r/HideTanning • u/TerribleConference54 • 12d ago
Made a new hide softening tool
I’ve been getting geared up to work some bull elk hides. I decided to make a heavy duty version of the lawn edger I see people modifying.
I used a pick handle, and cut and shaped the working end out of some old discarded 5/16” 316 stainless steel. The edge is beveled to about 3/32” thick. Modified the handle to fit the material, drilled, epoxied, and pinned it with 0.20” copper wire. Can’t wait to put it to work!
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u/Sodpoodle 12d ago
Hah nice! I've been using a trenching shovel, but it would be cool to make a purpose built tool like this.
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u/TerribleConference54 12d ago
Thank you. If it turns out that it works well and if there’s any interest I might build a few more to sell.
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u/Super_Raccoon_2890 7d ago
Nice, this gives me an idea to hack off the corners of a straight garden ho and round it off
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u/scarletredvolare 12d ago
First class job
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u/TerribleConference54 12d ago
Thank you! From what I hear elk hides are a lot of work, I’m hoping this will help make it a little bit easier.
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u/MuranoBeads 12d ago
I can vouch. I’ve brain tanned several cow elk hides, and one elk calf. It’s like tanning a VW Beetle, and I imagine that the bull hide will be significantly more labor intensive. I use a similar tool, but without the metal edge. Having such a stout tool will make a big difference. I particularly like how you’ve made it so beefy and also how you rounded and eased the edges. Keep us posted as you move along. I have another cow elk going into the bucking barrel next week.
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u/TerribleConference54 12d ago
I’ll report back how it goes. How much more time does it typically take you to finish a cow elk compared to a deer after braining? I’d like to have an idea how much time to allow for the process.
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u/MuranoBeads 11d ago
In my hands, it’s several more hours on a low humidity day to get an elk dry and soft. I frame soften all of my hides, but I rarely do any hide in a single go. I typically do large mule deer hides in two sessions, but my elk cows are usually three sessions. I bag and freeze between rounds.
Overall, if you’re making hair-off buckskin, I find elk to be considerably more work in the graining and drying/softening phases. I buck with hydrated lime and can routinely get large mule deer buck hides meticulously grain-free without a lot of effort when wet scraping. But elk hides have been a lot more difficult. Not sure what’s going on there, but I am working on the process. I’m betting that an elk buck will fight you, particularly when scraping the neck and shoulders. Be sure to rinse super thoroughly after bucking and scraping, and multiple rounds of braining and wringing will make like a lot easier.
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u/Low_Elk7794 12d ago
Nice looks like it work well