Had to Share

[Man of Tanith]

Look at the awesome colour i got on these hides i smoked today

the one on its lonesome is all finished
others need another bath in solution,wringing, softening and smoking again before going on "to be made into clothing" pile for winter project

 

[Broch]

They look fantastic!

 

[Toddy]

Oh yes

Looks excellent, Sam, looks beautiful, a really good colour. Golden and soft, not tarry.

I think you have to make it to really understand just how much work it is to do it well. Then do it again and again to make enough to make clothing too.

Doesn't mean folks don't appreciate it, but it's still a lot of patient work.

Looking forward to seeing the finished pieces

M

 

[Man of Tanith]

I'm slowly working my way through a stockpile.
As well as these there is
* 3 fallow in rawhide to be rehydrated and worked
* 2 fallow "green" in my folks freezer
*2 muntjac "green" in my folks freezer
*3 (?) roe awaiting tanning in my folks freezer
*8-10 mixed hides in the deer stalkers freezer



reckon I've got sufficient for some clothes in there

 

[Mesquite]

I'm slowly working my way through a stockpile.
As well as these there is
* 3 fallow in rawhide to be rehydrated and worked
* 2 fallow "green" in my folks freezer
*2 muntjac "green" in my folks freezer
*3 (?) roe awaiting tanning in my folks freezer
*8-10 mixed hides in the deer stalkers freezer



reckon I've got sufficient for some clothes in there

You're going to be busy for some time

 

[Man of Tanith]

You're going to be busy for some time

couple weeks maybe?

 

[slowworm]

Very nice. Is there any details of how you get from animal to clothing?

 

[Man of Tanith]

Very nice. Is there any details of how you get from animal to clothing?

short (ha ha ) version
*skin
*scrape off meat and membrane
*soak in an alkali solution for a few days until hair slips out
*degrain (scrape with a blunt edge tool either custom or a blunt drawknife) *neutralise alkali bath with viniger (spelling)
*soak in brains/ egg/ lecithin and rapeseed oil overnight
* wring as dry as you can
*soften and stretch fibres in all directions, this can be done on bevelled edges, cables,ropes, lashed into a frame and pushed with sticks/paddles, table and chair edges,
* smoke over a punky wood fire either like i have done here on a pole in a smoke shanty or sew into a tube,sew a canvas skirt to bottom of tube and have the fire/punky wood in a hole in ground-pay close attention as at this stage if it flares up the hide and all your hard work will go up in flames
* after smoking put back in brain/egg which ever mix
* soak and work mix really well in
*wring
*soften usually by hand this time, hands like claws springs to mind
*smoke

by now its gonna be soft and appealing

you can repeat the soak/wring/smoke as many times as you like each time it should come out softer and soften faster.

a good book with far more information than the above is "Deerskin to Buckskin" by Matt Richards.


Eventually now that work/childcare/cv-19 has all calmed a bit i plan to either video or photograph the process

Hope this "short" explanation helped

 

[slowworm]

Hope this "short" explanation helped

Yes, thank you. Does the smoking soften, preserve or colour or all three?

 

[Man of Tanith]

Yes, thank you. Does the smoking soften, preserve or colour or all three?

colours
and stops the softened fibres of the hides from locking back up when wet


nice extra is if you dont get much chance for a woodsmoke fix you can sniff it

 

[Wayland]

Lovely looking skins.

Hope you have something nice in mind for them.

 

[Man of Tanith]

Lovely looking skins.

Hope you have something nice in mind for them.

the Solo one i believe is going to become a more sensible sized haversack
t'others i think will become a smock/parka type thing