Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Primitive Skills => Topic started by: deersled on February 09, 2009, 01:43:37 am
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What is it? First attempt at tanning a deer hide. Got the book....can't find lye...or potassium hydroxide. I'm not sure if hydrated lime is something in concrete mix or regular powdered garden lime. Can you get it at a home depot or lowes? No one seems to know what "hydrated lime" is?
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Hardwood ash and water will do the same, I believe.
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Everything ya ever wanted to know about hydrated lime :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_hydroxide
Check with your local water treatment plant, if it is a softening plant they will have tons of the stuff
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The kind of hydrated lime that I use is the garden (soil additive) variety. I got mine from ace hardware. I mix about a pound of it in a 15 gallon bin with about 10 gallons of water. I wash the hide with dish soap and then throw it into the lime/water mix with a little bleach (to keep down the bacteria). It takes a couple days for it to work but I've left it up to a week in the solution in order to be sure the lime reaches all parts of the hide. Stirring every day helps a lot. Try pulling on the hair to see if its slipping. When it comes off REALLY easy, it's ready to be scraped.
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I used pickling lime from the grocery store.
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finally found sound hydrated lime. the book i got says 2# for 10 gallons of water. did that. Should I put something on it to totally submerge the hide?
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Yep, put a rock on it if you like....but you'll have to remove the rock when you stir it, and then replace it. Makes the whole thing a little messier.
I don't submerge the hides, personally. I just make sure they are well stirred.
What book are you reading?
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wood ash is a tough mix, lime cant be screwed up because the water will only absorb so much . just check and stir daily
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I used pickling lime from the grocery store.
Ditto that....I have been saying for years....this works better....because it dissolves better
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"deerskins to buckskins" by Matt Richards. alright then, got it soaking and totally submerged. let yall know what happens.
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the lime worked great. soaked in a mild vinegar solution for a day. finally got it in the egg solution. wringed it out good and egged it some more. spent yesterday hand stretching until dry. don't think I got the whole thing completely dry. today it is the consistency of paper. not real stiff, but not really soft. can I sand it lightly and re-egg it? probably need to build a frame to stretch and dry it in. that hand stretching takes FOREVER. what cha think?
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Do You have a good Vise mounted?? If so....clamp You a Piece of Wood in it....and Pull the Hide across it to soften it up well....Probably doesn't need to be egged again....and if this doesn't soften it...you can always re-egg it.....But I bet the Stretching across the Board will do it for you....then you have to Smoke it to really get it soft...
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ok. I'll try that first. I've heard people refer to "breaking" a hide? I guess that's kind of what you're talking about. thanks
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Thats exactly what it does....and you will be surprised how soft it will make it....
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will a metal cable do the same thing?
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will a metal cable do the same thing?
Yes it will...find a place that you can stretch it out tight....and start to draggin that Hide across it till it softens up nice...
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deer sled,
I once tried eggs on a deer skin and had the same result...stiff kinda like paper. I don't know why, but it never ever softened up well. I use brains exclusively now, but then maybe I didn't do the "egging" correctly. By the way, that Deerskins into Buckskins is a great book.
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bill how many eggs did ya use for what size hide?
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I used 12 eggs for 2 gallons of water, I believe? Small to medium sized whitetail hide. The cable and board have softened it up some. The thicker areas are just not soft enough. Think I need to get it wet again (re-egg) and attempt to dry it on the cable this time. Working a dry hide on a cable or board is extremely difficult. I haven't smoked it yet. Will smoking do anything to soften it up?
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if you redo it and it is still stiff , sand the area that is stiff to open up the fibers better. you can also scrape the stiff area so it is thinner.