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STROPS FROM SCRATCH #7: Finishing the Tanned Deer Leather, Oak Bark Tanning
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2017
- The Deer hide is taken out of the oak bark fully tanned. After tanning, the skin is washed, fleshed, stretched and dried into finished leather.
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So far this deer skin was fleshed and washed, soaked in lime to remove the hair, un-haired, washed and scraped to remove impurities and unwanted tissue, soaked in a drench of fermenting bran and then laid away to tan in oak bark. The skin has been soaking in a bath of oak bark chips for months longer than it needed to just due to procrastination and other circumstances. The hide is fully tanned through now and converted by the tanning process into leather. The tanning solution is washed out of the skin and the hide is re-fleshed a couple of times to clean off more tissue on the flesh side, and clean the leather of unwanted residue. Once fleshed and washed, the skin is stretched out with a slicking iron and a slicker before being tacked up to dry. Usually some oil would be applied at this stage, but in the case of this skin I don't oil it because I'll be gluing it to a board if I use it for the pocket strops I'm making in this series and the fat may interfere somewhat with gluing the leather to the wood. The dried leather will be stored until we are ready for it.
Definitely the best videos on oak bark tanning on youtube.
Probably for now. there is a lot to know, so a full instructional series is something of an undertaking. Most people that know enough to do that, which is very few, aren't likely to do it. Even I have to consider that it might be a better move for me to make that into a product and sell it instead. I'd rather give it away though. That's the future of information anyway like it or not.
Re the future of information... that remains to be seen. Yes, you are expressing traditional ideas about information, but the future is untold. They've managed to shut down every frontier, I imagine in their total information awareness they will control every bit of data, every bit of person, everything.
Still, at this point, you'd probably be better sharing. It would bring notoriety, which you could leverage to your benefit.
Man this series was sick. Honestly the greatest overview over tanning I have found so far. And it's gonna take something to top that. Thank you for this. Sub incoming!
I'm just finishing up a much longer one where I do some softened sheep skins and a side of cattle hide. It's very, very long, but there is a lot more info to be gleaned out of it. czcams.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJBsE5mbHhW2gQMILnndQN9o.html
These are really great videos because they inspire others to have a go. I watched the series over and over and then tanned skins from my own sheep, learning even more from the hands-on experience. This has opened a whole new avenue of interest and I want just to say how very grateful I am to you. Best wishes, Keith.
Awesome. That always makes me feel better about putting time into this project. I've heard from quite a few people that have done the same. I know that once people get any success with it, they will "get it" :) I hope you checked out the new series, it has a lot of real life details and goes into finishing. I need to shoot finishing the cattle hide this next week.
I've got to say your a talented and skilled craftsman and a good educator. I find your videos very entertaining and educational and they show you what constructive things we could be doing with our time.
Thanks for the feedback :). So much possibility everywhere.
man i found your axe videos a few years ago and i started this series when you first started it! awesome! keeping ppl informed what and how their goods are made!
I lost art that every human should know how to do. Very informative. Glad i stumbled apon this channel, expert tups and teicks
Hey Steve, still loving the videos. I've found this video series super informative and helpful. Keep pursuing what you enjoy. You're a great teacher
I just watched every video of this playlist, whew! I never realized the amount of work and time that goes into making leather. I was actually lead to believe that it was pretty easy in one of the many survival books that I have: not all survival books are created equally! But thanks for making these videos, I've truly dedicated myself to trying to learn to make my own tools, so I can make other things, so that I'm far more self reliant. It's not easy to do where I live, but I'm doing my best with what I have. Thanks again for the videos, stay safe out there my friend!
Yeah, those survival books are 90% garbage. I used to have a bunch and got rid of all of them ha ha. Glad I can help. Self reliance skill stay with you the rest of your life.
@@SkillCult I absolutely agree. I had to go out and do things myself to truly appreciate the hard work that goes into survival. And YT has become an incredibly great resource for survival. With channels like yours, at least seeing the much finer points, and aspects of self reliance, gives me something to look forward to achieving one day! Thanks for the reply!
Excellent series, so much knowledge pack in to it. Love the channel.
just found your channel looking for tanning info and boy am I glad you rock man thanks for everything you shared really cool stuff
Thanks Glenn.. Welcome :)
I like them old wrinkled leathers with marks adds character to the projects man you can always send me them unwanted hides lol. I was lucky to come across your channel man i learned a lot from you so far. Keep them em coming.
Hi: Welcome on board. There's plenty of old videos to keep you busy for a while :)
Just found your videos through pockets recommendation. Glad I found it. It's exactly the sort of content I like to watch. Thanks for posting!
Side note, once I started watching your videos it's clear you've put the effort into editing your content to be viewer friendly, which has been a pleasure for me to watch; if I hadn't been looking specifically for your channel bc of another recommendation I probably would have passed over the channel after the cursory glance bc of the logo. My initial reaction was this is probably not the sort of channel I'd be into (when it totally is). I'm all about these educational videos. They're great, and I would have missed out if I had followed my initial bias.
Once again, thanks for content!
Thanks for the feedback :). I'm glad I have access to this platform to provide something useful for people.
Great to see another chapter in the series. Leather is something I know very little about and this video has been a great look into the process overall. Can't wait for the home-gamers version
Coming right up! Not! ha ha. well, we shall see...
