time it is somewhat more flexible. Good idea of sanding the hide. I did that too with one of my previous ones. By hand, that is. Not with a machine. Thanks for the video!!
Awesome, thanks for watching
I'd love to see how to tan a predator hide! This video really helped me out a lot with tanning a hair on hide! Before this I could never get one to turn out, thanks so much for taking the time to teach how to do this!
Thanks for watching!
Amazing, just what I am looking for. Thank you for sharing and your attention to details.
My 2 time trying to process the hide myself turned into disastres and waste of deer hide. Now, I can retry with confidence.
Good luck! And thanks for watching
Thank you so much I'm 29 just got my first doe and I wanted to learn everything and do everything on my own this video is absolutely perfect thank you so much
Awesome! Good luck
Great job. Appreciate the opportunity to see how you work
Thanks for watching
I just harvested my first deer here at our retirement cabin in NC and I've always wanted to learn how to tan a hide. After watching many videos thankfully i came upon this one! I ordered the Tru-Bond 1000b kit (it arrived today). I had rinsed the hide in cold water twice to clean it, let it drip dry for an hour outside (luckily we've had a cold snap-45° day time, 20° night time). I salted the hide, rolled it up, put it in a bag and put it in the freezer (just to make sure). So, instead of rehydrating before pickling and then fleshing, I'm going to try the pressure washer method to flesh out the skin. Then, rehydrate, pickle, and tan. I'll probably give her a good soak before starting to make sure it's completely thawed out and limber before pressure washing.
Don't put a salted hide in the freezer! The salt lowers the freezing temp of the water in the hide. When it's rolled up tight, the middle never freezes properly and can cause slippage.
@shuswapoutdoors thank you! I also didn't drain it before freezing, but luckily a low point hanging off the shelf collected much of the liquid. I now have the hide sitting on an upside down bowl in a five gallon bucket in my garage (35°) thawing and draining. The deer was harvested Saturday, skinned on Sunday, double rinsed outside (only for about 15 min each time) in 40° daytime temps on Monday, drip dried for an hour and then salted, rolled, and put in the freezer that afternoon. Hopefully I didn't screw it up! My intent is to rinse again (just to make sure the hide is relatively pliable) before pressure washing tomorrow (high of 60°/low 40°) and then get it in the rehydrate solution (per the TruBond instructions), then get it in the pickle solution.
Ok. So far so good! I pulled the hide out of the freezer, rinsed in cold water, and pressure wash (a tarp over a pallet) fleshed, then made up my pickle. The hide stayed in the pickle for four days, then I used the "over the knee/filet knife" to touch up the fleshing. No incidents, but it was a little sporty around the edges! (Close to MY flesh!) I'm not sure it I got all the fat/meat off the hide, so I ordered a fleshing knife (A Weibe 12" from Sheels), and fabricated a fleshing board. I'm going to go over the hide one more time before I neutralize it. While it's drying, I need to sew up some holes (while it's soft and I'm using dental floss). Then, on to the tanning, stretching and sanding. So far, I'm really enjoying this. I'm thinking about contacting some processors and seeing if I can get a couple hides to work on. So do you mix a fresh pickle for each hide, or reuse your pickle? I can always use my old pickle to keep weeds down in my gravel driveway! Thanks for your video. I'm constantly referring back to it!
Great work, the most detailed video I've seen so far!
Awesome! Thanks for watching
Definitely interested in black bear! Great video about pickling. Never really understood it till now.
Thanks for watching!
Really great video. Fantastic job explaining the how and why of each step. I hadn't considered doing this before, but you've made me rethink things.
Thanks for watching Blake!
Fantastic video! I really appreciate your attention to detail and use of tools that us amateurs may already own.
I'm working on my first ever tanning project; a whitetail. I was dreading the thought of needing special equipment to stretch and break the hide. Your video relieves much of that anxiety.
You have a new Sub here!
Glad it helped you out, and thanks!
