Tanning hides

Does anyone here know how to use hides from harvested wildlife? Is there a different forum for this? Or a skip badge? I'm trying to tan an elk hide, and would love to chat with someone who does that.

Do you still have the elk brain? Every mammal in North America except bison has enough brain material to tan it's own hide. I don't think we have a forum or BB for tanning but searching the internet for brain tanning will reveal plenty of info.

There are tanning BBs in Animal Care but I think it has to be a domestic animal (due to the Animal Care part of it).  Maybe throw it at Oddball..

Rebekah, this is something I have always wanted to do especially because we get several deer hides every hunting season.  It seems life just always gets in the way.

Here are some threads you or others might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/21204/permaculture-leathercraft/fiber-arts/bark-tan-brain-tan-coast

https://permies.com/t/1145/permaculture-leathercraft/fiber-arts/Tanning-hide-Hemlock-bark

https://permies.com/t/72546/Storing-deer-hide-tanning

https://permies.com/t/42897/permaculture-leathercraft/fiber-arts/Tanning

Woa! Thanks for the info, Anne! I didn't get at the brain, Mike, but maybe next time. I want to try egg yolks. There is a dog food processing facility near me that butchers sheep. I bet I could get a skin from them any day and work on that domestic animal tanning bb. If this huge elk hide doesn't discourage me first!

I've tanned a few deer and antelope hides using egg yolks and olive oil to replace the brain in the tanning process

For smoking I use an old pot belly stove with no pipe and simply place hide in an overturned lock tub or half barrel, using punky wood or leaves to create my smoke

It's a rewarding process, and most of it is somewhat flexible for those who are busy, but the soaking stage shouldn't go too long or you'll rot the hide, and working the hide as it dries can be labor intensive

To shortcut working the hide while it dries I like to toss the hide in a dryer with some horse chestnuts  for softening and take it out every 5 min to stretch it out so it doesn't Crack

Haven't had the chance to do much tanning since I started my new job :( but the main challenge for me is getting someone else to turn the finished leather into something useful, most of the time it sits around rolled up in a tote, though I did fix a hole in my hammock with some antelope leather so yay for that:)