I just wanted to say thanks for doing such amazing videos. I started watching with your glue videos while looking for a video series exactly like this one. I have always been interested in leatherworking, but I don't want to start until I can Tan my own hides. I feel like your videos have been in depth enough for me to feel comfortable experimenting with the process.
Also... awesome hair!
Thanks for that feedback. Good luck with your tanning endeavors. I'll be dong more useful tanning vids in the future and hopefully covering some of the basics this year. Tanning is always a bit of a journey though.
Great video Steven! I stumbled across your channel a month or so ago and I was instantly fascinated by your knowledge, amount of detail you put into videos, the videography and last but not least your perseverance which keeps you going! Stay safe and I'm very much looking forward to epic new content!
Thanks man. I'll keep it coming as long as I can.
What a great channel! You are a true craftsman. A ton of information and a great attitude to boot! I will definitely support you and become a patreon supporter.
Thank you Steve. I try to be useful. :)
Humor... humor's what we need. I left you a PM last night.
My sense of humor is failing me lately. That's a joke, haha ;)
You're healing is on its way. Watch!
extremely satisfying
6:30 Did you ask me to paint you like one of my french girls? No? Oh sorry. My bad
I would like you to consider highlighting the difference in tan of this hide. It's a pretty neat effect. The line between the colours is no doubt an interesting element that outlines that the hide was tanned by hand.
There is some color uneveness, that is unpreferable to me. It's okay I guess, but it's better to be able to make it consistent for when consistency is wanted. So many things can happen over the whole process and all of that time that can cause stains or color variations. It's not always possible to even know what they all are. It does look handmade though I guess. That view used to be uncommon I think. Before the industrial age, high consistency was a mark of craftsmanship. Now that everything is cookie cutter, made we like things that are rustic and obviously hand produced.
SkillCult that gives me pause.
Amazing! Loved to see this process!
The last few videos in my latest tanning series cover finishing the hides. czcams.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJBsE5mbHhW2gQMILnndQN9o.html
@@SkillCult I'll check them out!
I love the outro, I'm learning a lot from these videos.
Thank you. 😁
E7 blues. Nice jam. Suspected you played, never suspected it would be fingerpicked blues. Keep blowing my mind.
I play other stuff too. Haven't hardly played for years though. Trying to get back into it. I like fingerpicking. I think it's good for the brain. I like shredding with a pick too though. Obviously :)
YES! And you are absolutely correct this is the most comprehensive treatment of bark tanning you are likely to find, unless you pour over countless publications on the subject. (Which I've done.) But it's not the same as watching it live. Video tours of Herman Oak or Horween don't count. I'm totally jealous of that flawless hide. All my hides are clunkers in comparison. I have to keep working to convince my hide supplier to ease up on the knife. None of my salted hides would be suitable for bark tanning. This hide looks pretty good to me even if you couldn't get it completely flat. I'm considering putting up some Barn-board on the woodshed just so I can stretch out my hides on the wall instead of on a stretcher. Loved getting to see the hide finished out. Peace.
That was a nice hide except for the dragging. It turned out okay, but it feels a little light (spongy or "empty" as it's known in the trade). Deer hides are prone to that anyway, but I remember liming it too long and that extra 4 or 5 months in the layer may have contributed too. It will get nice and soft though if I decide to go that route. I wouldn't say I prefer nailing it out. It just seemed like an easy way to dry it a little flat with the least work. I guess it's handy for that if it's needed, but under most circumstances, the hide would be oiled before drying. It works a lot better to oil the wet skin as the oil seems to pull in as the water leaves or something. Either way, any of that can be started over at any time. My guess is that I'll end up softening the grain on part of this hide so it will get dunked in a fatliqour anyway. Can you skin them yourself? In areas with a lot of deer its sometimes possible to get hook ups where you skin for game processors. Best way to get perfect hides every time. I hate wasting my time on scored hides.
I probably took too many last season. The local guy just kept giving them to me so I took them. For what I use them for i am able to select the clean parts anyway. With buckskin the nicks are only a problem if its on a wear spot or if I need lace. The is always a enough scrap to get stitching lace. Now that I'm getting a much larger inventory of finished hides, I'll be able to more selective. I've only been getting the hides from this guy for a couple of seasons. I've been making some connections with other hunters that I can work on to get cleaner hides. I would love to do more bark tanning. Until then I'm cruising with the Walnut mix. I love the result. I'm working on a walnut buckskin apron for my father. I'm trying to do a video on it. I actually like the wrinkled texture of Veg-tanned deerhide. It's maybe not as versatile as cowhide, but home tanning has it's own look and feel.
I like the wrinkly deer hide too. it tend to think the best thing to do with it bark tan wise is using the graining board to raise the grain into little bumps and soften it up pretty well. That just seems to fit it the best. That would be a popular leather if you got leatherworkers familiar with it. It's warm, supple and gorgeous. Much easier than braintan to make too. Perfect for jackets. If I started a tannery right now, I'd concentrate on that type of deer skin, and pit tanned tooling leather as my two staple products. I'd recommend, even at your skill level, to do some small pieces to test out your local tanning materials and get familiar with the liquors and stuff. A good use for cut up hides. Most of the really big outfits use a winch of some kind to pull off hides, but they still score them up on the sides and certain spots as the hide is pulled off. Easier to train someone using a winch not to cut the hide though. It's pretty hard to train anyone. the main thing I tell them is that I dont care about meat on the hide. Everyone things clean means no meat, but that is often the only thing between the kinfe and the hide!
