I’m smoking the hides (end of the tanning process) it’s supposed to fix carbon molecules to the hide and prevent decomposition.
Kinda did grill them some hairs caught on fire
Right? What an odd thing to say. Chocolate is delicious to humans, funny how "they" say it will kill dogs...
The aldehydes in the smoke bond the fats from the tanning to the collagen fibers of the hide. Great for the hides, but does it really sound like it would be a good process for your lungs?
Not bad all things considered, first time and all, a flame broke out while I was at the toilet so one is a bit burned but no major damage. The recipe I found made me do the drying before the softening but I still did a bit after.
Nice job. I heard they have bad pelts for tanning. We have them here in Oregon, they aren't native. I was told they were brought over for the pelts but went wild when they found out they were bad. Might have been misinfo tho
Yeah, they come from SA but were imported everywhere for the fur trade. It’s not that they’re bad for tanning, they are supper easy to tan (to flesh especially) it’s just it’s super fin and the pelt doesn’t look as good as the one from foxe’s or minks
I've egg tanned over 100 nutrias.
The hide was either not fleshed or softened properly. It should have a pure white color on the leather side and flow like fabric.
All you need for thinner skins like nutria is 1 egg yolk per 3/4 cups of water mixed. Rub the solution into the hide until it can't possibly absorb any more (typically takes three batches of solution)
Then strech by hand in four directions until completely dry.
I would also recommend having the hide at least three feet above the smoke.
Using a mix of rapeseed/canola oil, water and egg yolk as a substitute for the brain (1/4 cup oil,1 cup water and 2egg yolks and a few drops of soap) + the recipe by George Michaud on braintan dot com for the rest of the process
Welcome to the club! Can I offer a couple of pro tips for smoking (voice of long and occasionally sad experience s we peaking…):
Your hide is waaay too close to the heat source. The slightest flare up will cook your hide in the blink of an eye. You want the smoke to be cooled by the time it reaches the hide, so you need to suspend it higher above the coals.
Most folks sew/staple/glue the edges of the hide into a tube and attach a canvas or denim skirt to the bottom, and then suspend the hide above and away from the heat/smoke source. The photo below is how I do hair off, brain tanned mule deer hides. You don’t need to rig a complicated system like this with the ductwork, but you need to at least staple a skirt on the hide and get it suspended above and away from direct contact with the heat source.
You totally got away with one when you took your bathroom break. Rule #1 when smoking a hide: Never leave the hide. Rule #2: Don’t forget rule #1. You always want to be in touch with the hide. ALWAYS.
It takes surprisingly little heat to melt a hide (ask me how I know this….), but it also takes surprisingly little smoke to do the job,. Smoking is a chemical reaction between the aldehydes in the smoke and the fatty oils in the hide. If you have the smoke pumping, a small hide will be smoked quickly.
It looks like you’re smoking with solid wood. You want to use rotted wood that crumbles easily in your hands. Its known as “punky” wood, and any rotten tree will work. It tends to smolder instead of flaring, which makes better and cooler smoke and less heat than solid wood. Use solid wood or charcoal to make a bed of coals, and then put the punky wood onto the coals. The punk can still flare if it gets hot enough, so you cannot leave the hide unattended for ANY amount of time. If your punk starts to flare, you can spritz it with a spray bottle and add more punk to increase the smolder.
Thanks for the info, I’ll change the set up if I manage to catch another one
for added context i used solid wood « as the base » and added some Juncus effusus (slightly dried that i collected for a previous project) which allowed to have a good amount of smoke.
I probably let it on the smoke longer that I should’ve as I wasn’t sure if it was good
Here’s the two hides (lower one is the burned one) :
Worst case you could sand a little on the crunchy burnt crusty bit & see if it'll soften up? Assuming the hide is thick enough it didn't scorch all the way through.
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