Preserving Deer Skins

timbrayford

Well-Known Member
I have a deer skin that I would like to preserve, a great many years have passed since I last did this and apart from stretching the skin over a board and rubbing salt in I cannot recall what else to do, any useful tips would be much appreciated. atb Tim :)
 
Is there anywhere good (and relatively inexpensive) that I can send a Fallow pelt to be cured, as I want it to be done properly, and I haven't ever cured anything bigger than a rabbit before.
???
 
Hi,paint it with parafin for about 3 weeks in a dry airy place,regularly scrape the fat and other layers that wil appear,buff with your sander,it works.
 
I have a deer skin that I would like to preserve, a great many years have passed since I last did this and apart from stretching the skin over a board and rubbing salt in I cannot recall what else to do, any useful tips would be much appreciated. atb Tim :)

I have been looking at tanning a skin i have and have had some good tips from guys in here. Look in the thread on roe skin preperation. I believe (please correct me if i'm wrong i'm new to this too!) that if you salt it ( and dont skimp on the salt) and leave it till the salt is damp, pour off any excess fluid and salt again. Continue this until its bone dry and it should keep almost indefinately.

As far as i know, the skin will now be cured...

Hope this helps

Atb
 
Curing deer pelts

Several years ago I visited a place that cured deer pelts on the Kintyre peninsular called Grog-port. The owner used powdered powdered mimosa wash then stretched the skins over a frame and left them to dry. I still have the sheepskin rug we bought. I've used salt and potash of Alum - easy on the alum as it can leave the skin very hard.

A friend of mine had some pelts cured at a place in Bridgewater in Somerset - didn't cost much either.
 
The salted skin is still drying, at least I can get a bit of sun & wind to work on it now, the salt seems to absorb atmospheric moisture in damp weather
 
The place in bridgewater (Fenland) closed down. I am on the lookout for an alternative tanners.




.....just found a thread on a tanners called 'Devonia'.
 
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There are lots of ways you can do it and loads of videos on youtube about how to prep and tan skins, i've even seen skins tanned in the washing machine though i've never tried it myself.

Salting is only a way to dry the skin and if it ever gets wet or damp it will start to rot, one of the best ways to preserve a skin is to brain tan it, messy & smelly, or you can soak it in turps for six weeks then wash it with shampoo, another way is to mix up some diesel with bicarb of soda until its the onsistancy of thin tooth paste and spread it on the skin side of the hide, brushing it off and re-applying a couple more times once it drys, you can even use beaten eggs.

The one thing you really really must do is scrape the skin to de-fat it, you can do this by hanging it over a long log and scraping it with a BLUNT knife or similar, if the skin is already salted and you want to preserve it in a more premenant way simply soak it for twenty four hours in water, then scrape it and select the tanning method of your choice.

As for finishing, buffing with a fine paper on a circular sander is very good for smoothing the skin and stretching the skin an working in some sort of oil will give you a supple skin.

some videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__RJQyWHIc&feature=plcp&context=C4a131acVDvjVQa1PpcFOvfzkvbRCO_MNJOQK1XeAO5eje1tiR3Io%3D





Hope this helps

Cheers
Hyperion
 
There are lots of ways you can do it and loads of videos on youtube about how to prep and tan skins, i've even seen skins tanned in the washing machine though i've never tried it myself.

Salting is only a way to dry the skin and if it ever gets wet or damp it will start to rot, one of the best ways to preserve a skin is to brain tan it, messy & smelly, or you can soak it in turps for six weeks then wash it with shampoo, another way is to mix up some diesel with bicarb of soda until its the onsistancy of thin tooth paste and spread it on the skin side of the hide, brushing it off and re-applying a couple more times once it drys, you can even use beaten eggs.

The one thing you really really must do is scrape the skin to de-fat it, you can do this by hanging it over a long log and scraping it with a BLUNT knife or similar, if the skin is already salted and you want to preserve it in a more premenant way simply soak it for twenty four hours in water, then scrape it and select the tanning method of your choice.

As for finishing, buffing with a fine paper on a circular sander is very good for smoothing the skin and stretching the skin an working in some sort of oil will give you a supple skin.

some videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__RJQyWHIc&feature=plcp&context=C4a131acVDvjVQa1PpcFOvfzkvbRCO_MNJOQK1XeAO5eje1tiR3Io%3D





Hope this helps

Cheers
Hyperion
Thanks, atb Tim
 
when I was a kid my father helped me tan rabbits and hares by mailing to a board, scraping off as much flesh as possible, then dousing the skin in Meths repeatedly for about 2-3 weeks to remove all the fat and oils.
The skin would go hard like cardboard however working the hide backward and forwards the hide would stretch and turn into leather. Didnt smell of meths either.
 
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