I've definitely thought about the winch idea. I've seen plans for a setup that hitches to a tow hitch. As for experimenting with cut up hides, that will probably happen anyway. I'm looking at taking down a few red oaks on my property and would like to experiment with that. Also I'm not done playing with the sumac. It is just so abundant! I'd also like to experiment with doing something along the lines of the 1786 Russian Reindeer leather. The source I found stated they tanned with willow bark and oiled with birch bark oil. Not sure how accurate that is but it's interesting. I think I would modify it with the sumac tannage and distill the oil from the bark of this year's CWC. Always WAY more ideas than time.
Oh right, you have sumac. Good stuff. There was a shipwreck discovery of russian leather tanned with willow and finished with birch tar. The leather was salvaged and people still make stuff out of it after sitting at the bottom of the ocean for 200 years. Must be good. They say it still smells like the birch oil. Look it up. Metta Catherina I think was the name of the ship. I got to see some of the leather. It didn't look 200 years old.
Finally, I was waiting for this a long, long time!
In the meantime I had the chance of having some fun with a boar skin. On certain historical workshops (pottery and herbalism to be exact) we had a boar as our main food rations for a few days. I was the only one able to properly skin it and butcher the meat - thanks to your videos! So big thanks for the content you put out, had I not watched you skin and butcher the deer earlier I'd have a hard time ;)
Anyway, I'm stuck with a skin to tan. I cleaned the tallow off the skin (rendered it and it was delicious for frying), I noticed that it's much easier to just get the skin off with fat on it and then trim the fat, as opposed to trying for a super clean skinning, wild hogs are like that, with hair growing deep into the fat tissue. I managed to get it rather clean and removed the fat, and stretched it on a wire fence to dry. I also used lye and ash instead of salt or lime, and it conserved it pretty well, as well as helped getting the loose tissue off. Still, I've yet have to work more on it, do you have any advice? I might be experimenting with alder cones (full of tanines), and of course eventually I'll grease it with fat again to keep it suple but I'm not sure what to do to keep the hair on well. I'd love a solution that'd be both natural/primitive, and relatively simple. Any ideas?
Keeping hair on a hog skin is probably a lost cause. A lot of the hairs go all the way through the skin. By the time you get it fleshed as well as you should, they'll fall out. Since they are so fatty, extra efforts are required to get the fat out. If you dry it with too much fat, the skin will greaseburn, which means the raw fat ruins the skin. It will be very weak and tear easily when you try to do anythign with it. I would prefer to process them right away in lime or wood ash, enough to swell the skin and loosen the hair some, which helps get the fat out and hopefully make fleshing a little easier. Too much to cover in comments or emails etc. You can basically apply this process. I'd start with a small section of it, like a square foot or something and see how that goes.
THANKS
IN Togo we also did this in hand really it is a historic job
Great video Steve! I have 2hides layered now for 5 months, after watching you layer your hide 6 months ago. I've checked it several times and it seems okay. Now I know what to do. Thank You! It is amazing though, how my instincts were leading me to do most steps you've demoed. Damn nice pickin Steve. I'm a picker too but lack a nice old National guitar, tis an old one yes? I do have slate and a piece of stainless so tools shall be made. I'm also the guy who wants to send you that piece of 160 year old bark tanned leather from my great great grandfather's shoe making shop. Also a nice piece of hickory from my woods here in southeast Pa. I will need an address, which I can get from your website? Anyway Steve, we have so much in common, coffee lovers etc. etc. must be a past life thing I recon. My daughter lives in Portland so one day I'd love to see your land. Perhaps my wife and I could help some day. In the future perhaps. Soon I will be able to afford a laptop, hopefully and perhaps skipe. Indeed you have the finest tanning videos out there. I saw many many videos in the last 3 or 4 years and none can compare. I did learn some things of course and am appreciative to all others. With Skillcult I've tanned, filed and cleaned axe and hachetts , reshaped and made handles, love chopping bark and a bit of blacksmithing. Okay, I'm sure you have things to do. Again, Thank you for sharing your skills and keeping these arts alive. So important in these times. I've been a cabinetmaker 50 years and who shall step up and use my tools after I take the Big dirt nap, eh? I have over 100 molding planes and I use them. Perhaps I should do a Stevecult easr branch. I'll check my wife's pc for your address. By the way, her name is Alice Schwager and you can see her art on fine arts america.She kept her maiden name. What did I say about your time? Have a fine as frogs hair day Steve!
DaveyJO (for coffee) Weaver
That's great that you jumped right into bark tanning. Layers are usually changed every 2 or 3 months, but I think it depends on the timing. Like the early layers might be changed sooner than the later ones. Also, they used to vary the size of the bark for different layers. All the stuff people learn doing the same thing year after year. Cattle hide layers often took a full year and 3 to 4 changes of bark. With a deer hide that's already started in liqour, one layering is certainly enough, but for thick hides, they need to be changed once or twice, sometimes as many as 4 times. I probably should have taken this out by 8 weeks just FYI. Procrastination and bark tanning go together like pork and beans. Especially a layer. so easy to just leave it in there and then you look up one day and 6 months went by! I would have done it sooner no doubt except I have to make vids of everything of course. That's actually a newer national Delphi from the late 90's My wife at the time took up a collection from friends to get me that when I first got lyme disease and was holed up all day every day going stir crazy. I'll message you a mailing address!
