The program I watched had the hides fleshed by hand and then soaked in oak bark "tea" for a year. They came out stiff but very useable.
I have a fryer hide floating in very strong tea right now, I simply couldnt wait to see if it works.
Will let yall know how it goes. :lol:
__________ Sun Oct 16, 2016 9:53 am __________
So I put four tea bags into two cups of water and simmered the heck out of them, they must have been going for almost an hour. So very strong tannins indeed.
Poured it onto a cookie sheet and then, after it cooled, floated the super thin fryer hide on the top. It was a hide from a 6 week old Rex who met a sticky end through total stupidity and was the thinest of all my dried hides.
After about 5 hours I took it out, rolled it into paper towels and walked on it, to force the excess liquid out.
Smoothed it flat and rubbed in Gardenia hand lotion as its all I had on hand. On hand, get it?
:lol:
Left it overnight on the table and this morning it was nice and flat still and, while it crinkles when shaken, it is really nice. I scraped a knife over it to get any leftover cream off to help it glue to a felt backer and then for fun I crumpled it up like a paper wad a few times which has reduced the crinkling sound hugely.
So I am really pleased with this first experiment, even though I SHOULD have waited til all my work is done first. Ah well, all work and no play makes me really grumpy.! <br /><br /> __________ Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:47 am __________ <br /><br /> The hide has passed the "Its MINE!" test from my daughter! Any new hide that is well done she makes a grab on and leaves the stiffer ones for her brothers.
Much to their annoyance. :lol:
So I am going to get some work done and then do another one, this one a 12 week old NZ fryer hide that I just finished drying.
Am loving drying all my hides, I keep finding treasures galore in the freezer. Found another raccoon which dried beautifully and the 6 ft rattlesnake hide with rattle attached that is now dried and amazing to look at and touch, and a bag of squirrel hides that made great dog treats and now finding rabbit hides from so many years ago that the colors are a constant surprise. NO memory at all of ever having NZs this color yellow/tan but it sure is pretty.