And here also
Im about to try my first whitetail too, and a few salted goat pelts from months and months ago…. Hoping the best for the goat pelts but I’m terrified about slippage! I hope that they’ll be ok, I salted them really really heavily. I guess if they slip I’ll make something out of the hide, some kind of clothing/apron/baby shoes 😅
Thank you so much for your step by step guidance - I am looking forward to getting my hide and tanning it. First experience in doing something like this and you made it sound like I could handle the task but made sure we were aware there was work envolved. Thanks again. I can't wait to get into this because it is something I have wanted to do for a long time.
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for watching! And good luck
This video will definitely help keep this art alive. Awesome video, I’m going to make room in the freezer tomorrow for some meat cause I need a hide now 😂. Haven’t looked on your page yet but I’m interested in a predator tanning video
also what would you recommend to help remove ticks and at what point in this process would you do it?
The ticks die in the pickle and fall off .
Best tanning video I’ve seen
Been watching many to get this right. Thanks to you I’m more confident than ever
Thanks for the feedback! It's a little long, but I wanted to cover everything in detail. Thanks for watching and have a great Christmas 🎄
@@shuswapoutdoors Do the same brother
Sometimes the wives are the hunters. My hubby would lose it if I put one of my hides in our washer 😂 thank you for the vid. I have my second elk hide and two deer hides I am working on and this is very helpful
Thanks for watching
@@shuswapoutdoorsabsolutely, this is the most informative vid I have seen yet, thank you!
I've been on the hunt for the most canadian video on youtube, so thank you so much for posting this!
You're welcome, sir!
Fantastic guide! I have previously tanned hides, and my results were not as good as yours. I plan to use your instructions later this year, and hope to see a massive improvement in my hides. Thanks so much!
I'm glad you've found it useful, and good luck with your next hide!
Really informative video! I also would be interested seeing a black bear hide done! Thank you for great content.
Awesome! Thanks for watching
No way! Im working on a my first buck right now and I am from enderby. cant believe you made this from right down the road. Thanks for the info I learned a lot. Currently at the tanning stage and will sand it like you did afterwards
Awesome! I'm glad this helped you out
Thank you from a fellow outdoorsman down here in Pennsylvania. I’m going to do this project with my kids. I appreciate you show this process. I’d love to see you tan a bear hide. I think there would be a lot of interest in that. Thanks again!
Thank you very much, and good luck with the tanning!
I'd like to see a predator being tanned aswell
Great video, this is the first I have seen from start to finish. I have some hides I want to do with hair on and will follow this example you have given.
Thanks again, new subscriber.
Thanks for watching and subscribing!
awesome video! really considering trying this. would love to see you do a step by step predator hide
Thanks for watching Jody!"
Thanks. I did my first whitetail hide a few years ago and it turned out well. Considering doing more and appreciate your video to improve my technique.
Awesome! Thanks for watching
Came for the info, stayed of the undying eye contact and comedy. Skunks haha nice one pal. This vid was great, all the best from the Highlands of Scotland!
Cheers buddy!
Excellent video!
Thanks for watching
Excellent video! Thank you for taking the time to show each step and explain. I plan to do some of this in the very near future.
I would be very interested in seeing how you do coyote hides or bobcat. I plan to get into hunting predators and would like to tan some of them up and make a nice coat as well as some other projects. Thanks again!! (subscribed)
Thanks so much! I'll do a predator tanning video as soon as I get a hide. Probably by the end of January.
@@shuswapoutdoors Excellent. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks!
Very thorough explanation. Thank You. Yes, would like to know about doing bear hides.
Thanks for watching. So far, you're the only one.... I'll need a but mote interest as bears are a bit more work.
Thank you for the info, my husband and I are salting our first buckskin now, I'll follow the rest of the steps you provided. I'd like to get to a point where I do this regularly. I WOULD appreciate a video on how to do predators as well, as hubby loves to hunt it could be a win win for both of us, I can tan hides and he can hunt all year 😂 thanks for the work you did to make this video.
I use egg tanning on all my hides super soft!
Thanks for watching
Can I reuse a pickle for a 2nd hide or does it need to be fresh pickle for each hide?
No, you need a fresh pickle each time
@ ok, perfect, thanks!
The ph of the old pickle may be at 2, but the actual strength of it is gone. The acid is dissolving the non tanable proteins out of the hide. So the pickle solution is full of that substance.
