Braining tanning a complete hide

[jouLe]

Hi all - I am new here, and in short - a young "homesteader" who is about to butcher my first home raised steer. I want to make the most of every bit of this animal, and of course, the hide is on the list of useful items. I have heard of brain tanning but know little about it, including the most efficient means of removing the brain from the skull without the use of power tools. I am seeking any and all tips and advice on this from anyone who has done it. Thank you!

jouLe

[Romey]

Wow you really like to jump with both feet. Braining tanning a complete hide is ALOT of work and i do mean ALOT. If your set on doing something with the hide yourself it may be a good thing to start by making raw hide which Kevin Willy recently did a picture tutorial in pretty good detail of the process. Save the braintanning to smaller critters. But the basic hair ON process this.

Flesh it

Dry it

Flesh it on a beam

Flesh it some more

Wash it

Dry it

liquify the brains, (for a yearlin your gunna need ALOT)

Rub it all in and and then start the softening process

In the old days the Lakota women chewed it,Got all winter? Many now stetch it over something like a cable or smaller beam

Once soft you smoke it to water proof it

This isnt gunna tell you how to do it as there is alot of smaller tricks and tips but just a idea on whats involved

It takes me about 3 solid days to brain tan a coyote not including time to chase off fleas

[ClayB]

http://braintan.com/

[Luke Hatley]

Hello there.........

braintan.com is the way to go.

Be prepared to spend ...8 hrs with that hide from start to finish.

I personally have not brain tanned any hides and dont want to.

But i do know several Buckskinners that have.

go for it.

[Romey]

eight hours? for a full yearling steer?

[jouLe]

Jump in with both feet? Who, me? Well maybe just a little. I do have all winter, as it turns out. I have all the time I need. Being my own boss is nice that way ) I am dead set on doing it myself, though I am not necessarily dead set on BRAIN tanning, I am dead set on tanning. Or, maybe I'm not. Maybe rawhide would be just as useful. I am not set on keeping the hair on, either, though it might be nice to have black hair on chaps to go with my black horses... hmm... morbid, in a strange sort of way. Anyway, the hide is not my only concern in the processing of this beef, so can I put it in the freezer for a while until I am ready to start? Do I have to salt it before freezing, or just roll it up and freeze it? I am checking out braintan.com in the meantime. ***edit: WOW! Excellent site!! *** Thanks for the tips thus far! Could you point me to the picture tutorial you mentioned?

Edited November 6, 2007 by jouLe

[rawhide1]

joule Welcome I think ya can just roll the hide up and freeze i've done that with smaller pelts and it worked fine. Look under braiding in the forum for the tutorial on making rawhide it's by KAW good luck Mike

[jouLe]

Thanks Mike! I have just spent the last 4 hours or so on braintan.com! Excellent resource! I think I will freeze this hide for now and try to find some smaller hides for starters. Deer season is coming up here, so I will put the word out. Sure glad I stopped by, you haven't heard the last from me!

[Romey]

joule,

I am by no means trying to turn you off doing anything just wanted you to know the scope of project and yes it WILL talk you all winter to do a hide of that size. I am having a Buff tanned chemically by a professional tanner and the turn around time for that is 2 months(im sure his scheduale has something to do with that). Like I said it takes me a good 3 days for a coyote sized critter. You want to salt it if you freeze it or not, it is part of the drying process especcially of a hide that size. If you need or want any help shoot me a PM.

BTW I only mentioned the hair on process to save time in quickly exsplaining the process as there is more steps to hair off.

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

Just make sure you DON'T want to make rawhide from it before you salt it, because you can't use salted hides to make good rawhide.

[Romey]

Good catch, Rod and Denise, I was back to assuming the tanning was still on.

[jouLe]

Nothing's on yet, still in decision mode... with another Q: If you are going to tan a steer hide with the hair ON, what is it that keeps the hair from slipping? Is there a particular time in the cycle of shedding & hairing up when you DON'T try to keep the hair on, for one reason or another (and what be the reasoning?) If I leave the hair on it will be with the intended purpose of making chaps. I have made batwing chaps with commercial leather, but not sure if the steer (bovine) is the best for hair on chaps or not? How 'bout even pretty good?

I did a lot of reading on the braintan.com site and I think if I decide to go hair off I will wait until spring, go up to the cabin at the creek, and buck the hide in wood ash & water, as I can let it rinse in the creek. My water supply here is not one that I can leave running for 48 hours (or even for 2 hours). If I tan it at home I will likely pre-smoke it. I think I will trim the legs off and practice on them so I don't mess up the full hide on my first shot. THAT would be disappointing!

THANKS!