Depends a lot on the weather, soaking in lime water can speed the process up, two to three days to soak, ring it out after rinsing, then brain, then a day to dress and work the hide. Bucking, the process of using an alkali to break down the mucus membrane in the hide, can be as fast as two days, a short time, as fast as 20 minutes to actually brain the hide, and a few hours to work the hide down to the finished item. The hair and epidermus removel, "Graining" is accomplished by the alkali soak and much hard work with a fleshing tool and a beam. It can be done rather quickly but not in cold weather. The colder it is the longer it takes.crockett said:While on the subject of brain tan- how long does it take? I thought it was a rather lengthy process. The reason I ask is because there are several different period writings of the mountain men shooting animals to make moccasins and sometimes it speaks of the skins being "dressed" which might mean just the hair was taken off- I say that because they are camped at a spot only a couple of days.
If rawhide was used for the moccasins- then it seems to me the sideseam would be the most practical because I can't see trying to make any sort of puckered toe type. On the other hand the rawhide might have just been cut into soles but then that doesn't jibe with stuff you read about thorns piecing the mocassins.
Any how- how long does it take to brain tan a deer hide? One brain is just enough for one hide? How about that!
You can use the whole eggs, about a dozen to the hide, or just the yokes, as the yokes contain the needed fats that coat the individual fibers. Once you break the hide down and it is soft then you smoke it.paulvallandigham said:Is it true that you can use egg whites instead of brains to do this process?
And, if the two booklets I have on brain tanning are correct, do you have to then smoke the hide to set the tanning, after you have stretched out the hide, and rubbed it soft again?
Thanks for the great tutorial. I won't be drinking whiskey( altho I fondly remember those days), but a good 2 or 3 bottles of 7-up or something similar will help get that work done.
Humor always helps teaching. Always. :bow: :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:
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