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misadventures in egg tanning...suggestions welcome

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JackCrafty:
I've never tanned a hide but I've watched someone do it.   ;D

First off, all the hair should be removed and the top layer of skin needs to be removed too.  On the underside, all the membrane needs to be removed.  This can be done with wet or dry scraping.

Then the hide needs to be "expanded" by soaking in a lye or vinegar solution.  This soaking makes the hide look a lot thicker and it will feel very slimy.  Then it is rinsed COMPLETELY, then rung out or dried, then put in a warm egg mixture for several hours.  Then it is taken out of the mixture, rung out, stretched in a warm, dry place until dry and soft.  Stretching can be done on a rack or by hand.

Sounds easy.  It's not.  I'm afraid to try it myself.   ;)

eorr:
I've been braintanning and teaching braintan for a while.  I've done deer, bear, coon, otter, fox and egg tanned several deer skins.  You can still salvage what you have, but I would bark tan the pig.  Never tried pig, but, as deersled said, I've heard it's almost impossible to braintan.

First you need to soak the deer skin.  If you're not using lye, soak it in fresh water (no chlorine) for a couple of days (depending on temperature) or until the hair slips easily.  If you can't soak it in running water, change water at least once a day, preferably twice a day.  You want bacteria to break the grain down but not so much that the skin is falling apart and it's a health hazard.  I got staff once from scraping too ripe skins.

Then you scrape the hair and grain off.  Don't pull the hair out first or you won't have a frame of reference for what's already been scraped.  It can be really hard to tell if the area you're working has been scraped.  Lye makes it easier to see, but it's still hard.  If you don't get all the grain off, don't worry about it for your first hide.  You can actually tan it with grain on (or hair on).  It just won't be as supple and it will have a slick full-grain finish instead of the suede-like texture that good buckskin has.

You can work on the flesh side, too, but it's not necessary.  It is helpful to hit it a few times with the scraper to break the membrane up.  You can also sand some of the membrane off after you've finished the skin.

Once you've scraped, wring out the skin well.  This is the hardest part.  If you don't get enough moisture out there's no room for the brains or eggs to penetrate the skin fibers.  You can get details for wringing on http://www.braintan.com. 

Then soak your moist skin (not too dry and not too wet) in your warm egg solution working and stretching while it's in the bucket.  Do this for at least 15 or 20 minutes.  You can also leave it in overnight.

Then remove and repeat the wringing and braining (egging) 2 more times.

Wring once more and then start to stretch and soften.  Don't expect a perfect buckskin your first time.  You can always throw it back in the eggs if you get to a point where you think an area is getting too stiff.  Each time you re-brain, it'll make the process easier the next time since you've already stretched it so much.  Then smoke when you're happy with it.

Good luck!

aaron:
good advice given by those above....
i have egg tanned a few and use the same method as brains. I see a few places where you deviated from what I would do-

1. the salt- after egging, you salted the hides. why? salt can preserve a hide before tanning, but not used during tanning as far as i know
2. left them for a week with eggs and salt on them- this may have caused some rotting, leading to the deer hide tearing- if you need to leave 'em in future, freeze 'em.
3. put them over a smoky fire while breaking breaking in a hide takes 4-8 hours, not 2. the heat from the fire would dry them too fast and lead to stiffening, also heat from the fire could damage the hides- smoke after they are dry in future and take pains to ensure smoke is not too hot. when smoking  sew hide into a bag and create a special fire for smoking which is smolering rotten wood- no actual flames. , not just any old fire

there are many ways to do tanning, but many ways to go astray. i suggest get some detailed directions and follow them to the letter.

in a foggy climate in winter hides take forever to break in - i live in the foggiest town in the lower 48 and only attempt hides in summer.
seems you also had trouble getting the hair off- soaking in water for 3 days will cause it to almost fall out.
and when you soaked cold hides in cold eggs overnight, that was probably fine- the hides don't noticeably soak up the stuff, as long as it was fully scraped, it would have soaked up eggs fine.
good luck, try again!

jamie:
didnt read everybodies posts so if im repeating something i apologize. eggs work best with a wet scrape. hair off. also a little neets foot oil helps. the wet scrape is what i believe jackcrafty was describing. it is a longer process but produces a better hide in the end. it removes all the outer membraines from the hide so the egg or other material will soak in easier.

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