Not enough brains, what now?

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GBov

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Am in the middle of two rabbit hides but they - despite almost constant working - are drying stiff and crinkly, like there wasn't enough brains to get in really well.

So can I let them dry out half worked and then soak them in beaten eggs and work again?
 
ME TOO! Brains! Brains!

Seriously though, can you use a natural oil? Like olive oil? I don't know anything about tanning, especially brain tanning. Though I'm reading and learning and it's so interesting.
 
Soaking them in beaten eggs as you would brains should work fine. Just be sure to only use the yolk. Do not let the egg white get into the solution, as it will only dilute it and make it harder to be absorbed. I would also mix the beaten yolk with warm water to make a solution so that the hide absorbs it easier. After soaking you should be able to resume stretching and softening until dry.
 
drying stiff and wrinkly is normal .. There is enough brain per animal to do one animal.. if that makes sense.. so two rabbits and two brains is enough to do them.. You can soften them back up again with just spraying warm water on the hide side of them.If you leave them soak to long.. your fur will come off the hide so becareful with that.. Did you fleshed them , then stretch?. I am not to sure what steps you are in.... to keep them soft ,, you need to oil the hide part
 
SarahMelisse":3hk6gwv4 said:
I'm sorry, I knew right away what your post was about, but I had to tell you that the title still made me giggle. :)

I am glad it amused you :lol: I did try to come up with other wordings but none of it worked, looked worse if anything.

Step stretching and breaking is where I am at and whoever said an animal has enough brains to preserve its own skin either stretched the truth or I am doing something wrong.

My last two hides I had about 6 brains mushed up per hide and they worked out as soft and supple as anyone could wish for but these two only have three brains per hide and are stiff and crinkly, despite stretch and pulling and working.

As the only difference is amount of brains then it must take more brains to do the job properly. If you are me anyway. :roll:

Good to know about the yolk, shall give that a try and see if I can get these hides to where I like them. When my kids fight over who gets the newest hide I know the job is well done.
 
GBov":304df22o said:
SarahMelisse":304df22o said:
I'm sorry, I knew right away what your post was about, but I had to tell you that the title still made me giggle. :)

I am glad it amused you :lol: I did try to come up with other wordings but none of it worked, looked worse if anything.

Oh my! :lol:
 
this is from a tanning group im part of....

-Substitute brain with egg and vegetable oil solution (1 egg 2 oz veg oil, can scale up for any amount needed)

hope it helps
 
Your hide is technically leather or on it's way there. If you get neatsfoot oil though make sure you get the (sometimes rather expensive) pure oil and not the compounds with petroleum products mixed in. The petroleum products give a great initial look but in the end damage the leather and make all your typical problems with preserving leather worse. Also rots stitching so dunno what it would do to any fur that it got on. Tack auctions often run alongside livestock auctions sometimes sell large containers of pure neatsfoot relatively cheaply and a little goes a long way. We had this unmarked 2 gallon tan jug of neatsfoot around for years with a dozen saddles treated spring and fall from the last horse auction my grandma attended. For an extra cost due to shipping and the brand names you can get pure oil online. Because of the cost and rarity of pure neatsfoot in today's market I use fiebings 4 way care and then aussie conditioner, beeswax based, to seal it instead of the old style of neatsfoot oil and mink oil. Dunno if those or mink oil have any use in this application though. It may only be useful for products that have finished tanning.
 
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