@@shuswapoutdoors ok, thank you for explaining that. Very clear and understandable!
@ hi, sorry, another question here… I stuck my deer hides straight into the freezer until I have all my supplies on hand. I should have it all this week. I never salted them. Do I need to salt them before starting anything else? I didn’t think I noticed that it was a necessary step in the video, but maybe I missed something? Thank you!
I jumped into tanning hides because of a steer i loved. I am doing several deer right now and appreciate your explanations and the why behind them. I am ordering some safety pickle, I did order a kit, but I am saving it for the steer.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you so much for the outstanding video! I wish I had found this before starting my first tanning project. Tanning a coyote hide for my wife to use, and the measurement of the salt bath I was advised to use was off, and started to lose fur, so I put it in the freezer until I could find a solution. I will try to save it now. If you have the time, I would appreciate tips on coyote tanning. I'm subscribing to your page now... Thank you so much!
There is no saving a hide. If the hair is falling out, it's too late. Toss it out. Predators have an added step of degreasing. Either a tanning degreser or something like white gas can be used.
Thanks for watching!
Outstanding video. I have a bear hide and would very much love to see how you do it. Please keep the informative videos coming. You can really tell your passion and love for your work, and teaching others. Once again, THANK YOU
Thanks for the feedback, Richard! I'll try getting a predator tanning video done to show the degreasing stage.
I agree. I just got a bear hide tanned and I'm curious what the differences are. I'd like to tan the next one myself. Thanks!@@shuswapoutdoors
Do you have a video on how to make a fleshing beam?
No. I bought a hardwood beam and made a simple stand with a hinge and a 2x4
Excellent video. Great soft skin at the end.
Definitely want to see The predator version.
Thanks for watching Adam
im 12 just got my first doe and am realy exited thank you so much for makeing this video
Congratulations and good luck 👍
Was curious as to the specific acid you use , safe acid ...not sure what that is....dec10 ,2024
That's what it's called. It's a taxidermy acid specifically made for tanning. It's called safety acid because it won't harm your kids if they get in it and won't kill your dog if he drinks it
I definitely think it's an important step to include the salting process. After 3 days in the pickle, I am having hair slippage. I've been reading mixed results about pickling without salting, as it's usually a storage method. But as I'm noticing this time around, it's very important to remove the original moisture from the hide with the salt to set the hair. I either had bacteria form, or my Ph was off (did not have ph strips until day 2, which read between 2-3). It takes a good tug to get a tuff of fur out, and various hairs are all over the place. Hoping it tightens up after fleshing and tanning.
Salting the hide doesn't set the hair. It's only a way to preserve it if you can't freeze it. The hide may already be bad before salt is applied. Salting it won't save it.
Stop tugging on the hair. If you have to tug on the hair to come out, that's not full on slippage. It's the starting stage. Real slippage is when the hair sluffs off in large sections
@shuswapoutdoors I was hoping all would be okay and kept going. During the fleshing process, large clumps were coming out from underneath. I definitely have hair slippage. I had it rolled in the freezer and thawed it out in my cold garage for about a day. Either bacteria got to it then, or my pickle wasn't strong enough. Every other forum or article states to salt the hide, even the trubond catalog. I will try again with salting and see if I get the same results. Luckily, this was a practice hide with a tear, but still bummed to say the least. I don't have a use for buckskin leather at this time.
There are so many variables. How long was it from time of kill to when it was skinned? Temperature? Time from skinning to being put in the freezer?
When I'm working with a frozen hide, I thaw it out in my cleaning bath with salt and vinegar (roughly 6 gal of cold water). It unthaws in less than 10 minutes. Then right into the pickle.
The trubond instructions make zero sense. Why would you salt a hide to remove water to only rehydrate it again? I've tanned over a hundred hides without salting, and the end product is the same as the hides I've salted (ones I've salted in the field) big commercial tanners that do hair on cow hides don't salt their hides. Straight into the pickle. Most taxidermy tanning studios only accept salted hides because they don't have enough freezer space, so that's what they are use to working with. The owner of trubond worked in a tanning studio before starting his own company making trubond.