Old school is cool! I understand that loggers in the PNW would pay a lot to have a good pair of boots made custom for themselves, that were tanned leather. Supposedly a pair of boots would last for decades if properly maintained. All they would do is have a cobbler put new soles on them when needed.....By proper oiling, and by being in a damp environment, the leather would conform to the feet of the wearer....making their boots super comfortable, to the point of them being like just an outer natural shell of their own foot....So they wouldn't get callouses and other discomforts that could cause permanent disabling issues with their feet....Oiling made them water resistant, supple, form fitting, and extremely long lasting.......It seems crazy to me that some old logger boots you might see at an antique store or yard sale were boots that some worker wore for 20 or 30 years! They probably had them resoled 5 times! You know a good pair of Danners, or other brands are spendy.....But I doubt if they would last decades, even if they were resoled......The same with axes.....Blacksmiths would make double axe heads that were so properly tempered , one side for utility, and the other for felling, that the Feller had a tool that could give him mastery at his craft.... He could be far more efficient and use less effort to achieve his goals.....You will see in old pictures taken of logging crews, that the loggers would be holding the head of their axe under their armpit to keep them warm so they weren't so brittle, and chip, when in use......And by being so well properly tempered, those axes would stay sharp for a long time, needing minimal honing., during a work day.... This is just mind blowing.....I'm thinking that it would be wise to seek out old axe heads from the early 20th century, when the tech was at it's peak, and masters created their tools, for a worker with brilliant knowledge , wisdom and understanding .......The axes you buy at an Ace Hardware store for 25 bucks are a POS compared to old school axes.....These new axes sharpen quickly, and dull faster.....The old ones take a while to sharpen, but you could shave with them, even after a days work, I think..... Old school deserves respect.....I respect you for your experiences and honesty in your experiments....I don't think we realize the wisdom of old.....At least the new generation....Your channel rocks!.....Content like this is hard to find... Just continue what you do......When the power goes out, and won't be back for months, if not ever, we will thank you for showing us the things you have learned......Thank you for your willingness to learn......Once we quit learning.....We may as well just die.....,,Since we can't contribute anymore......But , teach them youngens...... So they know..... Give them the tools to prosper in any situation....They will dig it! .Thanks, Bro!.....
Got them hide tanner's blues. Alright!
Was pretty cool and informative
many thanks; really enjoy the info/explanation/detail .....
wow 4 years old but still informative, i have to say though i think you over did it, if you agitate it the tannins penitrate faster and in the beginning of this work you could have went with a thinner liquior , even in the early 1800 tanneries found that using too heavy of a tannin mix can prolong the process, it case hardens the outside faster than the inside, so they used a weak solution first then gradually increased tannin solution.
Different tannins seem to have different effects regarding case hardening, which is what you are referring to. I've never seen it with this material, even putting test pieces into full concentrate.
thanks
Love it mate great video worth the wait .
Thanks Jimmy.
Beautiful and relaxing 😪
Great stuff! Thanks a million man! I've learnt a lot! Love your videos!
:)
Veg leather should be dried slowly. To do this oil the grain . Castor oil or neatsfoot tallow mix. It also stops tan s migrating to the surface ,this would make cracky leather.hope this helps
I oil before drying almost 100% of the time. This time I just don't want any oil on the hide until it's glued down to the wood. I've had hides mold, but otherwise generally try to dry them slow. It's not always possible though. Pasting hides down to a board with fat is the best way I've found to dry them slowly. I learned that from the Muir McDonald tannery before they closed. They had a big drying loft where they pasted hides down with dubbin' to sheets of plywood.
I admire all the work you did in this series. I agree with your philosophy on the throw away culture and that you do many things on your own and without power tools! You did an excellent job on explaining all the steps you took in this series and I really enjoyed it. Thank you. I was wondering, after you chipped the bark up and stomped on it, should you not do that in bare feet? ; )
I like to do many things by myself as I like to spend time doing things as well as I can. It takes time and many people will not do it since time is money.
Thanks, M
The time is money mentality can be really limiting. My feet aren't that tough ;)
Ur locs are fresh man!
I cut them off a bit after that vid. 31 years.
@@SkillCult - thats cool! They look good on you its good to see people from all walks of life rocking them, Respect.
I made a video when I cut them off because I had them so long I felt like I should make a big deal out of it lol. czcams.com/video/ah30WS1SEEQ/video.html
Liked the video man! You shouldn't worry so much about the audience you make great vids and I've learned a lot from you. I'm sure they will come. You should incorporate your music into the background of your videos you're pretty good. =)
Thanks. The way videos are organized, presented, titles and stuff like that have a lot to do with how many people they reach. This series is sort of hidden that way.
Have you ever tanned a porcupine? I shot one while deer hunting and was curious, so i skinned it and took it home. It has sat in lye for over two weeks and most of the quills and long guard hair have slipped easily. I plan on tanning with this method, and already it looks like it will have a very unique grain to it.
No, sounds neat though.
If i may make a suggestion for if you do another set of videos - you could do it on a smaller animal - rabbit/hare - for reasons of speed and also many more people are likely to be able to obtain such a thing...also bushcrafters in the uk certainly can get their hands on them.. but not deer so readily.
glad your finishing projects ... im dragging myself through one atm that feels like treacle to get it done.
