Author Topic: smoking braintan (Read 3920 times)

Abo · « **on:** January 22, 2016, 10:00:12 pm »

I am really just kneading some feedback from anyone who does braintan on what you use to smoke to get a dark colour in your hides. I normally use oak or cottonwood and I always get more of a golden colour than brown. Has anyone used pine bows and what colour does that give? I have enough hides to make a pair of pants and long shirt but was thinking of going to the trouble of smoking if I could get them darker. Headed to rendezvous this weekend here in Texas. This will be my first since 2 years ago so I'm looking forward to that. Wish I had my new skins made up but too late getting started even though I have my old ones on standby. Wish y'all could be there. Thanks for the help.

nclonghunter · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2016, 10:09:13 pm »

Not sure what wood will give you a darker color but I would avoid wood with a smoke resin like pine that has a black suet to it. Same reason not to burn pine in a home fireplace. I have seen that the longer and more you smoke it the darker it becomes when using hardwood decayed punk wood. Just smoke it long time.

Redhand · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2016, 01:04:02 am »

I use punky cotton wood. My experience is that the longer you smoke it the darker it gets.

riverrat · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2016, 05:13:39 am »

im gonna give you some advice that if used will yield you not only a beautiful colored hide but something that smells wonderful.....and for years! at most pet supply places they sell huge bags of cedar chips that have that cedar smell. build your hard wood fire.let it burn down to coals maybe keeping a couple small sticks going through the process of smoking to keep it hot enough to slowly burn the "damp" cedar chips. yep use damp cedar chips. the longer you smoke the hide, the darker it gets.Tony

BowEd · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2016, 08:27:41 am »

Cool your revisiting your old rendezvous circuit and loop.I'm sure you'll see old friends.To me it is'nt any trouble at all to smoke these hides.It's just another step to getting what I want.Lots of choices out there for fuel to smoke with.I've personally always have used shag bark hickory bark.It can be golden if not smoked too much.The longer the darker brown.Personally I may smoke mine darker for the reason that when they get wet and dry out and get scuffed to softness again they will lose a little color or lighten up a bit.I don't want to have to resmoke mine again too quick.I use the old tri pod set up with the hide sewen into a tube and force the smoke through the leather.A word of caution doing it my way.You need to sit there and baby sit your smoking procedure to avoid any flame ups.If you don't want to baby sit it then just hang it up in the teepee for a few days and the smoke will adhere to the leather.Which I'm not a big fan of really.

BowEd · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2016, 08:49:41 am »

The nicest color or trick to it is to not have such overly hot smoking going on[too many coals].It will get too dark quickly before you know it.If you can't keep your hand inside there for very long it's too hot.

Outbackbob48 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2016, 10:53:23 am »

I believe heat has more to do with color than type of wood, cool smoke lighter colors, hot smoke darker, just my .02 worth. Bob

mullet · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2016, 09:50:02 pm »

I'm gonna dye my pants with Walnut Hull dye as dark as I can and then re-smoke.

Abo · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2016, 10:10:55 pm »

Thanks everyone for all the good advice I appreciate y'all taking the time to give the benifit of your knowledge. I think the big thing is that I probably am not smoking long enough to darken them before I call em done plus with my setup with a small BBQ pit and a 4 " gutter pipe 5 ft. Long the smoke is pretty cool by the time gets to hide. I believe I'll give smoking over a hole in the ground with a tripod and skirt for more volume. I also like the idea of using cedar chips for that nice cedar smell. I did make a mess on a hide useing something that had suet in it. Luckily I only got it on the flesh side of the hide. Wont do that again.Hadn't thought of dyeing before smoking Id like to see a picture of how that turns out.THanks again for everyone's input.

BowEd · « **Reply #9 on:** January 24, 2016, 07:07:10 am »

Yep your smoke is too cool.
I use a 1/3 piece of a 30 gallon steel barrel open on both ends for a fire pit with a skirt sewn to the bottom edge of the hide that will touch the barrel edges.I can regulate the smoke easy that way peeking in.

Abo · « **Reply #10 on:** January 25, 2016, 12:48:41 am »

Thanks Beadman I'll rig up that way it just so happens I have about a 1/3 piece of a drum that I can use. Do you just set the drum on the ground and get your coals going and go to smoking or do you need a draft hole?

Pappy · « **Reply #11 on:** January 25, 2016, 04:15:27 am »

I use punk wood and I want cool smoke, the longer and more smoke that rolls the darker it gets. I sew the hide up like a sack with the bottom open, the bottom [neck area] I also have a pants leg from the pipe to the hide that goes over a pipe coming from my smoker/1/2 of a 55 gallon barrel with a hole in the top. I put hot coals under the barrel and then cover them with punk wood I have about 6 foot of pipe to cool the smoke before it gets to the hide, I don't want to cook it just smoke it and I want the smoke to penetrate the hide well for water proofing.

Takes about 30 to 40 minutes a side if I have a good smoke rolling. You can also do like Eddie if you just want dark.

Pappy

Abo · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2016, 12:14:30 am »

Thanks Pappy.

chamookman · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2016, 03:32:37 am »

Steve Davis smokes His skins by hanging them in His TeePee, with a smudge fire. Bob

Pappy · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2016, 04:22:50 am »

I have thought about making a smoke house to do several at a time and it would save sewing them up, the only problem is if all you want is the color that is fine, but to get true water proofing the smoke has to penetrate through the hide and the Christos deposit from the smoke gets between the fibers to keep them from binding back after it gets wet so it will dry soft again without having to stretch and pull until it dries, that is what the sock does, if forces the smoke through the hide not just around it.

Pappy

Primitive Archer