Results of different methods of tanning

[GLocks]

Hello All, 

I am brand new to leather/fur making and have been doing research for about a week now to try and get my facts in order, but am a little confused. I am going hunting this weekend and am hoping to bring home a deer hide to do something with. To start, I have gathered that any process you use can either be done with the fur on or removed from the hide. If this is not true, please let me know. 

My confusion is, what is the difference between rawhide and leather? I read in a book that when people do things such as stretching, drying, not using salt, and applying the brain to the hide you will end up with rawhide, but then on other internet sites, they call the result of brain tanning leather. Also, I see many people  use the process for brain tan, but instead of using the brain, they use something store bought. Is this just because they do not want to use the brain? Then there is the added step of smoking hide. Why do some people do it and some not. Is this process rawhide or leather, and how do you tell the difference?

Also, where doe the term buckskin come into this. Thank you so much for all of your help!!

 

[Hags]

Welcome! I'm afraid I'm not going to be any help in this endeavor. I let Hermann Oak do all my tanning. Good luck!

[SUP]

You will need much longer than a week to learn enough about tanning to actually do it yourself, unless you get a person to actually guide you through the process.

 

[tsunkasapa]

Using the brains is a tanning method and will give you leather, not rawhide. Rawhide is just that, RAW hide, that has had all meat and fat scraped off with no further processing. And members of the deer family, (deer, elk) have hollow hair that breaks off very easily. So, hair on deer hides will shed FOREVER!

[chuck123wapati]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:31 AM, GLocks said:

Hello All, 

I am brand new to leather/fur making and have been doing research for about a week now to try and get my facts in order, but am a little confused. I am going hunting this weekend and am hoping to bring home a deer hide to do something with. To start, I have gathered that any process you use can either be done with the fur on or removed from the hide. If this is not true, please let me know. 

My confusion is, what is the difference between rawhide and leather? I read in a book that when people do things such as stretching, drying, not using salt, and applying the brain to the hide you will end up with rawhide, but then on other internet sites, they call the result of brain tanning leather. Also, I see many people  use the process for brain tan, but instead of using the brain, they use something store bought. Is this just because they do not want to use the brain? Then there is the added step of smoking hide. Why do some people do it and some not. Is this process rawhide or leather, and how do you tell the difference?

Also, where doe the term buckskin come into this. Thank you so much for all of your help!!

 

ok rawhide is literally raw hide, that means its been fleshed de haired, salted and dried. It has not been tanned.

buckskins is a word used to describe tanned deer hides. 

I will recommend before doing anything else buy the book  "deerskins into buckskins"  it will  tell you everything you need to know about brain tanning and explain everything very clearly.

my son and myself tan our hides and bought the book a few years ago  it is a godsend. don't listen to anyone else or read anything on the net, just buy the book and follow it.  the problem is there are few ways to do things and this book explains each one without confusing the issues. 

[chuck123wapati]

4 hours ago, SUP said:

You will need much longer than a week to learn enough about tanning to actually do it yourself, unless you get a person to actually guide you through the process.

 

no you don't. All you need is good info.

[MahaKhan]

Well, rawhide is the untreated, stiff animal skin before tanning, while leather is the processed and tanned product, offering a wide range of textures and uses. Tanning enhances the properties of rawhide, making it more versatile and suitable for a broader array of applications.