How to bark tan furs. Easy way traditional hide tanning using tree bark.
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 02. 2024
- Bark tanning is traditional and a fantastic way to preserve skins and make them soft, flexible, washable, and strengthen thin furs. Tannins in bark tan hides into leather. Thats where the verb "tanning" comes from. There are few people tan furs with this method anymore, but it works with the local plants of about every region on earth. Here I tan a mink, and start a couple muskrat furs too.
SageSmokeSurvival
New Membership, Community, and Monthly Live Classes:
/ sagesmokesurvival
My Bushcraft Knife:
sagesmokesurvival.com/product...
Instagram:
/ sagesmokesurvival
TikTok:
/ sagesmokesurvival
#bushcraft #survival #traditional #leather #primitive #buckskin #howto #selfsufficiency #natural
Bug nerd here: tannins in general are used for insect repellent, but gall-forming insects actually really like having tannins around them because it increases protection from fungus! They produce hormonal secretions that drive the tree to make the galls, and it boosts the tree’s immune system reaction to fungi in and around the area, which might otherwise eat the midge’s food source! You see something similar in a lot of wasp galls- my local area has these oak gall wasps that create big ball shaped galls, and they only tend to start rotting after a lot of the tannins have leached out. The comparison between gall’s tannins, when leached out, and bile, is where “gallbladder” and other such words came from.
As a side note, some of the midges and wasps make their host plant produce nectar on the gall, to help attract ants that drive off predators and parasites of the wasp or midge! It’s free syrup, albeit in tiny amounts.
This channel is ridiculously underrated
that saying is ridiculously overused
@@Gert169doesn't change the truth of what he said.
In 1968 I tanned a Javalina hide with the help of an Apache man in Tucson Arizona. He told me to soak the hide in the ground in horse manure and urine. Waiting 2 days then I started working it over the hitching post daily till it became white and very soft. It worked.
Wow shidid an farted
Instead of all the chopping of the strips, just run everything thru a chipper ! Fast and effective. I am native Alaskan😅
Is that real? I’d be really suspicious. If I was Native American I would definitely tell white dudes some nonsense like that just see if they would do it.
@@austinsmith3676 It is real. The ammonia in the urine did cure and whiten the hide. It came out a beautiful white color and it was very soft. Bennie watched every step I took to tan the hyde. Search out the truth on the internet.
@@austinsmith3676yes, urine is often used to tan
At 72I almost feel like I've wasted my life not paying attention to my dad's old time ways. I could be like this guy and feel more confident about what could be, and soon to come, maybe, but my grandkids will be interested and introduced to these ways. Thanks so much
You’ll do great to learn with them. They’ll treasure it with you.
I wish I was taught stuff like this! I’ve grown more interested in animal processing this the past year, especially hides and bones. I’m moving with my family to Wisconsin next year (From Arizona), so there’s a chance I’ll start learning how to hunt too.
I read a book called " the bendan voyage" author forgotten.
But they used oak tannin to make a boat and sailed it to America.
Thus I discovered tannin.
A wire brush.
Try a wire brush.
A gift to you.
Fir the gift you gave to me.
I am amazed at how much you know.
This is the FIRST time ive seen someone explain tannin hides .
The author was Tim Severin.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Severin
Why have I not discovered yor channel earlier?
It's a gold mine of knowledge! 👍
I love this channel!! Its like finding gold.
Agree!
Simple, to the point, practical and enough of the reasoning for it all to come together cleaning without any wasted rambling.
Native Americans on the west coast used tanoak or tanbark oak for tanning.
I absolutely love your personality and explanation. I pray protection and peace over your life and work of educating the world. Thank you so much for your service. You're doing something very important! ❤
What a gorgeous hide! This is such a great, informative video.
Keep spreading the knowledge my dude
Excellent work! Tanning hides is one of my bucket list activities.
I’ve had the goal of eventually making muskrat socks, so this video is perfect 👍
Such great detail. This was one of the best instructional videos I’ve ever seen! Please keep sharing your knowledge.
You are a wealth if information. Thank you so much for sharing 🙏💚
Putting time stamps in your Video is some peak YouTubing. 10/10 channel
Absolutely a great video. Thank you so much for making it.
Best content I've found in a while. Ordering your knife.
Your the Matt Blackburn of old knowledge.
