Buffalo Problems

[Andy Mueller]

I'm in the process of tanning a buffalo hide, but I've run into a few snags. In the books I have it says to remove the flesh and the fat, but how do you tell the difference between the flesh/fat and the skin? Should it be that blue color all over? I think I've got it all, but this things heavier than the fat lady at the opera. I can't even begin to run it over a metal wire because its too heavy. What do I do? My tool is also wacky. The books show great pictures of the original fleshing tools but didn't go into detail about how the blades were shaped. Mine must be shaped funny because it catches the hide and makes scores that go deeper than I want to admit. What Should I do?

PLEASE HELP ME
Scouter

 

[Bill Austin]

You might want to find Wes Housler's video on brain tanning buffalo. A good scraper with a sharp blade is very important. It's also easier to let the hide dry a little bit before you start thinning. The hide will probably need to be thinned quite a bit in the hip area and along the spine and hump and around the neck. Good luck.

 

[CrackStock]

Was that buffler stumblin?

Seriously, what are you using for a scraper and how are you securing the hide? Do you have a backing or is the hide simply hanging?

If you are getting gouges in the hide, then you have sharp corners or a burr that needs to be filed out.

CS

 

[paulvallandigham]

A hide scraper should look like an eskimo Ulu knife, except instead of having a sharp edge, ( Diamond cut profile) The edge should be squared, ( rectangular profile) like any scraper you would use to remove wood from a gunstock. You don't " SLice " with a scraper, You SCRAPE- a scratching motion, either forward or backward, as you feel most comfortable doing. The fat is easiest to remove. The skin is a very thin membrane, which is often difficult to remove. Use a medium sand paper to get at the tough connecting tissue when the scraper seems to not be able to do the job. You will be left with a bluish color hide read for tanning. Don't think you can do this in one sitting, unless you have fingers hands and wrists made of steel. Scraping any hide is tough physical labor, and if you are not cutting wood every day with an axe, your hands are just not up to the task. Take your time and do it right. Check whatever blade you are using for too sharp an edge, or burrs, or both, and remove them. Yes, keep a knife around with a razor edge, to help cut away some of the tissue from connecting sinew. But don't use that same knife for " scraping. "

If you can't find an Ulu, look around the gourmet food shops for a dough knife to cut up fresh dough for baking bread. The edge is rounded in a half moon arc, and you can easily convert it into a scraper by using a draw fill to flatten and square the edge. I see some in estate and antique auctions and sales, and many are very old and dull, and would make great hide scrapers without any additional work.