Making Buckskin

Last Updated on Sunday, 17 July 2011 21:09 Written by Stuartf Sunday, 17 July 2011 19:46

Back in April I was lucky enough to get a chance to work with this fine beast, and after skinning it I managed to procure the hide.



When back home I decided that I would turn the hide into buckskin as I have already tanned a hide with the hair left on.

So after scrapping off the meat and fats that were still attached to the hide, I put it into a bucket of water to make the hair slip.



After a few days in the water (which was changed daily) I tested it to see if the hair was slipping, but it was not quite ready yet. So after another few days it was slipping off nicely, at this stage you can just pull the hair out by hand.
Then it was back to scrapping.

Improvised scrape block.


A couple of me scrapping (by the way no laughing at the marigolds) I had a small cut on the hand and I didn't want to get it infected.That's my story and I'm sticking to it.......





So once the hide was de-fleshed, de-haired and the epidermis layer scraped off, it was now ready for the tanning process. Alas work was starting to get busy, so I put it into a poly bag and popped it into the freezer.

On Tuesday night I took the hide out and left it to defrost. The following morning it was down to the supermarket to get some liver and a half dozen eggs, which would be the tanning solution.
Back at home I minced the liver, then cooked it in a little bit of water until it took on a porridge like consistency. Once cooled I whisked in 3 eggs. After giving the hide a rinse, I worked the tanning solution into it.

Hide tanned, and then left overnight.



So yesterday after a good rinse to get all the solution off, it was time for the hard work to start.

Rinsed hide ready for working:



After wringing it to get as much water out as possible, I began pulling it this way and that way, stretching it over my knees, then more pulling until it was completely dry.

Here you can see the hide turning into buckskin, on the left the white dry buckskin, the yellow patches are where the hide is still damp and needs stretching and pulling until it dries.



So after about 6 -7 hours of non stop wrestling the hide was dry. Then I buffed it up on a rough piece of wood, a pallet that is in the garden did the job.

Here's the end product, lovely soft pale buckskin:



All that’s left to do is smoke it, so that if it gets wet it will not revert back to raw hide and need tanning all over again.