Tanning Rabbit Skins

[Paganwolf]

:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :rolmao:

 

[Snufkin]

:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :rolmao:

): :biggthump :rolmao:

 

[Realgar]

:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :rolmao:

I do - we use in the lab. the fun bit is melting the stuff down and pouring it into syringes.....

I've tried glutaraldehyde on rabbit skins, it makes a very weak leather but it's supposed to be machine washable. the method was developed for sheap skin. I've use marrow ( bone ) from an animal in much the same way as brain - but it colours it a little darker. Can't say I fancy using either of those on my hare skin though - those creatures really smell.

Anyone come across the turpentine tanning method? given the way it reacts with iodine I rekon it must have a lot of unsaturated bond that allow cross linking with the collagen. That's turpentine not white spirits or turpentine substitute - hardly the cheapest option but one worth bearing in mind.

Realgar

 

[hootchi]

Realgar,
Here is a link for a turpentine tannage method.
I never thought of it in a chemical type of way and it so happens I am studying chemical physics at university :shock: ):
It makes sense what you are saying. H-bonds, possibly, and all that but i'm not sure of the chemical composition of turpentine. I may try the boiling some oak bark aswell in the holidays.
I'll let everyone know how it goes
Cheers

Hootchi

P.S Can you use birch oil, from 'baking' to tan skins :?:

 

[Paganwolf]

It says on there that Air drying is suffice for small pelts, i skinned a mole once and dryed it out worked ok didnt smell at all, you would need a few to make your hat though Hootchi :rolmao:

 

[hootchi]

I think i'll need a few rabbits aswell!! :rolmao: I'v done a fair bit of research on the topic and get conflicting methods everywhere about drying, scraping, tanning time..... :roll:

 

[Paganwolf]

Give it a go, there only a small thin pelt so you wont need any heavy tanning or prep, rabbit skin drys right out and goes like thick parchment, i think inuits chew the thin pelts when dry to soften them! er id leave tha chewing to them though, just get the Vas out and give it a good rubbing it will soon soften up. :shock:

 

[hootchi]

Thanks Paganwolf and everyone else.

Cheers :You_Rock_

 

[SilverWolf]

Hardly sounds like traditional way to do tan a bunny around here.

I've not fully tanned a bunny yet. I've cleaned and dried one (had it about 9 months and it don't smell), and it is like parchment, just thinner. Bunny skins when cleaned are very very thin. My first piece of skinning and hideworking however was a roe deer head (part of a lithics project so my uni department supplied the head but I had to give it back since I had removed the skin and ears). During that first project I was adviced that a stick works well enough to clean a bunny skin. And it does, if split and you have a knife handy to cut bits of flesh and member off when it gets awkward.

As for tanning, I've heard that liver works well, although usually with brain. Eggs would be interesting to try. Let us know how the hat goes. I'm working on the lining for a pair of mittens this weekend. I'm planning a fleecy outter and a bunny skin liner for extra warmth and to improve waterproofness. My problem is that I currently only have one bunny skin waiting to be used. So I'm going to have to send my partner out to get another. Then I'm going to have two skins to clean in the cold!

 

[Realgar]

Got a dehaired hare hide ( or what's left of it - the thing was well hung ) in a bark tan mix at the moment. It's been in a week, no bad smells yet but the sauerkraut batch probably covers up most smells anyway.The bark mix was just standard pine bark chippings, boiled in an equal volume of water and allowed to ferment for two weeks before use, it looks like murky weakish tea.

Oneforthepot

 

[Celtic Dragon]

I got a little tanning kit from Snowdonia Taxidermy supplies.
Just mix it up with water and it will last for years.
Clean the skin and chuck it in the solution over night and it's done.
A quick rinse and let it dry.
Really easy and effective.

I'll second this kit, it is excellent, I used to have 1 when I activly did pest control.

I have used salt sucessfully in the past, pin the pelt out to a board fur side down and pile salt on it for a week.

Simon

 

[hootchi]

Thanks guys. I'v been gone for a while and more people have posted! i havn't had a chance to get any bunnies but now I know!