Thanks for making vids.
Now all you need is a Woodfired water bath float tank to relax after a full day of work
I think you could really utilize CLO2 for an antibitic for livestock, water sanitation, laundry detergent,
Colloidal silver and copper are nice to know. And oregano, wormwood, raw pumpkin. Amazing.
But a heavy hitter like ozone therapy, or chlorine dioxide make water sanitation so easy, and work so well our ancestors would have traded alot to obtain a small amount.
Thanks again for your service.
Damn good information and presentation.
Learn more each time.
Thanks for the trap blackening tip...!!!
😎👍👍
Just want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills with us.. Have a blessed day!
I believe the willow you are using is called Heartleaf willow (Salix rigida) it is extremely prone to insect gauls.
I was thinking peach leaf willow. It’s leaves greatly resemble that species
Asterix the Gaul? Or Gall?
now i have a good excuse to run around and chew bark
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you so much for this video especially the tannin black iron oxide and the oiling tanned leather info much appreciated
Good demonstration. Thanks for sharing 😊
the musk rat hide sure look funny
Love your channel brother.
Just appreciate your content so very much bro
Subscribed! Man this is excellent, thank you so much!
Another great video brother!
Im so excited to start my hides! Ive got 3 deer salted and one fox i skinned yesterday
Thank you!
Tannins from the charred wood barrels also make dark liquor hangovers worse than clear alcohol beverage hangovers. 😊 Also if your going to plant a garden. Do not plant it down hill from or in the soil nut bearing trees have dropped their nuts. Those very same tannins in the rotting shells will stunt the growth of the vegetables that are produced. I did not know this and planted a very sizable garden. 3 150' long rows of corn 4 same length rows of snap peas, squash ,cucumber , watermelons and potatoes. My ears of corn though fully mature, were never longer than 7 inches the squash were 4 to 5 inches the cucumber were not much bigger than the large dill pickle variety and the mellows though ripe and sweet were a little larger than say a softball and a half. The peas seemed fine though Idk why. My potatoes that I'd cut potatoes in half and planted they were only the size of the half I planted. I learned by accident that winter about the tannins from the rotting nuts shells causing this stunted growth. Plant it at least an acre away and never down hill from soil nuts have rotted. The shell of in this case pecans did this. I also though well away had black walnut trees. Though the hulls make an awesome and easy to make wood stain. My house built in 1870 has the stairs and rails also some of the wood trim made from the very trees on the land. Muskrat he has look like furry squid. Umm mantels?.. Their heads top nots or noggins 😊
Tannins also give wine that "dry" quality.
I got some nice Osage orange bow staves last year and there are done curing in about a month good to know I can use the bark and shavings.
Thankss
That tip about boiling your traps!!! Wow
Can you do a series on urban survival, like sheltering and self sufficiency at home?
So interesting to this city dude... God bless
My grandfather had 12 children, so he tanned hides
often. He always used hickory.
Another great video, I watched your rabbit dispatch and processing video and was about to comment that I would love to see what you do with the hides from that point. Checked your channel and what do you know, you’re already ahead of me. Thanks for making these videos! I’m in the early stages of getting rabbits, prepping the pen now but we have tons of wild rabbits around that I’m anxious to try your methods on. Thanks again!
Meat rabbits have thicker hides than wild rabbits, wild hides are generally too thin to tan without tearing. Some native tribes left them untanned, cut them into strips and wove them into scarves and other types of clothing.
@@user-ug5sb6qg1uGenerally it has to do with age. Domestic rabbits can be very difficult if you cull on a meat schedule as opposed to a fur schedule!
@@akatsukiawsome13 very true, appreciate you weighing in.
I am literally in the middle of tanning two hides right now! Your shorts series was really helpful. Excited to watch this one. I’ve got two hides strung up drying and two 5 gallon buckets full of tannin tea. One from oak leaves the other from elm leaves. They’re super dark. But it’s a test to see if there’s enough tannins. I have access to the coyote willow but couldn’t figure out a way to debark it efficiently. I did use it to make my stretch hoops.
I was wondering tho, is it necessary to stretch and dry the hide? Why not just put it right into the tanning solution after de-fleshing?
