This may be one of the oldest ways to tan hides, disused because it is not sanitary and the smell of urine may linger:
Save urine in a jug. Mix it with salt. When the hide is fresh, either dry it out with salt, or nowadays you can soak the skin in alcohol when it is fresh to preserve it while it is drying. When it is dry, soak it in the urine-salt mixture for a day or two.
When it dries again, it will be supple and preserved. Afterwards, you can work neetsfoot oil into repeatedly to achieve a truly
supple leather with fur attached. This way seems to eliminate the need for scraping and close removal of all membrane.
You might try this out on a little skin and see. If you have a lot of deer, boar or buffalo hides, and can't afford the trouble and expense of the other methods, this might be for you; no stretching, no battery acid and timing the batch. The hides are good enough for the wholesale market, where they be worked into other items. The smell of urine fades with time.
