Heather69

Ok got me a bunny yes i do and i have always just salted hide before and hung it up on the wall. THIS time i want to tan it so its soft and i can lay it on my bed or some where...

SO question How do i do this? I have never made a soft tan before... what do i need? and where do i get the stuff? and please walk me though on how to do it, so i do it right the first time and dont mess the hide up.

hunt12ga

Check WASCO or Van Dykes. They are taxidermy supply companies. Each has tanning kits, but you'll have to talk to someone besides me for step by step tips

rw

Heather69

thanks, but is there something i can buy in stores around me so i can tan it? its only one fur i dont want to pay a lot of money for just doing one..

also i kepted the fur off the face and i kept the ears on this pelt to, is this going to be hard to tan with that still on? its a cape skin right now inside out i have it in the fridge till i can do something with it. It was a white rabbit to so the tanning stuff wont turn him colors?

also im looking on this site i probably will just buy a kit off of it, but what one do i need?
http://www.vandykestaxidermy.com/Sea...%20ASC&c=8&p=0

Heather69

im about to order on that site but it does not show me how much shipping is... I want to pay by card but i really got to find out the shipping charge... would it be more easy for me to just do the COD payment?

hunt12ga

I'd call and speak with a customer service person from VanDykes. I'm sure they'd answer all of those questions, including the shipping cost.

rw

tahrhunter

As a kid I use to tan rabbit and deer skins using kerosine and baking soda, you just tack out the skin on a board, make the kerosine and baking soda into a paste, then put the paste onto the skin side and let it dry for a few days then scrape it off and put more of the mixture no again and scrape it off after a few more days, just make sure that the paste goes into all the corners. this method is somewhere between the salting and proper tanning.

kodiakhuntmaster

I tan hides every year. I've tried the stuff from vandykes and it's great stuff but kind of complicated. Here's how I've always done it without buying anything special.

You say it's already salted? That's a great start. Hides are easier to tan after they're salted. Now hold a knife blade at a 90 degree angle to the hide and scrape all the salt off. Once it's off, buff the hide with some medium or fine sand paper. Not hard, just enough to raise the grain. Now wash the hide with clean water. Now the big part... Take at least 6 eggs and break them onto the hide. Squish it all around and when the hide is rehydrated and not stiff, wring the hide like a towel. Do that a few times to make sure the egg gets all the way through the hide. Now, work the hide back and fourth in your hands and wring it until it's dry. You have to keep it moving so it breaks the fibers down in the hide. It'll take about 4 hours, but when it's done, it'll be soft and it'll stay that way as long as it doesn't get wet. If it gets wet, it'll dry stiff. To make it water proof, hang it over the smoke from a fire until it turns brown. Smoking the hide will take a few hours too (don't use pine in the fire, it'll form tar on the hide). The resin in the smoke will keep any water from making the hide stiff again. You'll be able to just rub it around in your hands and it'll get soft again. Hope this helps!

Note; traditional cultures typically used the animal's own brain to tan hides. Eggs have similar properties and oils to break in the hide. This is how I tan all my hides and it's hard work but it's worth it. You'll want to shampoo the hide after smoking it too (don't use anything with dye in it), otherwise your whole house will smell like smoke.

o_O

Here's a couple of sites I have bookmarked. Can't comment on either one though. If you try either, let me know how it went.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/moder...an-a-hide.aspx

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=...a_un6ZkLzoWbWA