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stiff beaver hide

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You ain’t gonna like this but it’s the way I was taught, and it is WORK!!
Soak it lightly, not soaking wet but more like a light dampness. Work it over a cable that is strung tight between two trees. Only working the skin side so no hair is removed. Objective is only to break apart the fibres. Work it as much as you can then let it dry out of the sun until the next day. Repeat daily until you are happy (likely about a week).
Note: if it gets too soaking wet there is a high likelihood of hair slippage.
Walk
 
I understand the shipping issue, but otherwise my impression is that the great majority of hides were stretched, then stacked and transported flat. The reason for this is that the commercial worth that fueled the fur trade era was not the use of the hide for leather, it was the fur that was removed, soaked, compacted, and felted for making men's hats. I'm sure a small percentage may have been tanned fur-on, for making women's hand-muffs, etc., but I suspect the majority of hides were discarded as a by-product. My experience has been that it just isn't that strong or durable a hide for leather, a nd it takes a LOT of degreasing to get it ready for taking the tanning solution or paste.
That being said, I don't doubt that one might have encountered one that was tanned,or more likely "stuffed" with some type of oil, but native tanning processes will cause the fur to "slip" with any regular use, just as one gets if you attempt to brain tan deerhide with the hair still on.
 
The only one I've ever bought was still in the willow hoop. Dried only.
 

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