I will be skinning my deer today. I also ordered my TruBond kit today however it will be at leas a week before it arrives and temps are supposed to be rising to around 60* F by Tuesday. Should I freeze the hide until I'm ready or would you recommend salting or what?
Freeze it
I’ve been wanting to give this a try for a while. Any advantages to fleshing after it’s been in the pickle for 72 hours? As far as I can tell, most people flesh before the pickle.
I love the orbital Sander for a finish
Thanks
This video is very helpful! I shot my first deer this season and am working on tanning the hide. Thank you!
Glad you found it helpful, good luck withthe tanning
Dude that bear mount is nice 👍🏻. Great video
Thanks, 8' interior bear
Thanks for the quick response, much appreciated.
No problem
Thank you for this video! I will be trying to tan my own hide this year for the first time ever, and I will definitely be using your process! I just feel like I've always wasted so much of the animal in the past, and I no longer want to do that. I want to use as much of the animal as possible so nothing goes to waste. Also I would definitely be interested in seeing a predator video! Maybe something like a coyote or bobcat, thanks!!
Thanks for watching!
Im no pro, and I just started a couple years ago, but a power washer makes quick work of fleshing a hide.....I can flesh a hide in 20 minutes or less, and it turns out perfect every time. I wouldn't bother using a fillet knife or fleshing blade. I tried that one time and gave up quickly, fired up the power washer and was much more satisfied. Its its too cold outside, I just freeze the hides and wait for a sunny day.
I've heard it doesn't remove the fat layer on predator hides very well. How have you found it?
@@shuswapoutdoors Ive done two Racoon hides. Everything else ive done has been white tail. The coons are greasy, but it removes the fat easily. The back of the neck on the coon is usually really fatty, and yes I had to take a little more time there. Its all about the ANGLE of the power washer nozzle, and the angle of the wand, as you hold it. Ive found that a 15 degree angle on the wand, with a wide angled nozzle works the best. The larger the angle on the wand, the harder it is to remove the fat and connective tissues/twitch muscles. But anything less than 15-20 degrees, it become unaffective.
Hi from Vernon. Lots of good info. Thanks for tje info. If tou get a chance that would be great if you do a video on tanning a bear, wolf or other predator
Thanks for watching! I'll be getting a predator tanning video out in December
Thank you for the video. Very informative. I would be interested in seeing a predator tanning video. Liked and subscribed
Thanks for watching, I'll be putting up a predator video this fall/winter
Very Thorough, covers all steps, Excellent Video
Thanks for watching Steve!
Great video. I used to do turkey and skulls. I have some deer capes and coyotes I want to do for my son. This is a great a great video again Thx.
Thanks, Rob. The video is a little long, but I wanted to cover all the steps and try to explain them well. Thanks for watching, and good luck!
@shuswapoutdoors again great job and I actually feel confident trying this for once now.
Another iteration of directions:
Materials:
Cleaning the Hide:
- Clean Cold Water (7 gallons)
- Non-Iodized Salt (2 handfuls)
- White Vinegar (2 liters)
Pickling Solution:
- Clean Cold Water (7 gallons)
- Citric Acid (3oz per gallon = 21oz)
- Non-Iodized Salt (1lb per gallon = 7lbs)
Fleshing the Hide:
- Fleshing Knife
- Fleshing Beam
Neutralizing Bath:
- Clean Cold Water (7 gallons)
- Sodium Bicarbonate (2oz per gallon = 14oz)
- Non-Iodized Salt (1/4lb per gallon = 1 3/4lbs)
Clean the Hide (again):
- Clean Cold Water (7 gallons)
- Non-Iodized Salt (Handful)
Tanning Solution:
- TruBond 1000b (Backskin)
Sanding Process:
- 60-80 Grit Sandpaper / Palm Sander
Deer Hide Tanning Process:
- Clean the Hide in cold water mixed with salt and vinegar, no more than 1 hour. 15-20 mins will do.
- Transfer the hide to the pickle bath, maintaining a PH level of 2. Check back in 2 hours, stir and re-check PH level. Let sit in the pickle for 3 days, stirring every 12 hours leaving the hair side up.
- Pull the hide out and let drip dry for 1 hour.
- Flesh the hide, make sure to clean your tools so they don't rust.
