Tanning animal skins?

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Ash

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I hope I can first say to all the animal rights/vegan/vegetarian people on the forum:

This could be considered offensive, so please don't read.

I'm not looking to act in an inhumane way towards an animal.
I'm not looking to use 'chrome' tanning that pollutes the environment.
If you disagree with this thread please do not use it to air your views. I'm not interested in them.




Right, with that out the way, and all those potentially offended no longer reading..


Jay was good enough to send me 2 sheets of some REALLY nice goatskin a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I wasted a whole sheet when my inexperience led to the cut pieces not fitting the camera panels as I had hoped. If the skin doesn't stretch, it DOESNT stretch!! That leaves me with one sheet that I want to save until I can use it and get the desired result.


It left me thinking, can I tan some animal skin myself?




Right! Here are my main queries.


-Who here tans animal skins?

-Does anyone have an online resource for how to naturally tan skin using vegetable/bark tanning methods?

-Here in the UK, living in a house on a typical street, is it even possible to tan animal skin without messing up the house/garden/neighbour's garden? Do you need somewhere out of the way for the soaking of the skins etc?

-Are there any UK online sites that can provide various pre-tanned animal skin without being extortionately overpriced?

-Can I expect to walk into a butchers and ask for animal skin without being laughed out of the shop?


I forgot the rest of my questions, but pretty much any information that could help me sort myself more animal skins for projects would be a great help! I don't really want to keep resorting to charity shops looking for the cheapest nastiest leather jacket for materials 😀 😀
 
Oh I wanted to add, I'm also going to be looking into making at least one camera case/bag.... are there any online sites with information on preparing/sewing thick leather for making such things?

Thanks!
 
Ash said:
I hope I can first say to all the animal rights/vegan/vegetarian people on the forum:

This could be considered offensive, so please don't read.

I'm not looking to act in an inhumane way towards an animal.
I'm not looking to use 'chrome' tanning that pollutes the environment.
If you disagree with this thread please do not use it to air your views. I'm not interested in them................

Jay was good enough to send me 2 sheets of some REALLY nice goatskin a few weeks ago. Unfortunately I wasted a whole sheet when my inexperience led to the cut pieces not fitting the camera panels as I had hoped. If the skin doesn't stretch, it DOESNT stretch!! That leaves me with one sheet that I want to save until I can use it and get the desired result.


It left me thinking, can I tan some animal skin myself?




Right! Here are my main queries.


-Who here tans animal skins?

-Does anyone have an online resource for how to naturally tan skin using vegetable/bark tanning methods?

-Here in the UK, living in a house on a typical street, is it even possible to tan animal skin without messing up the house/garden/neighbour's garden? Do you need somewhere out of the way for the soaking of the skins etc?

-Are there any UK online sites that can provide various pre-tanned animal skin without being extortionately overpriced?

-Can I expect to walk into a butchers and ask for animal skin without being laughed out of the shop?


I forgot the rest of my questions, but pretty much any information that could help me sort myself more animal skins for projects would be a great help! I don't really want to keep resorting to charity shops looking for the cheapest nastiest leather jacket for materials 😀 😀
Click to expand...


Hi Ash

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, I tanned those goatskins myself using mango bark. Oak and sumach aren't easy to find in the tropics 🙂

As far as animal issues are concerned, what you're dealing with are really waste products- skins which would likely be discarded after the rest of the animal has been processed into food products.

http://braintan.com/ is a good on-line resource which should give you an idea of how 'natural' tanning goes. They also have a forum there, which, like the RFF have plenty of nice helpful folks who will answer your queries.

Bark tanning can be done in small plastic vats. A 20-litre plastic vat is sufficient for one or two goatskins. Bark tanning solution is just like strong tea. It has no offensive odours, nor is it really noxious or toxic. The same stuff gets washed off trees in heavy rain and goes to the ground. Other solutions involved would have lye, salt, and acetic acid. None of these are really environmentally harmful. Lye, when diluted, can be dumped into the drain. Its just like pouring drain cleaner. Nor does it harm the ground.

The worst I can say about bark tanning is that it's messy. But the mess it makes is easily washed by water.

A butcher's shop is a good source of skins. I am sure that they've had this sort of request sometime in the past. They may also skin in a special way so that the surface doesn't get damaged, cut, or perforated in the process.

Scout for sources which sell salted or dried hides. These are skins which have been semi-processed (ie, dried and salted)- which you must wash and rehydrate, flesh, and cure before tanning.

