I tanned a hide last year that turned out great with crow tan (LYE BASED) nice and soft. I am thinking of trying a brain tan if it is worth the time. Anyone have a link or a coment?? I only have one deer brain and that is still in the skull. is that enough? Thanks.
G
Google "brain tanning" and you should find lots of information that is where I did my search last year. Off the top of my head I recall reading that every animal has enough brain to tan its own hide...
I also recall people claiming it is not a good way to go but can not recall why. If no one answers before I get home, I will look it up and post it later.
evry animal hide can be tanned with it's own brain. It is a bit of work, but the results can be rewarding.
The only two I can think of that can not be tanned with only their own brains are teenagers and buffalo. Seriously one brain is enough just add plenty of elbow grease. Are you wanting hair on or hair off? I have a how to tape I sell cheap on hair off braintan it is the dryscrape method. Mike Smyth
I brain tanned a squirrel skin once and made a bracer out of it. The only thing I can say is, get ready for ALOT of buffing.
Check out "deerskins to buckskins" by Matt Richards.
Eric
braintan.com has a whole lot of info on braintaning. Yes 1 brain per hide is enough to do a good job. Last two that I did I only had one brain so I added a dozen good eggs and both hides came out just fine. The Matt Richard material is great if you need more info or to see it in action with the DVD.
It is alot of work. "breaking" the hide until dry may take several hours and must be done in one sitting (after the hide is dry some additional softening can be done) , no taking breaks (unless there are others to help you) or coming back to it the next day. Of course many other home tanning methods take a similar amount of work. The up shot is that brain-tanned, wood-smoked buckskin can be beautiful, extremely soft and pliable with a nice odor and good strength.
If you don't use the brains from the same animal as the hide you can also use pig brains, cow brains could also be used but they are hard to obtain sometimes because of health concerns.
Juniper Bow
Juniper, you can take breaks if ya want too. If you are gonna get back to it he same day just put it in a plastic bag and keep cool. The moisture in skin will still stay in the skin. If you may not get to it for a few days or even months bag and freeze with same results. Trust me I braintan a lot of skins and make clothes from them. I freeze almost everyone I do for other reasons as well. One, it helps breakdown the fibers from the freezing action i.e. little bits of ice in between fibers will stretch them with no physical labor. Two, any crystals that are in the bag and on the skin are tiny bits of water that can be shaken from the skin which equals less effort to dry. Try this on the next one you brain and see if you think it helps. Mike Smyth
i have tanned many furs/hides using brains. I like to add more than what the critter provides because i do several at a time(hog brains work great-cuz i work on a hog farm!). If you are in a fix, you can make a pretty good breaking board by putting the head of a shovel in a vise and drawing your hide over it.
What's crow tan?
is a commercial tanning agent that taxidermist use. It is good stuff.
Braintan.com, will give you all he info you need, as well a Matt Richards book and video. I usualy use a mixture of liquid Ivory soap and Neatsfoot oil. 3 parts soap to 1 part oil. Also a dozen eggs will do, but does turn the hide a yellow color. No problem, if you are going to smoke it, which is the last step, and is highly recomended.
Soap & oil, tend not, to draw the flys as much as real brains. One drawback, if your going to make clothing for hunting, the Ivory soap leaves the hide smelling fresh and clean, like the proverbial "spring day". Hopefully a good smoking session will cover this scent. The smoke is pretty powerful, and smells like the woods.
One bit of advice, it helps to have all the help you can get...
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/Icetray68/P7030001-1.jpg)
Good Luck,
Greg