Im brain tanning a buffalo hide. pics up!

[sleek]

Pappy, if I had a fleshing beam I would certainly have used it. But now that I am considering doing another bison hide I may build one.

[Knoll]

My lift pole on my tipi has a willow framed horse tail on the tip that freaked out a lady once thinking it was really a scalp from a person.....

        

[sleek]

Beadman, I like your scraper idea. I think I'm gonna use that.  As for brains, my wife strongly prefers i dont use them. And as I dont want her repulsed by this hide any more than she already is, I am going to stick with eggs. I may be buying soy lecithin as well to add so I am not using so many eggs.

[Pappy]

I just split a 12 across Poplar log about 6 foot long in half and debarked it. I rounded a notch in the top half so it would lay up against a post and that's all was to it. I drape the hide over the top and that holds it in place while I work the lower 2/3 , then flip it over and do the last 1/3. As far as brains or eggs, Eggs repulse me more. I get the brains mixed like I want and then bring to a low slow boil just for a minute to maybe kill any bad things in it  and then go at it. Smells like a broth cooking.  Makes your hands soft and smooth to boot.   Lots of ways to get the job done and you seem to be doing just fine, I for sure ant telling you how to do it, just how I do it.  :)Like building bows, lots of ways to get to the end product and that is really all that matters.
 Pappy

[sleek]

I got your meaning Pappy. Id rather use brains. For my next one I will. I am strongly considering getting another hide in the next few days before they loose their winter coat. I would like to do one and raffle it off at the newly formed Nowata Oklahoma Classic and Knap in.

[sleek]

So I went and forged a file into a scraper. Wow, what a difference. This bad bow performs! Im now wondering how thin is too thin?

As I get this thinner I see the hide deform. Not saying its a bad thing, im just noticing it form ripples and pockets in the hide. Im thinking when I take it off the frame and wash the fur real good it will rehydrate, then it should even back out. Then I will apply the tan mix to it and re rack it to stretch and soften. Probably gonna re rack at pats house in a couple weeks to do the softening in frame and smoke it.

[sleek]

http://www.braintan.com/bison/bisonarticle4.html

I am adding this link because it answers my question on how thin is good. It also says that one good pulling on a properly thinned robe will be enough to soften. A robe should be the thickness of medium weight paper. What you are basically tanning on a robe is the grain and a little of the dermis layer. There isnt much hide you are actually tanning.  Im noticing i really feel that with too much pressure a stick could be pushed through it. Paper really does define how this skin feels.

[Lumberman]

Wow I definitely would have thought that sounds too thin, but never done it for a robe.. Gotta try the fleshing beam for your next one. Makes using a longer blade much more feasible too. But I've never had the guts to try an at home project like yours, most of the bear skins were doing were for wall spreads

[sleek]

I would imagine wall spreads take much less attention. A fleshing beam is in my future, this is for sure.

[BowEd]

Sleek....I used to take mine to the car wash and clean it up real good.It did the job.I'm not much for that thinning the hide stuff.Just my opinion that's all.I go with the ages of the animal for thickness.A yearling cow killed in the fall still yields a good 30 square foot robe.The late winter killed buffalos' leather will actually be thicker.Not just the epidermis.With deer it's the same.Mother nature taking care of it's critters.That's why most hides are best harvested in the fall after fur up and before deep into winter for more convenient brain tanning.There's a fine line in timing the harvesting of fur in all animals.For looks and tanning both.
Done them on fleshing beams too.It works fine,but for brain tanning I prefer to flesh in the hide in the frame.While fleshing the hide loosens so it's retightened and stretched more and more.Helps with brain oil penetration into more stretched fibers and in the end which leads to a softer hide.It will take a lot more than just one pull on your robe to soften it.Even though it is thinned out.Roping a big hide like that is exhausting to say the least.
I know this may sound like a sermon but I'm talking from experience.

[Outbackbob48]

Brain twice and soften once on whitetails. I think your gonna soften a lot of times on that buff hide, Just sayin. Most of my whitails that I braintan hair off and end up softing at least twice, I have only done a couple doz deer so still learning. Good Luck and my hats off to ya for starting such a big project. Bob

[tipi stuff]

As I said, thin, thin, thin. Something a friend pointed out to me once: many of the old original robes have a small, crescent shaped hole in the hip area. That is from a scraper blade as a hole was popped in the hide while thinning.    Curtis

[sleek]

Well this is going to be a very accurate reproduction lol. I done that in a few spots. Not bad, just a few razor slits where it got too thin.

[sleek]

So, as i scrape to tje white fluffly buff, i am noticing the skin wantsnto washboard on me. Where it forms tiny ripples just like when a knife chatters across wood. I dont know whats causing this but its starting to be ome a problem as i get thinner.

[BowEd]

Go across the washboards the other way to shave them off.60 grit sand paper can help finish the job.Most times the wash boarding is telling you the hide is not dry enough.Using a scraper can have a learning curve.Angle adjustment etc too.