Washable Hides? (revisited)

Saw a post about this, but the latest response was over a year ago. Thought I'd ask again, but have a slightly different twist.

I didn't do the brain tanning. I soaked my pelts in a pickle of salt and alum water. After breaking I worked the hide with mink oil. They turned out really great.

My question is this....... if I now smoke the hides will it make them more washable? I understand that they won't become waterproof in the sense that you can wear them in a rain storm and never get wet. But does it really help when washing a garment to keep from having to restretch and break all over again, and will it work as well with the mink oil as with brains? Anyone have any ideas? I don't mind the extra step, but its a lot of work if it's not going to make any difference.

Thank you all for reading, and any help you may have.

I smoke my brain tanned deer and goat hides and can say it works very well for stabilizing against water. I intend to try this with a sheepskin I did and with angora pelts. But, I haven't done it yet. I fully expect it to work, but I need to be clever about protecting the hair well.

I want to try brain tanning at some point, but this was my first venture ever so I just followed a recipe I found in "Mother Earth News". I have to say they turned out really nice, but of course I won't know which way I like best until I try some other ways. I'm drawn to the brain tanning though because it will be one more part of the animal I won't have to waste.

So, do you think the smoking would work as well on mine since I oiled them with mink oil and had pickled them in alum and salt water? I may have to just try a few and see what happens. I made my grandkids hats and earmuffs for Christmas, and would love to be able to tell their parents to just throw them in the washer when they get dirty. But I know they will harden up as they dry. Would love to make a few things to sell, also, but maybe I should just tell people to dry clean them until I come up with a better plan. <br /><br /> __________ Mon Dec 28, 2015 1:49 pm __________ <br /><br /> Sorry, just realized that other similar post is not over a year old. I must have been looking at someone's join up date. Lots of good info. there, just nothing specific to using alum and salt pickle, and oiling with mink oil.

When they say "washable" it's not the throw in the washer type of wash. At the most it would be a hand wash with something very gentle like woolite. I would be hesitant to do even that much. Generally what they mean by "washable" is just that it won't ruin it if it gets wet.

http://www.ebay.com/gds/How-To-Clean-Re ... 008/g.html

http://laundry.about.com/od/storingclot ... t-Care.htm

The exception to this is hair off "washable" leathers. Some of these are truly washable like chamois leather. I believe Indian buckskin fell into this category after the brain tan and the smoke.


Love those fur items btw.

:yeahthat:

Those really are some nice fur items. I especially like the fawn colored mittens.

I'm sure the smoke could add some extra protection. I never liked the smell of the actual brain oils in the skin I made, but I was told that smoke helps neutralize that some.

I keep meaning to smoke some hair on pelts that were tanned VIA other methods...
Unfortunately, I have yet to come up with a clever enough way to use an open fire pit, and still keep heat and smoke entirely away from the hair.


To keep furs and fur items in good condition the longest, I suggest giving up on the idea of washing furs with water altogether.
Instead I prefer "washing" fur just like a tannery, which only means tumbling with sawdust or another dry absorbent material instead of using water to saturate the leather.

Thanks, alforddm and Zass for the compliments on my projects. I've sure had fun during the whole time. It's very satisfying to know I raised those rabbits, butchered those rabbits, ate those rabbits and kept the hides, and then turned them into something the kids really love. Sure feels a lot different from going out to Wal-Mart and buying some hats for them for Christmas! I love the more natural, simpler way of living.

As for washing these things, thank you for your advice there too. I haven't had the chance yet alforddm, to look at the links you provided, but I guess I feel a lot better just knowing I probably don't have to worry so much about it anyway. I guess I thought there was a final step I still needed to learn, but now I guess smoking is an option I might try, but I've pretty much already got the main idea figured out, so on to more sewing!!!

Thank you all again!

I have done brain tanning and alum tanning, I have made several coon hats and stuff. If you smoke it it will make it fairly waterproof. I if you soak it for too long you will have to rework it, but if you wear it out in the rain it will stay soft. I would never put a fur in the washing machine, that would probably ruin it.

I may have been wrong about the washability of some of the synthetic tans.

I found an old quote from Bruce Rittle

Psssst........a little secret!

This response submitted by Bruce Rittel on 5/7/05 at 3:37 PM. ( [email protected] ) 207.69.137.201
Just for the record - I started selling EZ-100 (a Syntan) 26 yearsago! Those skins are still as strong and durable as they were then. No acid rot - no weakness - no tearing at the seams - no discoloration - and guess what? They can still be washed! Over and Over! Off hand I'd say 26 years is a long time! But just to prove a point - if you have a 26 year old Alum tanned skin - try washing it in your wash machine on gentle, luke warm water and using a mild detergent. Make sure its a skin you can afford to LOSE!

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http://www.taxidermy.net/forums/Tanning ... 25E56.html

Yeah, syn-tanned skins do seem to rehydrate better than chrome or alum after a few years have passed. It's one of the reasons that style has become so highly favored for taxidermy pelts.
Alum can actually be washed out, because it's function is not to chemically alter the leather, but to remain in it, as a preservative.

Syn tanned skins still require breaking, and perhaps re-oiling after getting wet. For thinner skinned animals, it can be pretty hard on a pelt. There would still be a limit to how many times a rabbit could be re-broken..

Syn tanned skins still require breaking, and perhaps re-oiling after getting wet. For thinner skinned animals, it can be pretty hard on a pelt. There would still be a limit to how many times a rabbit could be re-broken..

Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying that Zass. The way it sounded in that post you could just throw them in the washer on gentle.

alforddm":xfmsv2h0 said:

Syn tanned skins still require breaking, and perhaps re-oiling after getting wet. For thinner skinned animals, it can be pretty hard on a pelt. There would still be a limit to how many times a rabbit could be re-broken..

Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying that Zass. The way it sounded in that post you could just throw them in the washer on gentle.

Click to expand...

Most of the replies on taxidermy net are in reference to taxidermy grade skins, and not garment quality leather.

For traditional taxidermy, leather doesn't need to be broken, so damage caused to a skin from re-breaking wouldn't even be a concern.

In this case, he's saying an old pelt could be washed and mounted, or re-mounted pretty much as many times as you'd like.

Zass":6q2yfnig said:

alforddm":6q2yfnig said:

Syn tanned skins still require breaking, and perhaps re-oiling after getting wet. For thinner skinned animals, it can be pretty hard on a pelt. There would still be a limit to how many times a rabbit could be re-broken..

Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying that Zass. The way it sounded in that post you could just throw them in the washer on gentle.

Click to expand...

Most of the replies on taxidermy net are in reference to taxidermy grade skins, and not garment quality leather.

For traditional taxidermy, leather doesn't need to be broken, so damage caused to a skin from re-breaking wouldn't even be a concern.

In this case, he's saying an old pelt could be washed and mounted, or re-mounted pretty much as many times as you'd like.

Click to expand...

Things make so much more sense now. Thank you! I keep wondering why they were calling a hide washable when you couldn't really wash them.