The benefit to drying is any small bit of leftover fat in the hide melts and can be wiped off when it’s dry, but it’s not totally necessary. Better taste your tannin solutions. They should make a somewhat strong drying sensation when you swish the solution all around your mouth. Thanks for watching!
Update: my first hide turned nice n dark over a week or so of tanning. But it dried rock hard after I removed it from the solution. I rung it out each day, and it seemed like it was working.
If this was due to lack of working the hide as it dried I’m wondering if I can put it back in a fresh tanning solution. And try again?
I’ve got another hide in an even stronger oak leaf solution now. Two days in….
@@prescottmccarthyhow did they turn out? I’m invested 😂
@@mylesloan 😊 so the first hide I had in for a week and I rung it out each day. It turned nice and dark brown and I was a little concerned that the tea had used up its tannins so I took it out to dry. It really looked good and finished. But when it dried it was hard and stiff. Not really useable. Maybe it was partly because I didn’t work the hide while it dried? He didn’t seem to do much working the hide in the vid, but other tanning methods it’s a huge part of the process. Maybe I’ll try re soaking it in a fresh solution and working it as it dries.
The second hide I still have in the stronger oak leaf solution. It has turned really dark but I can tell it’s not tanned all the way thru. So I’m just gonna leave it in as long as I can (so long as it doesn’t start smelling weird or falling apart.) if it works I’ll check back in.
If both don’t work I’ll just keep trying, this does seem like a great method, I just gotta get the tea right. I can feel the textural change happen from slimy to satin. It’s pretty cool.
@@prescottmccarthyDid you stretch it out/soften it via stretching? I see that done in many tanning videos, wondered if you had done so.
Awesome share thanks
Looks like you do a lot of fishing. The first skin I ever tanned this way was catfish skin. you can tan any fish skin
@sagesmokesurvival you're kidding!!! I didntbknow uou could do fish, what do you use it for?
@@rachellestringer You can use fish leather the same way as any other leather. Bags, hats, pouches, wallets, boots etc etc...
👍👍 "Rodent of unusual size."👍👍 😄
nice oxidise method !
Hi you spoke about your knife. Could you please post a video on how to keep your knife sharp and the best way to do it?
Perhaps there are various ways that I do not know about.
About a week ago i rust blued a kukri (my first time) in just boiling distilled water.
I’m definitely not an expert, but I think you could just boil the rusty traps without the tannins.
Can you do this same method on ground hog hides? Also love the content ❤
A musk rat video would be pretty cool to see 👀
If the active portion of the solution is the tannic acid, then i wonder if acorns could be used?
Do you think you could tan a hide with the juices from black walnut fruit?
I know it was used as a cloth dye in the past.
You can also use freshly dropped walnuts
Walnut hulls aren't as good as walnut bark for tanning.
Do you have to salt the hides in the drying process using the bark method?
Do you know if it is possible to make oil in the forest ?if yes could you make a video with it and try it tan leather
I'd be curious to see if adding iron to the tanning solution would dye the hide a different color with the otherwise same result.
If you add iron to the tannin, the hide will turn black
When youre leaching out acorns, could that solution be used to tan hides?
Curious to what you're going to do with the mink
so what do you do with the pelts once tanned
I know acorns have a lot of tannins. Can you team his with crushed acorns??
No chance of shipping your knives to Canada? Do you have any recommendations for knives available in the north with similar quality?
what mixing ratio do you use for the oil wax mixture
Maybe I'm too late for questions, but do you then hang these hides and stretch them? Or is that not a necessary step?
What if you use a pressure washer to 'scrape' the hides?
Can you use walnut to tan hides
Never knew that's how to tan a fur or that is was by tannins.
Any chance pecan has enough tanic acid to tan rabbit hide? I know they're not considered up there on the hardwood list.
I bet black walnut would be great for tanning
Would this method work with larger, thicker hides like deer? Assuming one can get enough bark
hey man, i love this how to on bark tanning and i was wondering: i tanned this giant buck pelt using that deer hunters and trappers tanning formula, but i think it could be even better bark tanned so do you reckon i could re-tan it? i also washed the hide quite a bit and got some of the extra tanning formula off. thanks again!
I’m really not sure, but you could always cut off a small piece and test it with that!
good idea
can you tan using black walnuts?
What do you do with the tanned hides?
So what you are saying about the drying of your tongue from chewing willow is like what alum does to you?