That's in the master plan for sure. Probably squirrel. How is the squirrel population over there? Wild rabbits and hares, at least around here, are basically too thin to even tan.
A lot of Skyrim fans would be watching this.
Had to look that up. Feel free to share with them anywhere. I like picking up viewers from weird fringe cultures :)
Thank you for this video Steven. Top notch as allways. I was wondering how one can fix overoiled/overtallowed leather. Is there a way to wash some, or all of the dressing away and repeat the whole finishing process, or is it irreversible? I was thinking alcohol but guidance is welcomed in case you have some experience on this!
Hello sir how to remove a bad smell in raw leather plz reply sir
I've been learning a lot through these videos, and my deerskin is finally tanned all the way through! I initially used oak bark, but ran out, so I finished it sumac leaves. I took the hide out of the tanning solution, scraped it on the beam, put it on a flat surface and scraped some more liquid out and now I have it hanging.
I'm planning on staking it up on a 4x8 board to dry, but this step is still a bit unclear to me. Can I just stake it up without putting any sort of fat/oil on it, and am I waiting for it to fully dry?
Once I take it down, I can just soften it by hand, cable, etc., or is there more to it?
I guess it's still unclear to me whether or not I should dry the hide completely before softening, and how necessary/desirable a tallow/oil is to finish the leather, and when it should be applied.
I plan on using the leather for miscellaneous things, like a planner cover, maybe a wallet and a small bag.
Any thoughts would be appreciated, thank you!
You should watch the later videos in this series czcams.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJBsE5mbHhW2gQMILnndQN9o.html Where I go through finishing. You should oil it. I didn't oil that one, because I'm going to glue it to wood.
just finished watching your axe strop series. Very, very interesting content and well produced stuff- once again - thanks for you effort in sharing your knowledge. I got a lamb skin salted and now I feel like I get the main idea in processing the skin from animal carcass to leather. Just need to find a good source of tannins here as I am in Denmark and we don't have tan oaks as I would prefer to do it the old fashioned way. You know about what they would use traditionally in Northern/central Europe? BTW: Never realized that you could play fingerstyle blues so well - nice way to end a video
You'll have plenty of stuff to use. Here is my recent video and huge list of materials. czcams.com/video/gbD2h3g0_Nc/video.html Willow comes to mind, but I'm sure there are plenty more.
@@SkillCult thanks, Steven. Yeah, just recalled that in your recent video put up a list of species suitable for bark tanning.
And what is thing we need plz reply me
Great video!
The idea of leaving a hide unsoftened is new to me, and might actually solve me some problems... Would you reckon a stiff skin like this will do well as belts, harness, sandal-straps, etc.? or will it strech out of shape when in use?
Is nailing the skin to a board an essential part of flattening it or just a remedy for tough cases?
In my experience, nailing is not as useful for flattening as slicking the skin out to a board. Stringing in a frame can work pretty well sometimes though. The two extremes are to go for a full on softening while the skin dries to break it as much as possible, or compressing and flattening it to make it more stiff and dense. In between there are various shades. Harness, belting and tooling type leather would be stuffed with tallow or dubbin', at least partly compressed by slicking and then just dried flat. Some leather was further finished by beating it with smooth faced mallets to compress it more.
But, it's not quite that simple either, since it matters what is done to the skin before and during tanning. Some of them may just turn out wanting to be soft and no amount of compressing and drying flat is going to make them into that kind of stiff leather. This hide is probably in that category.
I did some years ago with walnut husks and bark, they came out dark dark brown. They dried out and got quite stiff. I've not done anything with them till now. I wonder if re-wetting would damage the tan. I was thinking soaking them , stretching and working it to make it softer and usable. Any thoughts on this , anyone. Also that is one hell of a thick deer hide!
It's fine to resoak them. Make sure you check to see if the tan is all the way through by cutting a thick part of the skin. I hope to pull off a video on softening, or several before the end of the year.
@@SkillCult Ok , i'll give a soak. I just did a couple with an egg yolk , oil , soap recipe and smoked them. Real nice color. Thanks for the reply , look forward to new videos.
I have tanned a cowhide exactly following your steps. The leather I have now is so hard and I have no clue on how to make it soft. It is almost impossible to soft it with hands. Would you please give me an idea?
It sounds like it is not tanned all the way through. If it is tanned completely, it should not be hard and stiff. it will be stiff, like heavy leather, but still flexible and not hard. Did you cut the leather to see if the color goes all the way through?
@@SkillCult When I cut the leather, it was not dark brown all they way through. However, when I put the mixture of (lard, wax, paraffin), the color became brown through the cut
This is a fantastic find! I've been mulling over what to do with a sheep hide that came from one of my sister's young sheep that passed away. I think I would like to tan it and then use the leather to bind a book for her. Only I'm not sure whether I should use the tallow-oil mixture and stick it to a board, part of the problem is that I also want to dye the leather. Any advice I am open to suggestions.
It's definitely best to dye before oiling. Use the heavier oil, half olive or neatsfoot oil, and half tallow. sheep fat and olive oil would be great. Don't overdo it.You can slick out or nail it up and just let it dry flat and smooth.
A skill I've always wanted to learn. I've got a bobcat in the freeze from two years ago. Already skinned.
What wood is your fleshing beam? and how do I order you book?
