running bare said:
if memory serves right the brain is removed and boiled with water then it is rubbed into the pelt on the meat side.
another way is to rub saltpetre into the skin to dry it out and preserve it then when cleaned off its rubbed with glisterine to soften.
then there is the native american way of smoking the skins by rolling into a funnel shape ( fur on outside ) and suspending them high in their lodge over the fire so the smoke cures them.
hope this helps
tom
I'm not sure if this is a reponse to the rabbit skin blanket - or to an earlier post concerning brain tanning.
The rabbit skin blankets are made with green skins. They are not tanned. The skin is thin enough so it isn't necessary. Just carefully scrape off the membrane - and you are good to go. To tan rabbit I've always used alum, bark, or a commercial chrome tan kit.
To do a good brain tan, you need to scrape the hair and the grain off the hide (I've only brain tanned deer and moose - never rabbit). You should never salt the hide before hand as it interfers with the brain tan. Brain tan can be done a couple (basically) of different ways. Tallow and brain mixed into a paste (many people add a little egg white) - and smeared on the flesh side of the hide after it is scraped, or the same ingredients boiled (as mentioned) and the hide immersed in the liquid for a couple of days. Afterwards the hide should be set in running water or rinsed in spring water. It then needs to be worked - which is the hard part. It should be kept in mind that brain tan is not a true tan - only a curing method. It can be washed out - unlike a true tan - and will require re-working if it gets wet.
To smoke hides we've always built a tripod over a smoky campfire and draped the hide over the tripod. Makes for a beautiful color and goes some toward making the hide water resistant. This is absolutelly necessary with a chrome tan - as the chrome tan turns the hide green. Smoking will turn the hide a beautiful tan color.
PG
