First Success!

I tried that Murphy's Oil Soap tan Zass posted about a while ago....and it worked! No fur slip, and done in less than 24 hrs! The color and texture reminds me of how buckskin looks...kind of crinkly and white. It smells nice and is kind of soft...but I could have done a better job breaking it. And probably fleshing it too. There are flaky membranous things on the leather side. (Is that normal, and usually gets sanded off, or a result of poor fleshing?)
Here is a picture of the skin side...with a little help from a small, chubby foot...
[album]3381[/album]
I am very happy with it! My first success in this venture of tanning... The last time I tried tanning rabbit hides was when I was a young pre-teen/early teen. It wasn't terribly successful, though I do remember a few hides that managed to make it all the way. I distinctly remember it being very tedious, and struggling the most with the fleshing portion. I lost a few hides to maggots while they waited for me to flesh them....
Now I know a little more, and the fleshing went much smoother with yesterday's hide.
How durable is this type of tan? I know it shouldn't get wet...but could I make a blanket out of furs tanned this way? If it was broken well, would it lay flat, or is the 'lumpiness' just a result of the hide coming from a non-flat rabbit?

Here's the fur side....since it's pretty...[album]3380[/album]

That's awsome. I apologize I can't give you any advice. Tanning will be my next adventure. It sure looks like you did an excellent job to me.

Great job!! Tanning is something I want to try, but am a bit intimidated by the process .

For a blanket, do you just sew the pieces together and leave both sides "raw", or do you add some kind of backing to it?

I would assume you would sew some sort of lining to the back side but again I honestly don't know, and I don't like to assume things either. However it's done I know it will keep you nice and warm on a cold winters night that's FUR sure!

II Arrows":75e4l22w said:

That's awsome. I apologize I can't give you any advice. Tanning will be my next adventure. It sure looks like you did an excellent job to me.

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Thanks!

heritage":75e4l22w said:

Great job!! Tanning is something I want to try, but am a bit intimidated by the process .

For a blanket, do you just sew the pieces together and leave both sides "raw", or do you add some kind of backing to it?

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I know the feeling...I was rather hesitant to start, but the other day I was in a very motivated mood and was willing to try it. Now I'm feeling a lot better about the process (especially the fleshing part), and am entertaining ideas of pulling some pelts out of the freezer! :mrgreen:
I really don't know how to make a blanket....I was thinking maybe sewing/lacing the trimmed hides together. I was going to research it before trying it. Anyway....I would need LOTS more tanned furs! I like the idea a lot though...considering how cold the winters have been the last two years!

Looks awesome!!
Every time I process, I just look at the fur and waste it. Maybe I'll give it a go next time around.
Thanks for the inspiration

rabbit skin is so fragile when it's on the animal, I doubt it would hold up if just sewn together. You would have to have a very sturdy backing for that. Here's an alternative that doesn't put any stress on the skin. You make spiral strips and wrap the fur around leather thongs, then you weave the furred thongs with plain leather thongs.....the article explains better, and I haven't done it myself, but have spent sleepless nights imagining how it would work.
http://www.primitiveways.com/rabbit_skin_blanket.html

could you share how you did the tanning?

owlsfriend":33754pm0 said:

rabbit skin is so fragile when it's on the animal, I doubt it would hold up if just sewn together. You would have to have a very sturdy backing for that. Here's an alternative that doesn't put any stress on the skin. You make spiral strips and wrap the fur around leather thongs, then you weave the furred thongs with plain leather thongs.....the article explains better, and I haven't done it myself, but have spent sleepless nights imagining how it would work.
http://www.primitiveways.com/rabbit_skin_blanket.html

could you share how you did the tanning?

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Oh wow! What an interesting process! I would have never thought to do that!

owlsfriend":1hm6egzx said:

rabbit skin is so fragile when it's on the animal, I doubt it would hold up if just sewn together. You would have to have a very sturdy backing for that. Here's an alternative that doesn't put any stress on the skin. You make spiral strips and wrap the fur around leather thongs, then you weave the furred thongs with plain leather thongs.....the article explains better, and I haven't done it myself, but have spent sleepless nights imagining how it would work.
http://www.primitiveways.com/rabbit_skin_blanket.html

could you share how you did the tanning?

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I have the same concerns regarding the fragility of rabbit furs...the are so delicate (especially as fryers!)