I like the local maple for tanning beams because it chips out clean when you hit it with the scraper. It is not a very hard or tough species though. if you have a wood that behaves that way, rather than being stringy, it might be worth a try. But, use whatever. That one is actually just an old redwood mill end. It's in pretty bad shape, but I still get by. There are still some copies of the book left through paleotechnics.com It basically covers braintanned buckskin and some side stuff, a little on hair on deer tanning, but not much.
so, you did not add fat liquor to this because you want the finished leather to be somewhat rigid? I am asking because I am getting ready to pull out a roe deer hide from the tanning solution and would like to use it for tools sheaths, if it doesn't end up being to thin
Don't use a fat liqour. That is more for getting stuff soft. Rinse it, scrape out most of the water and rub on a 50/50 mix of tallow and a lighter oil. I usually use deer, goat, sheep or beef with olive oil. Put a layer on both sides and tack it out or smooth it out on a smooth surface so the fat sticks it down. Use some smooth edge so that you can dress the grain side perfectly smooth, then dry slow, but not slow enough that it molds. That is probably all you need to do, but you can oil it lightly on the surface if it seems like it needs it. I mostly didn't use any lubricant, because I want it to glue really well and any oil can be added after the strops are made.
@@SkillCult Thanks for the thorough answer, mate! Yeah, I realized that after revisitng you vids before proceeding in the process. Invaluable to have such a great visual resource readily available! This is why the internet was invented , lol!
Do you have videos (really I should have checked first but easier to ask) tanning furs?
Not really no.
Hi Steven. I finished leather from a roe deer and thought I did it great and used your videos as a guide, but it turned out really brittle after the final oiling and drying. It seems like the grain is very brittle as me and my friend found out as we were trying to make a sheath for a draw knife. Just a moderate bend and you will hear this dreadful noise of the leather cracking. We tried to oil it with olive oil in the dry state but without luck. So what could have went wrong?! I have a suspicion that I was not thorough enough with removing the lime? Also a guy at a leather store here said it could be due to the tanning solution being to strong? Have you ever experienced this? Perhaps fat liquoring would be worth a try
It's more likely from it being too weak solution for too long. case hardening (too strong) is real, but it will usually inhibit penetration. If you started in a second cook solution, it would likely be case hardening. I couldn't say much without knowing a lot more though.
Question? Why does my deer leather dry black when I tack it? I did petty much the same thing you did except I used oak leaves for tanning.
Is it hard too, or does it seem tanned? Iron, or water with a lot of iron can sometimes turn it dark. I've ssen a lot of skins that were under tanned and then dried that are hard and almost black. Did you cut the skin to see if the color is all the way through at a thick part of the skin?
@@SkillCult yes, is hard like rawhide, but it was tanned all the way through.
Does it matter whether you remove the hypodermis before or after you tan? I've got some skins stretched and drying and can't remember. My first year of trapping just ended & it's time to put up some fur!
depends on the process, the skin and how thick it is One thing about hypodermis is that it comes off easier if it has been dried once and resoaked. also, when it is partially tanned andor partially limed. for furs, if you already stretched, get you can get it when they are part tanned, or damp them back with damp towels applied to the flesh side and see how its coming off before tanning, to get some. In most furs I think you'll find that ou'll be working on it through the whole process and still while softening. if bark tanning, remember the bark is going to stain the fur at least some, and possible quite a bit. too much to try to cover in comments. I don't have anything on furs, but people ask all the time.
@@SkillCult Thank you! I'll have to experiment and find out what works best for me. I appreciate your advice, my friend
Any advice on what trees to try out east? Can I just use any oak and see what happens?
Oaks are probably always a good bet. Hemlock was widely used back there too. Sumac leaves are another possibility.
hey steven, when will you have more of the bulgarian giant leek project seeds available on your website?
They are only just flowering right now. They take until fall sometime to ripen the seed all the way, so probably late fall, early winter.
So, my bark tanned leather is done! it turned out pretty damn nice! Very excited about it. Sticking it to a surface with the fat seemed to work out pretty well. However, I think it had too much oil on the flesh side - I feel like I had to add a lot of oil in order to hold it down on the surface? I mean, you want to create a vacuum between the surface and the hide, so I see no other way than adding quite a lot of fat. Perhaps, next time I would consider nailing it up as you did here, the edges end up pretty worthless anyways
I've not really had a problem with that before. I don't dry them in the sun though and sometimes will scrape off the extra fat off the flesh side once it's dry. You shouldn't need too much on there. If the hide is really too saturated, like very dark in thin areas, you can wash it in soapy water and finish it after however you want. Depends on how you are finishing. I have some finishing vids outlined and the first video is already shot. Hopefully I'll get the others done this winter.
Do you have any experience with tanning a ground hog hide? We have one roaming around that the mother-in-law wants gone. I hate the idea of just putting it in the ground, so it crossed my mind it might be a managable size for a first attempt at tanning. Or would I be better off to get ahold of something more robust like a goat skin and try a couple half hides?
I can't really consult on tanning a hide in comments. Just too much to it. There are various rodents called ground hogs in the U.S. The really big ones back east are supposed to have nice thick skin.
SkillCult Understood. Central Ohio ground hog are the group of interest, maybe close to beaver sized. If i do catch him, I'll give skinning it a shot and see what i'm working with, make the call then.
