how to tan a deer hide

[Thesquirrelslinger]

Ok. so a friend of mine gave me a hide he cut off of a deer without scraping much stuff off. Virtually no meat on it, but lotsa fat, and plenty of blood.
he hosed it, and dried it without salting. it reminds me of a thin board. Hair still on. I want to keep the hair on and render it softish- enough to make a vest.

[CherokeeKC]

You have to scrape the fat/membrane off.  You can dry or wet scrape.  Usually you dont dry the hide until the meat/fat/membrane is scraped off.

[aaron]

Squirrel, even simple directions on how to tan a hide would be pages and pages of info. Why don't you do some searching here or on paleoplanet- once you understand the basics, then you can ask us some clarifying questions, but for now your question is just too big. It's like asking "how do you make a bow?". For now, just keep it dry. Most deer hides "cut off a deer" by someone who has no knowledge of tanning will be peppered with tiny cuts that make the process of tanning much harder. Tanners who skin deer hardly use a knife, pulling it off instead.

[Outbackbob48]

Just a suggestion, hair on deerhide clothing is not very durable, deer hair is hollow and breaks easily  so usually have deer hair on everything. Brain tanned deerhide on the other hand is very durable an makes beautiful garments. also agree with others braintanning is a huge subject to explain.

[stickbender]

     X 2 

                                         You might want to check out "Deer skins into buckskins", by Matt Richards, and you will see what the others are talking about when they say there is too much to go into, to answer your questions.

                                                          Wayne

                             

[CPLSeraphim]

I too am just getting into tanning furs as well. I searched on youtube, as I am a visual learner, and 1000 pages typed would do me no good. lol. There are different methods, and I have watched a few, from braintanning to using lots of salt and water. I would suggest watching some of those videos to see which method you want to start with, and go from there. Or maybe asking which method would be best for this project, then watching some of those to get the idea, and go from there. Good luck, as I am also curious about what deerhide would be good for.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

I am thinking about using salt.
Probably going to make a quiver out of it.

[CPLSeraphim]

squirrelslinger, please post how it works out for you, and maybe pics throughout the process. I would greatly appreciate it. This is my first year furtaking, so I am completely new at this, so Your experience just starting out would be a great help. Good luck as well. (As for salts, I keep hearing make sure its not iodine salt. just a heads p)

[nclonghunter]

Braintan leather is a garment type tan giving a very soft and comfortable finish. Bark tan is more of a thicker firmer tan used for utility projects such as heavy mocs, belts and bags. Van Dykes offers a Quebracco vegetable tan that gives a bark tan result. It's good to know how to do both..
Good luck

[Trapper Rob]

Like stickbender said get the book it's very good & easy to understand.

[Wylden Freeborne]

Just a suggestion, hair on deerhide clothing is not very durable, deer hair is hollow and breaks easily  so usually have deer hair on everything. Brain tanned deerhide on the other hand is very durable an makes beautiful garments. also agree with others braintanning is a huge subject to explain.

Could not agree more. nothing is less comfy than pieces of deer hair in your parts. Buckskin is the way to go, then line it with rabbit hides, which are easy to find, easy to tan hair on and are warmer than deer hair!