Rabbit Skin Preparation

[elevenses]

HI all

I am getting to the point where I think rabbit skins should be used rather than thrown away.
But I have never tried to do anything with it before.

I have read somewhere (I think the L Wiseman SAS guide) that if you want to keep the fur all you need to do is clean it of meat and fat and then force dry.

But if you want to remove the fur you need to soak it after the cleaning and then tan it with fat and brains.

At the moment I would like to keep the fur. if this is a sucsess then I may think of trying tanning.

So my question is have any of the learned folk on here got any tips or resource I can use?

Is there anyone on here that does this regularly?

when is it best to clean the skin strait away or do you leave it a while?

best way of removing the fat and tissue?

Many thanks for any help

M

PS

MOD'S sorry if this is not the right place, please move if neccesary

 

[Buckshot]

Toddy recomends the washing machine treatment - sounds the easiest to me!!!
Whatever you do you'll have to remove the flesh and fat on the inside, those bits will rot and take the skin with it.

I know I've mentioned this before but it's possible to diy a deerskin relatively easily using the washing machine.

1) Scrape off the visceral tissues from the flesh side of the skin.

2) wash using biological washing liquid on cold in the washing machine.

3) Wash again, on cold, with no soap but a very healthy dose of fabric conditioner.

4) Pull out skin and stretch over a frame and put it somewhere cool but airy to begin drying......a cloudly breezy day is ideal.

5) As it dries begin to rub in masses of hand cream on the flesh side. The more you rub, and the more you rub in, the better the skin will be.

6) Ta ra, one diy modern equivalent of a braintanned skin

The first one I did like this, nearly ten years ago now, is still sound and has kept it's pelt.

copied from modern Inuit, whose people have to be among some of the most capable hunters mankind has ever produced.

cheers,
Toddy

p.s. it works on rabbit too

 

[elevenses]

wow that sounds easier than I thought

cheers

 

[Buckshot]

If you want to go the whole hog search for Taodflax's tutorial on tanning muntjac hide
He did a pretty good job I think. fair bit of work though

Mark

 

[elevenses]

will do thanks

 

[Chance]

How robust is rabbit skin ?
I put my thumb through the last one, so it was left for the crows.
Any handling tips (or is it just "don't be rough") ?

 

[elevenses]

To be honest i have found it very tough on the gloves i had made of rabbit fur.
when skinning rabbits i have found that adult rabits have pretty thick skin you can tear it but I have never poked a hole in it.
Somtimes I have even had problems pushing a blade through the skin if it was not a sharp point.
I have no idea but mabe the rabbit you had might have had partiqularly thin skin ? it does seem to vary

 

[bushcraftbob]

Wow that does sound easy, im sure SWMBO would have a fit if she found out i put a rabbit skin in the washing machine!

 

[Nelis]

Hmm sounds like you're lucky, I'm sure my wife would want a word with me if she found out I even had a rabbit skin.

 

[elevenses]

Wow that does sound easy, im sure SWMBO would have a fit if she found out i put a rabbit skin in the washing machine!

LOL I have been trying to think how I am going to get away with it !

maybe try it when she is shopping

 

[bushcraftbob]

Would the above process work with hand washing in an old washing up bowl rather than the washing machine???

 

[Toddy]

Can't see why not, the washing just cleans out the gunk and grime and then adds loads of conditioner to start the tanning process.
It's the amount of hand cream, and the work that's done flexing the skin as it's added, that makes for a good useable hide.

This is really a rawhide tanning, for the chemically altered stuff you do need to add tannin. The best, and it really is the *best* is done using powdered Mimosa bark for the tanning liquor. It leaves an organic, non allergenic, beautiful soft handle skin.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[bushcraftbob]

Oh goodo, should have a glut of rabbit skins on the way as ferreting on sunday. What type of frame is used to stretch the skin while it dries? Can one be knocked up relatively easily? Are there any alternative ways of drying it or is the frame essential?

cheers

 

[Toddy]

My Gran used to bluetack them to the shed door. Worked fine
You could lash together four sticks and then use that frame though.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[BigShot]

http://www.braintan.com/

Found that site a while back and it took a lot of the mystery out of it for me.

It even addresses where to make the cuts when skinning to get the most usable hide possible. It talks about that in terms of skinning a deer, but I imagine much the same would apply.