- Place the hide back into the pickle for a minimum of 24 hours.
- Pull the hide out and let drip dry for 1 hour.
- Prepare the neutralizing bath by mixing in the salt with half of the baking soda, making sure to not shock the hide. Add the hide and stir every 15 mins, adding the other half of the baking soda 30 mins into the mix.
- After 1 hour of neutralizing, transfer the hide to clean cold water with a handful of salt mixed in, clean for 15-20 mins.
- Dry the hide completely by letting it drip dry for 1 hour and using towels to remove the rest of the moisture. Skin side should be damp, but not wet.
- Grab the tanning solution and shake well. Adding little amounts and rubbing it in well, a light layer with no pooling.
- Let the hide dry skin side up for 2-3 days, stretching and working the hide every 12 hours.
- Using a Palm Sander, carefully sand the hide down for 2 hours or so to achieve a soft and flexible end product.
Awesome stuff, thanks
Thanks for the video! Very Cool. Are the ingredients/instructions listed anywhere? Blog, Description, etc?
Thanks Cody. The info is just on the video.....
Thanks for a good easy clear video to watch.
Thanks for the feedback
Great video on a easy way to tan the hides I would be interested in the predator hide tan I’d like to do one
Thanks for watching Joe!
Awesome instructional video. Ordering the products that you suggested now. Subscribed, thank you
Awesome! Thanks for watching! And good luck
Just come across your channel and subscribed , great info. Yes please do the predator tan , im wanting to do a coyote trapper hat , and maybe some othe things. Thanks for your vids.
Thanks for watching and the sub! I'll try getting a predator video up in February or so..
I just subscribed, only video I've watched of yours so far. Very informative, and cant wait to try this on my sons deer, different process than ive done before. Thanks you!
Awesome! Thanks for watching
Great video! I just started a mule deer and black tail hides that I’ve had in the freezer for several years.
I’d like to see the degreasing process for predators and beaver if it’s any different.
Noted, thanks for watching
I’m doing my first doe hide today and find the scraping beforehand to be very cumbersome, I wish there was a video on cleaning up the hide before salting it, I think I spent 4 hours scraping and still have some membrane on there but I did my best, salted and rolled it up and sat in a bucket on a block of wood. I honestly have no idea what I am doing but this video has really helped me figure out the process. I was also completely grossed out by the hundreds of ticks on the hide, after a couple barfs I think I can continue to do this, maybe I should have tried a rabbit first 😂
It doesn't need to be perfect before you start the process. The first cleaning is called a rough fleshing. If you salt the hide, don't put it in a bucket. The fluids that are pulled out by the salt need to drain. If the hide sits in the fluid, there is a chance for bacteria to grow.
Great video. I would like to tan a deer hide following the method you used. Can I freeze my hide until I have time to do it and if so is there anything I need to do special to the hide before freezing it, and how long can I freeze it?
Thank you for taking the time and making the video very user friendly. If you do have holes in the hide that you need to stitch, at what point would you do that? And is there a certain type of needle and thread that you would suggest using?
A day after the tan is applied, I'd sew holes. Bow string, or braided fishing line works (40lb or higher). Use a baseball or whip stich.
Incredible information… thank you!
Thanks for watching! I'm currently working on a wet tan video
Thanks for staking the time to make the video! I genuinely enjoyed watching the process and hope to give her a go this fall. I would love to see the predator edition of the process as well.
Awesome! I'm glad you found it useful
A cabinet scraper would be good to use.
I haven't seen anyone use one, but it might work
Love it, and definitely want a video on the bear backskin!
Thanks, predator video coming soon
Awesome video! What steps would you add to remove fur if someone wanted to make buckskin?
No clue, I've never done it.
Thanks for your post, appreciate the detail and explanation.
Question: During the pickle stage, (about 11:00 of your video) the emphasis on skin down and insuring contact with fluid, could a press or device be used to "hold everything under the solution" ? I envision a plastic grate or similar that would push hide under solution and insure contact.
(or is this just overkill and not necessary? 😁)
Thanks
You don't want to weigh the hide down. That can compress the hide and cause the pickle to be pressed out of the area, causing dry spots even though it is under the pickle. You want it to float loose.