Gracias amigo
Any advice for getting the face off intact? I also raise rabbits.
What are you gonna do with it?
What happens if pouring the solution in the iron bucket?
What kind of tree bark brother I got a snake skin to do
I have some hides that I have salted and stable. Is the process the same as starting from rawhide or do you have to scrape the salt before putting into the tanning solution?
I have a salted hide sitting in a tub in the garage… Been months since I put it there, I should check on it!
I was going to rinse off the hide, then put it on a fleshing beam and flesh it, and THEN tan…. May or may not dry it in between.
A lot of people soak/rehydrate raw hides and then tan them rather than throw them straight in….
Can i use too much bark?
Is it true you have to brain or egg tan it after bark tanning?
What about acorns?
Theoretically could you tan skins using acorns since some varieties are full of tannins?
you can
Could you show us how to make a rabbit snare out of natural materials?
Thanks for the info.
Unrelated question, how do all your neighbors feel about raising and butchering rabbits next door to them?
Every animal has enough brain to tan it's own hide.
I had an odd idea when watchong you rub the mink on your saw horse. How would you go with stuffing a whole hide like that with like... teddy bear stuffing. To make a natural soft like... teddy mink? I know strange
I’ve heard that acorns are very high in tannins. Could you use boiled acorns to ram hides? I saw the tops listed.
Yes, acorn tannins are great for tanning hides. The very first hide I ever tanned was a fox that had been hit by a car, but I tanned it using acorn tannins I had collected from making acorn flour.
@@justGOLD7 Terrific to know! Because then you could reuse the tannin heave water after boiling the acorns for acorn flower.
Where do you sell you rabbit pelts?
What happens with a white fur during tanning process. Does it stain/colour.
Sorry, answered a second after posting
So much better than gross brain tanning. I’m so glad you made this video.
Will the bark change the color of fur I mostly trap snowshoe hare's in the winter there fur is so white?
That is a great question….
Did you try it? Maybe try cutting a piece off and trying it to see.
I might try it I am just going to stick with alum soda wash and borax thanks for the reply
This may sound like a stupid question but what do you use rabbit furs for?
Rabbit hides are often used in hats and mitts. I've also seen a full coat made of rabbit hide stitched together.
I’ve seen blankets stitched together/patch blankets from rabbit pelts.
Bushcraft applications are endless, including silencers on bows….. little fur scraps tied on to the bow string about 1/3 way up and down the bow…
How soon after skinning the rabbit do you need to do this? Can you process your rabbits, put the hides in the freezer and do this a week or so later?
Yes you can. I freeze my rabbit hides until I can get to them
does that mean you can use acorns to tan?
Yes
Do Alders work?
yes, alder bark is high in tannins and has been used in tanning for a long time. I have read a few times that it creates a brittle leather, but I have never experimented with it. I think with furs you would get really good results with it.
Would this work with wood ash lye? Wats a brain tan
You can google brain tan. Wood ash lye does not tan hides, and will actually make the fur fall out.
If you give it a lye bath you can strip the fur and if you then tan it you get leather
Though its better to learn stuff from someone that actually does leather, not halfbaked comments like mine
FBI.
Holland.
Kevin Holland.
Wants to skin me.
Like SEAL Team Six.
You hear, Admiral Franchetti?
Is this what you were
looking for?
You got it.
Thanks for this series. As a tree guy with a lot of meat rabbits I am excited to try out this method
I've got 3 skunks to tan. Hope it takes the smell away
With skunks you will probably want to de-odorize them before hand. That skunk essence is powerful stuff. It’s simple to do though. Mix 1 pint hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda, and 2 tsp dish soap in a bucket with 1-2 gallons of warm water. Put your skunk hides in and stir. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, wring them out and rinse, and the smell should be gone. Put them back in if still smelly and wait another 5-10. Use the deodorizing solution immediately when you make it. It deteriorates fast.
Did you give up on your tiktok page?
No, I post 4 times a week on TikTok, and have 1.1 million followers
@@sagesmokesurvival I never saw anything and I follow you on that that is why I asked.
You sed you was trapping if you ever get a opossum look at it under a uv light opossum glow pink
Good to know! There’s almost no opossums in south idaho where I live. They’re all up north or east coming over from the Oregon and Washington border