Tanning pelts

[Islandguy85]

I am sure this has been discussed… I have an otter pelt that I would like to Tan at home into a soft, pliable fur finished product. There are quite a few videos, methods, etc available online so it seems a bit confusing. I am happy to put time into doing it but do not want to spend a ton on products, have an excess of chemicals laying around or put a bunch of time into a pelt and end up ruining it. Thus far I have skinned the otter out and am ready for next steps. I will get a fleshing knife and have a fleshing board. The otter was given to me so I didn't really have time to plan ahead. I acquired the otter Sat night and put it in a refrigerator, cleaned the fur up with cold water and dried excess moisture on the fur. I then skinned it by cutting from rear feet to vent, and cut all along ventral midline of tail. I then rolled the fur from tail to head and separated it from the rest of the carcass. Once removed I loosely rolled it on itself fur side out and have it in a paper bag in a freezer until I get a gameplan and supplies.
Thanks in advance.






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[murraywader]

An otter hat would be bad ass.

[Highstrung]

Loincloth

[CurLee]

Everything you need is right there in his skull. Hardest part is breaking the hide if you want it pliable

[Islandguy85]

Everything you need is right there in his skull. Hardest part is breaking the hide if you want it pliable

Read about that after I disposed of it… lesson learned. From reading it sounds like breaking through hide takes some work. Not a problem as long as I don’t ruin it in the process.


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[CurLee]

That size hide shouldn't be too bad. Attach a steel cable to a tree or pole with some slack and pull the hide back and forth hair-in. Just make sure to work the edges well but carefully.

[Islandguy85]

That size hide shouldn't be too bad. Attach a steel cable to a tree or pole with some slack and pull the hide back and forth hair-in. Just make sure to work the edges well but carefully.

Any insight on the preservation process?


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[Sasha and Abby]

Loincloth

THIS. I was also thinking of a cod warmer.

[Tater]

Merkin

[cajunwannabe]

Make an old fashioned cod piece, cave man style

[Beachbird]

Put it in a freezer bag. The paper bag will pull moisture from the skin and cause freezer burn if it's going to be in the freezer for longer than a couple of days.

[CurLee]

Any insight on the preservation process?


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I brain tan almost exclusively, so I don't have much input on chemical processes. I did do one chemical tan years ago but I didn't use a kit and it was a hair-off. I think aluminum sulfate was one of the products, sourced from a plant nursery. You can use any brains by the way, like cow brain if you can find it in a market.

I will say to start the breaking process after fleshing and before the tanning process.

[WNM]

Go to McKenzie Taxidermy Supply's website. They have an all-in-one tanning solution that will take care of the chemical process. Like CurLee said, the breaking process is the hard (labor intensive) part.

I made a squirrel skin hat (I think I posted it on here) 15 years ago. It took 8 or so squirrels. I tanned them with egg yolk in place of brains as I read that method online somewhere at the time. Smoked it with punky wood after I broke then skins. I still wear that hat 8-10 times per year hunting when it is cold enough for my head to not sweat. It'd take a lot of eggs to tan an otter though.

[Ring King]

I did a chemical tan of a deer hide back in high school for a buddy of mine. He still has it and it's soft as can be. I was working at a taxidermist at the time and had access and experience on a fleshing beam. Getting that skin as thin as possible without cutting holes in it will make the breaking process easier. The kit I used I just bought from Cabelas.