Hey! It was so informative and definitely helpful for my assignment, but i had a doubt. Does deerskin go through post tanning like finishing ( surface coating etc.)? BTW i really liked your surrounding !!!
Surface coating is more of a modern thing. In old school tanning, dyeing and finishing with oils are used. Grain can be treated for certain effects as well and the hide might be softened,or it might be compressed and even hardened.
@@SkillCult thanx ! ☺️
Is tanning required for making leather or can you bi-pass it and get a really crappy hide
well, we'd have to get into terminology, but basically dried skin is rawhide and it's very stiff. It's useful, but not flexible enough to use for most things leather is used for. Some sort of process to have it come out soft, whether it's this one or another one would be more like something you'd call leather.
SkillCult thx
How big do you reckon that deer was
Dunno. I don't even remember if it was mine now. Our coastal deer are not very big for the most part., but for around here, that might have been slightly above average.
What tool were you using around 3:40 ?
Sorry if its common knowledge. Your series is my first introduction
I didn't really go over the tools in this series, but will eventually in other videos. That is a fleshing or tanning knife. it comes in various forms. That is one I forged from a leaf spring. Planner blades from large mill planers over 12 inches work well and there are various ones on the market, though I can't recommend any personally.
I was wondering how you get the leather to go from stiff as it is in the end of this video, back to a flexible almost fabricee (thats not a word...) kind of feel. Before you dried it it was real floppy and loose and then when you dry it it looks really stiff. Does it remain stiff from that point on or is there another process to get it loose again and to remain loose and fabricee.
That is the one really important tanning video I haven't made yet. You can get some idea by watching the video on tools for bark tanning. I have a hide out that I plan to use for that video when I can make it happen.
also watch the leather tanning clinic video with zach.
@@SkillCult Just make it happen! I'll watch it!
Could you use bacon fat as a tallow?
I wouldn't. The leather would smell weird. Bacon smells good, but bacon leather, probably not great.
show how to knead the skin
Is rain water good for tanning instead of chorine tsp water or creek water thanks
I would think so. I haven't used it, but I would think it would be pretty ideal if you can get enough of it. a lot of water is involved with all the rinsing.
Thanks I live in cabin on small river plenty oak red oak and water
@@fredflintstone6163 A friend of mine back east has used red oak and doesn't seem to like it very much. I"m sure it works, but there might be better species to use. I have a big list of materials and properties on my website. Search for skillcult vegetable tanning materials. There are certain oaks that are prefered in different places around trhe world.
I have place on blackwater river cypress red oak water oak live oak it seems to the tanning s id strong here
Awesome video. I have two questions for you. I want to start getting a little into making leather and have learned so much from your videos. I noticed ex that you hung this hide up to dry overnight, and it looked pretty stiff when you took it down. How are you going to make that more pliable? If you do not plan on making it pliable, I understand. But say I follow your same process and get to the step of drying it: how would I make a more pliable hide? Would I take it down halfway through the drying process and start rolling KT and working it like you show in some of your other videos? My second question is in regards to a comment you made on another one of your videos where you mentioned that you recommend learning on squirrel skin before moving to bigger things. My question is, what are some good things that could be made out of squirrel skin? I’d imagine it isn’t a very thick and durable skin so I’m sure it’s pretty limiting on what one can do with it.
I would normally oil the skins before drying, but I want this to be unoiled so it's easy to glue and then I oil the strops after. If softening, you would do some combination of lubrication with a fat liquor and or oils and then work the skin more or less. I'll try to do a video on finishing barktan this year. I have one on fatliquors already. if softening, you work the skin on and off as it dries out. A good way is to soak in a fatliqour, hang up to dry, then wrap in wet but well wrung out towels overnight. Then work it on and off as it dries. Rolling it with the palms is good, and/or running it over a dull axe head in a vice or some similar kind of dull blade like arrangement.
SkillCult ok I think I got it. Some of the videos I’ve seen for tanning smaller animals like rabbit and squirrel use alum and salt for tanning then while it’s drying they’ll just take it and start pulling it or take a tree and grab either side of the hide and pull and rub back and forth to stretch it out. Is that pretty much only for smaller hides and not big hides like deer?
There are a lot of factors. It depends on the type of skin, thickness, character, how soft it is wanted and whether the grain is on or not. If you have deer, it likes to be soft, that's it's nature. There are a lot of ways to do that, including working it with your hands, as long as you are not damaging the grain. Rolling on a table with the hands, or better with a graining board shown here. and staking will probably be the most used though if the grain is on it. And the squirrel skins are are quite nice. Not very thick, but thick enough. The leather is very nice, just small. At least our western grey squirrel skin anyway.
SkillCult that makes sense! So could I use a graining board on squirrel?
can you do a tanning video where you keep the fur
Maybe, but probably not soon. Its not something I like to do a lot There are other videos out there though. Not sure if there are good ones or not.
I vaguely remember you mentioning that you where working on a bark tanning book. Is that still in the works?
No. I can't even get my car fixed lol. It's just a bigger project than I can handle right now. There will be more videos though. If I get a publishing partner, it's possible. Right now I just don't have the time/energy to do it right.
Tell me please! What fat do you use on your skin?
aw man, I would love to use some deerskin for bookbinding. pity it is so hard to come across here in australia
But I hear theres an abundance of kangaroo! They have a hide too.
