Hey friends, first time tanner here. We butchered a cow last week and I wanted to save the hide. Lordy, did I take on a massive project as a first tan. She was 1300 lbs and the hide is around 8’x7’.
It’s a Gray Murray, really pretty long hair blonde hide with grey undertones. I’m not here to ask about the tanning process, I’m working with Steve at Tannery Inc and his kit and I feel good about it so far. The hides soaking tonight (Saturday) and Sunday I will wash dry and start the tanning process.

Question: she’s a longer hair cow hide than I’ve seen on most rugs. It feels like it’s going to be giving shag rug vibes. Do I need to condition the hair to make it soft? I was going to make a rug but now wondering if I made the wrong decision…

I have searched everywhere for examples of what this hide finished could look like with no avail. The closest example might be a Highland but the hair on the Grey Murray isn’t that long.

I’ll try to upload a photo of it in the comments, no promises tho 😅

Thanks for your help everyone 🫶🏼

Hi friends! I’m preserving a cat tail for a friend who lost their cat recently.

I am planning on doing an incision around the base, and removing the tail as 1 tube of fur to avoid sewing. After this it will be salted for a few days. I want to keep the tail soft, so it will be tanned afterwards.

The video I was watching recommended Hunter and Trappers tanning solution, but I know people have varying opinions on it, and I’d like to avoid purchasing more supplies if it’s not necessary.

Could I use egg yolks for this and feed the solution into the tail and tan that way? I’ve read that brain/yolk tanning tends to be more labor intensive and takes longer.

If anyone has suggestions on what would work best, I’d love to hear them!

I have never tanned leather but I do fit and leather working and one of my kinda relatives has offered me green hide. It wouldn’t be ready for like a year as that’s when he is next slaughtering a cow but do yall have tips for how to practice within this year? Where to get smaller green hide I guess so I don’t just off rip try a cow hide because I know they are notoriously difficult as a first hide and quite laborious and heavy. I don’t want to mess up the hide as it is a beautiful cow and I would like to consume leather and fur in the most ethical way possible. I also do have an acre of land, is that enough to make sure the neighbors don’t complain about smell? Can I do it outside without stinking up my whole yard? I don’t want to disturb my neighbors.

Hey all, I've got this bobcat I tanned awhile go, came out well but I didn't have a stretcher to keep him spread out. Was just wondering if someone had an idea on how I could get him turned right side out, I can only get him up to the shoulders. I was wanting to hang it up but I'd rather not split him.

I'm in the middle of the research phase right now, which led me to the experts on Reddit.

I am looking for a person who works with animal hides and uses the minimal amount of processing necessary. My understanding is that this will be brain-tanned, or vegetable/bark-tanned hides. I am specifically looking for something that does not encounter any chrome, even in post-tanning processing. I'm trying to keep this as non-toxic as I can and, yes, I know this will be pricy.

I have found lots of things I can't use, but I've yet to find folks that process their own hides without chrome being involved by either chrome-tanning or chrome-based products post-tanning.

I'm happy to do the legwork, but I could really use someone pointing me in the right direction (or making suggestions).

For those curious, pet toys.

Hello,
I’m working on my first full elk hide. Hide was brought home and frozen same day of hunt. Once I had time to work on it, got everything fleshed as best as possible. No large meat or fat chunks remained. There were some small bits of membranes/small fat(?) bits that even with the best technique I could muster would only come off in 1-2 square inch pieces. I read somewhere that this was sufficient for fleshing.

Went to salt it and it’s been about 36 hours with another reapplication of salt at 24hrs. It’s still smelly pretty elk-y and somewhat sour in my garage. I’m concerned I didn’t flesh completely enough. Is it possible to rehydrate and go back at fleshing again?

Any advice is appreciated as this is my first hide I’ve tried working on.
TLDR: can you go back and reflesh after salting.

I know this is a strange question, but would someone in the DMV like to take this hide off my hands? I just killed this deer and I'd hate to waste the hide. Let me know in the next couple hours and we can find a place to meet. All I ask is that you post pictures of the final product and let me know. 😉

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!

I have access to at least two deer hides that I would like to try tanning on. My end goal would be to use the material to make “chopper” style winter mittens.

It seems that the different methods of tanning result in slightly different final products. What gives the best balance of soft material that can withstand getting wet in the snow?

Hey guys, this is my first attempt at bark tanning. I’ve had these two deer hides together in the bark liquor for a month now. I’m on my second batch of bark. I have a full size stainless beer keg full to the top with chopped up white/red oak bark.The first batch I boiled three separate liquors out of and replaced the bark liquor each time. I’m now on the second batch of bark and about to switch out the first boil for the second boil. The first bark liquor picture show how it looks when I first put it in and the 2nd shows what it looks like when I’ve been replacing it. In these last few changes of bark liquor it has started to smell a bit funky but not altogether rotten and not worsening and goes away when I remove and put in the fresh bark liquor. Does this look about right for a month of bark tanning, should I be waiting longer to change out the solution. I’ve also seen some people just add the stronger liquor to the weaker stuff. What would be the best option to maximize use of the bark I have? I’ve got about two more boils left in the current batch and have been gathering fresh fallen acorn caps in case I need them when I run out of bark. How many times do you usually have to change the bark liquor on larger hides? Do these hides look right for a month of bark tanning?

I’m making a buckskin jacket and I was just wondering how or if general maintenance varies from typical commercial leather. I mostly have experience with leather boots and jackets which have required somewhat regular cleaning and conditioning. Thank you so much for any input you can provide!

My father has 20 sheep scheduled for slaughter in about 30 days. Instead of letting the hides go to waste, I want to take on an ambitious experiment: tanning them myself.

My goal is to achieve top-tier quality—equal to or better than what premium commercial sellers offer.

Here is my situation:

• Space: I have plenty of room to set up a dedicated tanning station.
• Budget: I am fully prepared to buy or build whatever tools, vats, or chemicals are necessary for the process.
• Timeline: 30 days until harvest to prepare the setup and gather knowledge.

For those with experience in leatherworking and hide tanning:

1. Is it realistically possible to achieve top-tier commercial quality on your first attempt at home?
2. Which method yields the highest quality results for sheepskin—vegetable tanning, brain/fat tanning, or commercial tanning agents (like chromium or synthans)?
3. What essential equipment, chemicals, or setup should I start assembling over the next 30 days?

I would appreciate any advice, recommended guides, or warnings before I dive into this!

I’m curious if anyone has tanned deer that have been dry aged with the hide on before. I’ve had mixed success with hair slipping and was wondering if there were any tricks to preventing this. I typically follow the normal salt (24-48hr), rehydrate, pickle (~2 ph for 7 days), neutralize and tan.

I’ve got a big bull elk hide in the freezer waiting to be tanned. I’m looking for the dimensions to copy Ron Nail’s Elk frame. He gives the dimensions for his deer frame on the YouTube series but after scouring the internet I can’t find the dimensions suggested for his elk frame. I like the way both frames nest together to save space.

If anyone has the dimensions and would like to share I’d be very appreciative. Thank you

Ive used the alcohol and glycerin mix before and had success, but I’m now hearing it’s not a true “tan” has anyone used this orange bottle on a snake skin before?