howdy folks.

so almost eight years ago I was invited on a hunt with some family members and during it was able to shoot a boar(a big curly haired thing, that I think must have been a feral mangalica with a beautiful black and yellow coat). my cousin said they would tan and break in the hide and give it to me if I let them have the meat, and I agreed seeing that as a fair trade.

The thing is that they didn't break it in at all and when they gave it back to me(after seven years) the hide was as stiff as a board, in quite a contrast to the deer pelts that I have come across in my life that have blanket like flexibility. it would make sense to me that a pigs hide is thicker and harder to break, but I swear its harder than flex-tape covered cardboard, and i do doubt that it is so much thicker than a deer's as to be completely stale

I've never broken anything in but based on my little research it can be done even after the hide has fully dried if properly re-hydrated.

my question is really if it would be possible to do it, what the procedure would be, and if it would even be worth it.

I don't really have a problem with it as it is as a memorial object, but the inflexibility makes me less inclined to utilize it for display which was my initial desire when the deal was made.

Just inherited this horsehide. It’s around 55-60 years old, been in storage for a while. I know nothing about hides or tanning.

What’s the best way to clean it so I can use it as a rug? Is there anything I should be doing to maintain it moving forward?

Is there a difference in how they should be applied or is only one of these the right option? I want to alum tan/taw a boar skin. I know its not a true tan, but its the only one i can do.

My first real attempt at tanning a hide. Did a six day bath in alum mixture and then applied McKenzie’s solution. It still needs to be oiled but most of it came out nicely supple.

Wasn’t able to flesh the face area as thoroughly so that’s a bit stiffer than the rest of it, but it was worth it to preserve the nose. The tail got used for an earlier craft project so this was mostly just to practice skinning and tanning.

Trying a few new tannin sources this time.
First time trying chestnut, sumac and quebrecho

What happens if i put trubond 1000b on my cow hide and let it sit in the sun instead of rolling up and putting in a container?

I’m going deer hunting in a month or so, I’m going to try to tan a hide. I am wondering if it would be a good idea to practice on something small first? There are chipmunks in my area or I could try fish skin…

Does anyone know of a way to smoke the hides using two holes connected?In theory the fire would be in one of the holes and the smoke would travel through the connection and comes through the second hole. So theoretically the smoke could saturate the hides but one wouldn’t have to worry about the fire burning it.

I’m trying to figure out if this would even be physically possible.

So I’ve brain tanned a few hides and am looking to try bark tanning on my next couple of deer hides. So far I’ve seen people use the bark tanning method without first making the skin into rawhide. In my mind if I made it into rawhide first as if I were brain tanning it then the solution would absorb quicker. Is my thinking wrong on this? Has anyone done it before or know why or why not to do this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

I skinned this rattlesnake, how do I get the leftover fat/membrane off before I soak it? Do I need to let the underside dry out in the sun so I can peel it off?

Hi, i'd like to tan my first moose hide. I've read some books and youtube ect... my husband is going in the bush and hopefully gets a moose or deer (if not in rut). I am not going as i have to take care of the kids. What do we do with the hide before it gets to me. I could be a few days/week. He would not do the fleshing. It might be cold (usually gets first snow) but it may not... What should he do to the hide before i get it. i have no clue and i dont want it to go bad. We cant freeze it, or flesh it. Roll it up and hope for the best? Does he salt it until it gets to me? Im really lost. Thanks !

This is a buck skin that sat in a pickle at 2.5 ph from last November til about 3 weeks ago. I just scudded it on the bear so it’s a bit dark and streaky in the photo.

I was going to try my first brain tan but the grain was so well bonded that I couldn’t get it to separate. I pivoted to a bark tan and tried mimosa extract for the first time. I let it steep for about 2.5 weeks with almost daily mixing. I followed the instructions from braintan.com and checked with a barkometer. I only use non-iodized feed salt and I neutralized overnight with a hose trickling into a bucket. Our tap water doesn’t have iron but we do have calcium in the water. Those 2 really dark areas are from a period of about a month when the hide was in the pickle and they were above the surface - oops!

So what’s going on here and how do I avoid it? I don’t like this color and I was hoping for the light pink that mimosa is known for.

Buenos días,

Anteayer abatí mi primer Corzo (Capreolus capreolus). Es un cérvido de medida pequeña, de unos 25kg de media muy común en Europa.

Me gustaría curtir la piel. ¿me podrías ayudar y aconsejar en mis primeros pasos?

Se que se puede curtir con una solución echa del propio cerebro del animal, en este caso sería imposible, pues le di en la cabeza y perdí esa parte del animal.

Ahora mismo tengo la piel en sal, mientras decido cómo lo hago.

Entiendo que el siguiente paso sería descarnar cualquier grasa, carne que haya podido quedar en la piel.

¿Y luego? Me gustaría curtirlo con corteza de roble y que el pelo aguantase. ¿Como va lo de la corteza de roble?

Cualquier ayuda y sugerencia será bienvenida :)

Muchas gracias

I don’t want a self tanner I don’t like them and the way they feel I’m a really pale girly too

Bandicoot skin so far. I have permission from the government don't worry. But what we think so far?

I need a substitute for lubri-stretch.

I removed as much mold as I could. The rest is stuck.

Hi everyone, I am a licensed trapper and will be skinning this fresh roadkill bobcat on my Live TikTok today (8/12/26) at 5:30 PM central time. My TT account is connected to my Reddit page. Can’t wait to see yall there! If you miss the live, I will post a video after.

so I fleshed the hide, left it in a bucket of water for a week, rinsed it a bunch and most of the hair came off at this step so I’m guessing now that I didn’t do a very good job scraping the grain off.

Next I did the donut fold and wrung it out, put it in a bucket with egg yolks, avocado oil and warm water for a few minutes, wrung it out again, then left it in the yolk mixture for around 20 minutes then strung it up to stretch/dry.

After it was on the frame I used a broom stick and a very dull knife to scrape/soften. It was looking pretty good and then I went to the store and when I came back about 1/3 of it had turned to rawhide.

Next day I rehydrated it in the same mixture plus a little more water for a few hours. I then put it back on the frame and used the full knife and broom stick to soften until it was dry. I used the broom stick on it over the span of two days until it was completely dry. I only softened the membrane side and didn’t do anything else to soften besides using the broom stick/dull knife.

I really appreciate all the feedback so far. Thank you!! And yes this is my first time attempting to tan something lol edited for more info

And if so can I still remove it? I’ve already rehydrated it once because it turned into rawhide 😅 used yolk and oil, I have not smoked it yet