Thanks very good video
Thanks for watching
Thanks so much! I am going to do my very first buck soon, going to do a doe first to get the process down, he is like twice the size of a big doe
Awesome! Goodluck
Thank you! honestly the most encouraging thing is that I can keep putting it back in the brine and leave until I have time again. 💪
Yep, the pickle is a safe place for the hide !
Getting the hide really thin helps allot !
Yep, it definitely helps!
1st one will be this year and your way. Nothing to loose and EVERYTHING to gain. Ihope when i get on my computer i can pull all the products used up and locate then. Thanks for all you do. Do you have a plan for your fleshing board?
Thanks for watching! I purchased the fleshing beam from a trapping store and made the stand with a 2x4 and a hinge. Pretty easy to do.
www.fntpost.com/Categories/Fur+Handling/Fleshing/Fleshing+Beams/
very informative. I'd be interested in the predator back skin. have some coyote skins! thanks
Noted! Thanks
Nice job. I've been wondering what to to do with a white tail skin in my freezer. I will try this. Cheers!
Thanks for watching
Great video! Thanks for taking the time to make it. I have a question if ya don't mind, how much of the citric acid would you use in the pickling for whitetail
3oz per gal
I’ve seen other guys use a power washer to remove the flesh. Looks way easier and no risk of cutting the hide
It's an option, but there aren't any full-time tanneries that use pressure washers. Most of the hides I do are in the winter, so it's not an option at -10C
Definitely ripped holes with a pressure washer
Thats how pussies do it.
It is pretty messy, and will spray a slush of flesh, fat, blood, and hair all over the place including on you lol. You can kinda direct it and stuff, but from everything I’ve read and watched, it still ends up everywhere lol. And if you use too high of a pressure, you can damage the hide.
Can you use neats foot oil to continue to break in the leather after this process?
You shouldn't need it if done correctly
Only question is why do you have to mix it so much? If it’s submerged in the pickle what advantage is this? Why can’t it just remain submerged for the time needed. Thanks awesome video!
You need to expose the entire hide to fresh pickle. When the hide floats, some areas are skin to skin and there's no real contact with the pickle. Professional tanners use tumblers that keeps everything mixed up while in the pickle
@ thank you dude!! I plan on doing at least 200 hides this season. They throw them away at my local processing center.
Have you ever used a pressure washer to remove the flesh from the hide? What are you thoughts on it? AND a big thank you for putting this video together.
ua-cam.com/video/Coht8YMWWUk/v-deo.html&si=PhD71cQMM6yF7Oxb
My thoughts on a pressure washer 9:31
Please show the process for black bear or point me to a good resource. I have plans to do one in the future. Thanks
Amazing video brother, could you point me in the direction on where to purchase your tanning solutions? Thank you
Google, you can get the supplies from a lot of different companies. Pick one close to you so shipping is reasonable
Is there any reason you start pickling before flashing?
Great video. Very comprehensive.
The acid in the pickle stops the bacteria, and it swells the hide making it easier to flesh
@@shuswapoutdoors Thanks for the information. I have several hides in the freezer. Most I will brain tan, but I will do 2 or 3 hair on using your process.
TC
Great video, very informative. I would love to see a video on predator hides!
Cheers!
Can you use a small power washer to do the fleshing?
Some guys do....
would really like a bear hide video great job on the deer and video
Noted, thanks for watching
Great video, thank you. If I skin a deer in the field and will be four or five days getting back home, will I be able to roll the hide up and keep it on ice. Do I need to salt it also? Thank you
Yep, on ice will be fine. I prefer salt as it's easier and less chance of problems
thanks@@shuswapoutdoors
Hey man I'm really interested in tanning hides!!! Do you have links to the products you used in this video?
Nope, any taxidermy supply company will have it
Great work! Thanks for this. Nice Bruins pullover!
Thanks for watching! Go Bruins!
Amazing! How much water would you recommend for an elk hide?
10 gal
@@shuswapoutdoors Thanks!
Great video! Thanks!
Thanks for watching
Thanks
I was shown a different tanning process….alum and borax
Any preference or ( pros/ cons ) with that process ?
I've only used synthetic tans.