And last, try not to process skins from large animals. Though they promise the potential of having lots of skin in the process, scraping skin which once covered a horse, a steer, or a bull is not something you should look forward too🙂. Goats and pigs are more manageable.

Jay
 
And there was me thinking it would be a nice family rainy-day activity - parents and siblings working together to flesh one big cowhide 😀

Thanks for the replies Jay/Sparrow. It's given me a few extra hints on what to do if I get round to the project 🙂
 
I tanned animal hides a long, long time ago -- when I had a beard and lot of hair on top o' me head.

Two things to think about:

1. Humans have been tanning animal hide since they dragged their knuckles on the ground as they walked -- it can be done.

2. There is a reason why humans stopped tanning hides themselves and started relying on factories. Try it and you'll understand, perhaps.

3. There is also a reason why humans started buying pre-cut skins for their cameras from vendors who specialize in that specialty and have dies that are proven to be the correct size.

4. Besides oak, sumac, and mango bark... I believe urine was an old-time tanning solution. Just a vague memory, but you might want to check it out. Possibly this will be an easier soution than inviting the family to help you shred bark from the local trees. 😀
 
Brian, I can understand your first few points. They are also the ones the lazy side of my brain is trying to make me think about. I guess its another thing I want to try and see if I can't do 🙂

As for urine, I was hoping it wasn't just me who remembered hearing that somewhere. Then again asking the family to go in a piss-pot rather than the indoor plumbing may not go down well 😀
 
I encourage people to try doing things the old-fashioned way (by doing it rather than buying it) as much as their time permits. That's the reason I tried my hand at tanning hides. Good luck to you; I'm sure you'll succeed!
 
I see fresh sheep skins for sale once in a while but even that smallish animal looks big spread out on the ground, never mind rolling it up and sending it to you. So don't ask me please!

Bear in mind it's splattered in blood and hair too.

Perhaps your local slaughter house would be a good place to ask.

(And yes, it is urine that's often used.)
 
darkkavenger said:
You just gave me the half-shivering, half-amusing thought of a Kiev or a Leica with the classical black&white-spotted cowhide. Très chic! 😀
Click to expand...

For a Kiev it has to be Yak skin, tanned in mongolian pony urine of cause. This could be the way to change my Kievs odor, at last 🙂
 
This is the guy Ash needs:


I can see him right now from my window as I type.
 

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I'm doing this from memory - but - there is a way to tan skins using a solution of brains and something else. This was popular in the late 1800's. I'm sure there is something on the internet on this. Yes, tanning is from the ages, but it still is current and should be done.
Actuelly, my son did more of this than me. I learned a lot from him in this case. We streached a lot of skins and tanned them. I love leather anyway. I have made knife sheths, pistol holsters, and camers straps, etc. Nothing else like it - vinyl and polyester can't come close!!!😎
 
I'm doing this from memory - but - there is a way to tan skins using a solution of brains and something else. This was popular in the late 1800's. I'm sure there is something on the internet on this. Yes, tanning is from the ages, but it still is current and should be done.
Actuelly, my son did more of this than me. I learned a lot from him in this case. We streached a lot of skins and tanned them. I love leather anyway. I have made knife shethes,(sp?) pistol holsters, and camers straps, etc. Nothing else like it - vinyl and polyester can't come close!!!😎
 
BrianShaw said:
4. Besides oak, sumac, and mango bark... I believe urine was an old-time tanning solution. Just a vague memory, but you might want to check it out. Possibly this will be an easier soution than inviting the family to help you shred bark from the local trees. 😀
Click to expand...


It's also possible to buy (at least here) tannic acid powder which can be dissolved in water to make tanning solution. It's the same stuff extracted from bark. The tree from which the bark came from would determine the colour of the leather.

Urine, I think, is not really for tanning the hide. I believe it's used as a "bating" agent- to neutralise the lye or lime used to remove (the first chemical treatment) hair and epidermis. Tannins would be needed to "tan"
the hide.

Jay
 
dostacos said:
check out buckskinning....

BRAIN tanning comes to mind. stretch the hide, scrape it then rub the brain into the hide😱 😱
Click to expand...


Brain-tanning, which uses the animal's brain, would produce stretchy leather. Buckskin is one example of what braintanning does. It's really gross!😱 It's said that an animal has enough brains to tan its own hide.

There are brain matter substitutes. This would be fatty matter- I think olive oil and soap mixture is one.

Brain-tanned, alum-tawed, or non-tannin treated leather may not work well for
camera coverings. But they would do well for cases, bags, or straps.

Jay
 
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