Building Books roo hide is super flexible but super strong. the best motorcycle leathers are made out of roos.. so that is enough proof.
Actually I'm not sure it would be the best. It tends to be loose fibered. I'm sure you could use it, but it's not like the goatskin that is commonly use in book binding at all. It's also super inconsistent in thickness, so it would require careful thinning for consistency. I don't know if that is done for you already with the leathers you use, but it would have to be done for sure, which in old school methods means shaving with the curriers knife.
SkillCult question your video made me think about this.. what happens if you stuck the hide between a sheet metal roller? would it thin it out like you where attempting to do by hand? I mean their kinda expensive if you can't find a second hand one.. but It would make the hide pretty consistent in final thickness.. dunno tho never tried it myself.
No, that would just roll over the folds. I could get this close to flat working on a board with the slicker as I described, and that would be close enough. You'll see even on commercial leather there are often some folds and wrinkles on the edges, but that part is rarely used for much anyway. A frame with laces could do a pretty good job too probably. This was a special circumstance. The rest of the hide will be reworked in some way later, flat or maybe just softened, or flattened then softened.
За гитару отдельный лайк!!!
Heck man. I need some stropping and knapping leather bad bad... If you’re interested in selling me some, I’m definitely interested in buying some from you.
I don't really sell leather. Just use old boot tongues and such.
Its like me trying to shave my shins for the first time 4:08
Can you use any of oak bark or does it have to be red oak?.... or does it even have to be oak?
Any oak should have enough. You can also use acorn caps sometimes and other plant barks and materials.
SkillCult sorry I mean to make the tanning solution, can you boil any kind of bark to make the solution.
yes, that is what I meant. any oak bark should have enough tannic acid, and some acorn caps. Not just any tree, but probably any oak tree and some other species of tree. Many conifers like spruce, hemlock and pine work as well. What region are you in?
SkillCult I appreciate the detailed reply.
I’m in north Texas and there are oak trees everywhere, but the reason I was asking is because a buddy of mine owns 40 acres further south and is in no shortage of mesquite trees so I was wondering if that could work.
Btw I’ve come across your channel last night and I’ve been binging since. It’s rare finding a CZcamsr posting videos about all the different things you like lol. Big fan.
I don't recall hearing anything about using mesquite. Look for Sand Dock, Aka Canaigre. It may grow there. There is a pubilcation available on this page www.skillcult.com Oak is a good bet though.
Does the same rules apply for tanning Pig skin?
The process could be similar, but flesh very thoroughly. Often a little sharper fleshing tool is needed. Use cornmeal on the flesh side, or sawdust while fleshing to sop up extra fat, wash in soapy water and flesh again. otherwise it can be similar.
You are awesome! Thanks friend....
is bacon grease an okay tallow?
Bacon grease wouldn't be considered a tallow. Tallow is hard at room temp and would come from animals like deer, cow, sheep, goat. Lard from pigs is soft at room temp. it's okay for tanning too, but a little bit soft for sticking down a hide to a board. I use it for conditioning hides though. But bacon grease always smells like bacon, so that's not so great. and I don't know of any way to get the smell out. You can buy lard at the store though chep and that would work for oiling hides.
i was only kidding around, but thanks for the info. i have deer tallow already, i just wanted to make a funny. i could imagine conditioning leather gear(like sheaths) with bacon grease could be dangerous, as i've had bears and other animals go after my bacon before. once i even dumped my bbq drip tray full of burger fat on my lawn and woke to a fox licking it up. it was pretty cute, he came back every morning for 2 weeks and i put something out for him each night.
Oh, well forgive me for not getting it, but you never know with the questions people ask, and no dumb questions :) Okay, maybe some are dumb...
how do you store all your meat?
I'm off grid, but with a pretty large solar power system, so I have a freezer. I dry some, but freeze most of any large animal.
can you make jackets out of this stuff?
Actually, soft bark tanned deer seems ideal for jackets. I really want to run a batch through to get a stack of quality hides that are all the same color to make a jacket. I'd also like to develop that as a style of leather known under a certain name to make use of the millions of deer skins produced in the states every year. I just need more time, energy, money, some free labor and maybe someone to stick food in my mouth on a regular schedule, and I can do that.
Thank you for explaining this process. When you mentioned oiling the hide, what type of oil do use. Is it cooking oil, or some kind of engine oil? I would like to try this one day.
Thanks again. R
It depends on the goal in finishing, but the stuff I showed is the most common, tallow and a light oil like neatsfoot or olive oil mixed around 50/50 and known as dubbin'
I'm just fat city suburbian guy but I want my children to be just like you. It's too late for me to change.
As long as you won't change, your kids won't change too.
from northern Germany
Well, maybe, but probably not. People have more choices than they sometimes realize, they are just viewing choices within some accepted limitations. You don't want your kids to be like me ha ha :) Dr.P has an interesting point.
John Doe let your kids do what they want. Skillcult enjoys doing this. His dad didn't force him too
I mean. Youre kids will have their own minds. I was a city kid too. Still am at heart. But i struck out at 17 travelin to different internships at CSAs and graineries that have taught me many, many useful things.
Like
something really satisfying and gross about that scraping
Yeah, both. Out of the gunk.
Please can we meet and make money here in Mityana Uganda please
Thumb up this comment if you click on the three dots to the right of Wranglerstar recommended videos and click NOT INTERESTED!
You're not allowed to post porn on youtube