Well, not a true tan, but an "oil-tan". Similar to brain tanning, but without the problem of finding enough brains. (or the ick factor)
I've never actually done any brain tanning. I haven't had the urge to break open enough rabbit heads and scrape out the brains for the procedure. I won't touch a deer's brains (CWD ) and I rarely get a goat or sheep to work with.
So my first thought is, "this stuff is CHEAP!" Around $2.00-$2.50 for a 16 oz bottle.
It's available anywhere in the country. My local dollar stores and Walmart all carry it. Most hardware stores should have it.
Did my best to keep things as simple as humanly possible.
Basic equipment:
1. Bottle of Murphy brand oil soap
2: Antique and dull carpet knife. (preferred fleshing tool)
3: Untreated, unsalted pelt. Straight from the freezer.
That's it.
I've read in numerous places not to salt pelts used for brain tanning. So I didn't use salt here.
It's not a good pelt. The rabbit was somewhere in between her baby coat and her adult coat, and skin was incredibly thin in some places.
Been a LONG time since I've fully fleshed a raw pelt.
I have to say, fleshing a raw pelt is indeed more difficult than fleshing one that has been salted or and/or pickled.
Fresh meat is slippery stuff.
I finished it as quickly as I could. Without any chemicals to prevent rot, you REALLY want to finish ASAP. I actually put a fan on it to keep the skin cool and dry it out a little while I was fleshing.
After fleshing, I simply spread some oil soap (undiluted, I haven't played with water-soap ratios yet) on the pelt and let it sit in the fridge...for about an hour.
Normally an oiling pelt is placed somewhere warmish.
Normally an oiling pelt has already been pickled and tanned and is safe from epidermal slip.
This pelt was not safe. There was no way I was going to leave it anywhere warm for any length of time.
After about an hour I opened up the pelt and returned it to it's place in front of the fan.
The skin is paper thin in places, it was drying out fast.
Time to start breaking. You know, pull and stretch the leather, work it soft as it dries. Starting when the leather starts turning white when you tug it, up until it's fully dried.
The finished skin was soft, had a sueded feel and a nice white color. No stretch at all, unfortunately, and hint of a papery sound when balled up.
Decided it could use a little more oil.
For the second application I mixed a bit of water with the oil soap and worked it in.
Again, dry and break.
When I wasn't breaking the pelt, I stuck it in the freezer. So it didn't dry out while I was sleeping or away.
The second application might not really have been necessary.
The finished fur side:
(mostly)Finished leather side:
(leather is a bit damp on the edges)
Total oil soap used, about an inch from the top of that bottle.
Ok, so. It WORKED as well as I could have hoped. All the hair stayed on it. It's supple. It's the color of broken leather, and it's not oily. It did lose the sueded feel after the second application.
The whole process took less than 24 hours.
It's as "tanned" as well as any pelt I've done with this product: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231155854680?lpid=82 Which claims to also produce an "indian style" tan.
Actually, for rabbits I like the oil soap better. It didn't leave a greasy mess in the fur it contacted. (the product I linked does leave a mess, I do not recommend it)
It's easy to over-oil rabbits.
Still not as much stretch as I'd like.
The smell is something like citronella. Might be less attractive to dogs and insects than pelts done with brains, eggs, or mayo.
There is a bit of "bunny barn smell" in the fur that I'm not used to encountering. It's because the pelt was never washed or pickled. Tumbling with sawdust would probably help that out. (Or not, it's not an unpleasant smell)
The real work in tanning is fleshing, breaking, and pelt handling to prevent slip. Those skills could be learned with this method.
Perhaps a good way of teaching kids the basics without exposing them to anything harsh? I dunno, I liked the idea that any interested teen in the country could pull a bottle out of their panty and give it a go.
Just don't use an important skin to learn on!!
I've never actually done any brain tanning. I haven't had the urge to break open enough rabbit heads and scrape out the brains for the procedure. I won't touch a deer's brains (CWD ) and I rarely get a goat or sheep to work with.
So my first thought is, "this stuff is CHEAP!" Around $2.00-$2.50 for a 16 oz bottle.
It's available anywhere in the country. My local dollar stores and Walmart all carry it. Most hardware stores should have it.
Did my best to keep things as simple as humanly possible.
Basic equipment:
1. Bottle of Murphy brand oil soap
2: Antique and dull carpet knife. (preferred fleshing tool)
3: Untreated, unsalted pelt. Straight from the freezer.
That's it.
I've read in numerous places not to salt pelts used for brain tanning. So I didn't use salt here.
It's not a good pelt. The rabbit was somewhere in between her baby coat and her adult coat, and skin was incredibly thin in some places.
Been a LONG time since I've fully fleshed a raw pelt.
I have to say, fleshing a raw pelt is indeed more difficult than fleshing one that has been salted or and/or pickled.
Fresh meat is slippery stuff.
I finished it as quickly as I could. Without any chemicals to prevent rot, you REALLY want to finish ASAP. I actually put a fan on it to keep the skin cool and dry it out a little while I was fleshing.
After fleshing, I simply spread some oil soap (undiluted, I haven't played with water-soap ratios yet) on the pelt and let it sit in the fridge...for about an hour.
Normally an oiling pelt is placed somewhere warmish.
Normally an oiling pelt has already been pickled and tanned and is safe from epidermal slip.
This pelt was not safe. There was no way I was going to leave it anywhere warm for any length of time.
After about an hour I opened up the pelt and returned it to it's place in front of the fan.
The skin is paper thin in places, it was drying out fast.
Time to start breaking. You know, pull and stretch the leather, work it soft as it dries. Starting when the leather starts turning white when you tug it, up until it's fully dried.
The finished skin was soft, had a sueded feel and a nice white color. No stretch at all, unfortunately, and hint of a papery sound when balled up.
Decided it could use a little more oil.
For the second application I mixed a bit of water with the oil soap and worked it in.
Again, dry and break.
When I wasn't breaking the pelt, I stuck it in the freezer. So it didn't dry out while I was sleeping or away.
The second application might not really have been necessary.
The finished fur side:
(mostly)Finished leather side:
Total oil soap used, about an inch from the top of that bottle.
Ok, so. It WORKED as well as I could have hoped. All the hair stayed on it. It's supple. It's the color of broken leather, and it's not oily. It did lose the sueded feel after the second application.
The whole process took less than 24 hours.
It's as "tanned" as well as any pelt I've done with this product: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/231155854680?lpid=82 Which claims to also produce an "indian style" tan.
Actually, for rabbits I like the oil soap better. It didn't leave a greasy mess in the fur it contacted. (the product I linked does leave a mess, I do not recommend it)
It's easy to over-oil rabbits.
Still not as much stretch as I'd like.
The smell is something like citronella. Might be less attractive to dogs and insects than pelts done with brains, eggs, or mayo.
There is a bit of "bunny barn smell" in the fur that I'm not used to encountering. It's because the pelt was never washed or pickled. Tumbling with sawdust would probably help that out. (Or not, it's not an unpleasant smell)
The real work in tanning is fleshing, breaking, and pelt handling to prevent slip. Those skills could be learned with this method.
Perhaps a good way of teaching kids the basics without exposing them to anything harsh? I dunno, I liked the idea that any interested teen in the country could pull a bottle out of their panty and give it a go.
Just don't use an important skin to learn on!!