Hmmm...interesting blanket idea! Now, I'll be spending sleepless nights trying to figure out exactly how to make it work! :roll: :lol:

I basically followed the process in this thread...http://rabbittalk.com/tanning-with-murphy-s-oil-soap-experiment-t22302.html#p238867

I skinned the rabbit (it was 9 weeks old), rinsed the fur, since it got a little blood on it, and rinsed the flesh side since I dropped it in the dirt. :| Rinsing it also cooled it off quickly. I stuck it in the fridge until I could get to it (about 1 hr or 2 later). I then fleshed it using a very dull knife that had a cheapo serrated edge. It worked pretty well. I ended up ripping some holes in the hide near the edge where it was very thin, because I was holding the hide with one hand and scraping the flesh off with the other. The tension tore it. I'm not sure if I was just supposed to remove the fat and flesh adhering to the surface, or if I should have removed the thin membrane beneath, also. I was afraid to make it too thin and tear more holes in it... :shrug:
When I took breaks, I popped it in the freezer, to keep it cool. I was afraid the hair would slip, since the skin was getting very warm while I fleshed it. Also, I laid it on a towel to dry the fur at the same time as fleshing.
After that was finished, I poured some Murphy's Oil Soap onto the skin side and rubbed it all over the surface. I did enough that it was visible on the surface, but not so much it ran off if I tilted the hide. Then I folded it in half, skin side to skin side, and laid it in the fridge. I left it uncovered so it could start drying a little. I ended up waiting two or three hours before pulling it out of the fridge, and hanging it in front of a fan.
As it hung in front of the fan, I checked it periodically to stretch and work it as it dried. It took a while before it got dry enough where it would turn white when I stretched it, but when it got to that point, I stretched and worked it more often.
It wasn't completely dry by the time I went to bed for the evening, so I popped it in the freezer overnight so I wouldn't turn into a board by morning. In the morning I continued the process of working and stretching it until it was dry.
There were a couple spots that were taking WAY longer than the rest of the hide to dry, and I ended up just cutting them off and throwing them out. The edges are stiffer then the middle, but that is a result of my inadequacy at working/breaking it. I suppose I will get better with practice.

So, there ya go! That is what I did!

Tanning has a heck of a learning curve too, and I think you did great!!!! Especially since it was a fryer pelt.

Some thoughts...

A little flesh left on in spots makes things take longer to dry and makes those places harder to break, so that may have been your problem.

I prefer a smooth curved dull blade to a serrated blade for fleshing, but EVERYONE has different fleshing preferences so find what works for you. I also have a 2 ft section of 1/2 and oak log I use to help with fleshing inside, and the curved surface it REALLY helps.

The edges of a pelt are always always stiffer then the rest. I just get as close to the edges as I can (mouse sander helps with this), and then trim the edges as part of finishing.

If pelts are coming out very papery or crinkly, I usually take it as a sign that they need more oil.
I have been experimenting with adding a little olive oil to my oil soap and have enjoyed the results thus far.
Hmmm...fur-on complicates things..
I just did some hair off deer hides that required rewetting and rebreaking 3 times to get as buckskin soft as I wanted them to be..

With the syntan I use for fur done for customers, I can re-wet and re-break fur pelts as many times as it takes. <br /><br /> __________ Wed Aug 12, 2015 5:13 pm __________ <br /><br /> I'm solving the problem of fryer pelts being to thin by adding a few large growout pens to the rabbitry.
The harlequins take longer to grow out than the meat mutts did, and forage fed rabbits grow more slowly too. So I'm going to try processing in the 14-16 week range, and by then, the pelts should be thick enough to sew together... but I'll probably still use some interfacing when I go to make a blanket, just to make sure it's durable.

Zass":3m0nw58g said:

Tanning has a heck of a learning curve too, and I think you did great!!!! Especially since it was a fryer pelt.

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Thanks!
I'll keep my eyes out for a carpet knife type of tool, but the serrated knife worked pretty well, I think(but I have nothing to compare it to). I don't have a dull curve-edged tool laying around, that I know of...

This type of tan is similar to a brain tan, if I understand correctly. Does that mean smoking it would make it waterproof?
Have you ever smoked furs?

I've never smoked furs, but from everything I've read on the subject, smoking would definitely help make the flesh side more water resistant (but not waterproof).