MrAnderson817 Report post Posted March 2, 2018 Hey y'all. I'm new to the forum and new to leather making/leather work. I harvested my first deer in Nov and I've been attempting to tan the hide and turn it into workable/functional leather. Basically, I'm wanting to make a holster for my buddy, and a coin purse for my wife. I am trying to figure out if the end result (workable leather) has been reached or if I need to re-tan and continue stretching the middle. Or if i can resoak in water and stretch from there. Or if i need to stretch at all. I havent smoked the hide yet and I tanned using "Deer Hunter's & trapper's hide & fur tanning formula" Here are the images: My first tanned deer hide https://imgur.com/gallery/JxqN6 The white part (image 2) looks and feels like soft leather. It's not very thick, so I'd probably use that for the coin purse? I don't think it's split leather, but I'm also not entirely sure. The middle/tan part of the grain (image 3) is slick and much more thick. I'm thinking I need to stretch it more. But I'm worried about over stretching and essentially turning it into suede. I'm assuming this part of the hide would be best suited for the holster, based of it's overall thickness. Is the white part (image 2) the end point im looking for? Or have I gone too far and split the grain, when the tan part (image 3) is actually the endpoint? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! ☺️ P.S. If there is already a topic dedicated to this, I apologize. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ID45 Report post Posted March 4, 2018 Mr A first welcome to leatherworker and congrats on your first deer. I havent seen much discussion on home tanning on here but was an interest of mine when I first started. I've never heard of the tan you used but looks to me from your pics it should produce a white leather, it looks like it needs more stretching to me . IMHO buckskin is more of a garment/lining leather, not something I would use for a holster. I always used bark tan from "Van Dykes" taxidermy supply for everything from furs to bull hides with good results. Home tanning is a lot of work and don't expect perfect on your first try. Good luck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wyowind Report post Posted March 4, 2018 Those yellowish slick spots probably indicate that there is still some epidermis on the hide that needs to be scraped off. In the photos it looked like maybe some thicker white spots that might be able to be scraped down as well. I don’t know how you fleshed/grained the hide but if you did it with a fleshing knife when it was wet, you might want to re-wet it and work to get that stuff off (but be careful not to slip and put holes in it - I’ve done that and pretty much ruined a hide). In the photo it looks like you’ve got it stretched in a frame so you might be able to dry scrape it. I’ve only used brains or lecithin to do hides so I’m not familiar with the commercial tanning formulas. As far as stretching, when you think you’ve got it stretched enough, it probably needs to be stretched some more (it’s a pain in the butt but a very important step) because it loosens up the fibers before you smoke it. You could grab some buddies and have a stretching/pulling party (as in photo) or you could set up a vertical stretching post and work the hide on that. A post is good for getting close to the edges... As ID45 said, deer hide is probably a little light/thin for a holster but that’s just our opinions... If you take any of my suggestions, be careful. You’ve done a lot of work on the hide so I wouldn’t want you to take a chance on ruining it, especially your first one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wyowind Report post Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) Here are a few photos of some stretching posts in case you are not familiar with them... Edited March 4, 2018 by Wyowind Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
