Easy Fur Tanning Method

This method is the easiest method I have found to tan fur or hides to make clothing pieces or rugs.

[@affalada6868]

I grewup in farmland Pennsylvania and it has always amazed me how popular it is now a days to live country 😂😂 I've live in a major city for years now and have plans to go back to PA with my family to learn who we are and what we do Country style

[@YaelSharon3410]

Everyone should know these skills. Thank you for this video.

[@jackiesaylor2487]

That was very interesting. I'm glad you showed this. I had read a book in elementary school about a kid who ran away from home and lived in the Catskills and made clothing from deer rabbits etc, and he found and pine tree that had fallen in a storm, so he hollowed the trunk and used pine sap (or turpentine) to tan his hides and he'd rub them with rocks from the creek or chew the hide like the native Indian did to soften them. He had a full dear skin suit with rabbit underwear and underclothes for winter and deerskin shoes.

[@iamnotpasta4408]

Yooo! My side of the mountain had me so ready to run away at nine lmao

[@Angie-in8wc]

I read that book as a kid in New Zealand.

[@iangood9773]

Letts go. Love you Uncle Tim.

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

My guy.

[@Grrimhildr]

hi mr lewis! i have a tip to help people see your videos more, in the description you usually place tags and what these do is act as keyword search terms, for example, for this video people could search "deer" and "hide", you wanna make sure you think of key phrases people will be looking for when looking for your type of videos. if im not making any sense ill be happy to answer questions or you can just google youtube tags youll likely find a better explanation, good luck out there and keep making amazing content!

[@jazzhollis2404]

Reached Australia here, so fascinating!

[@doctordemon9324]

Love the custom crocks. Truly one of a kind! Haha

[@lavendercandy2859]

Realy glad.you don't let the pelts.you get go to waste, honestly love your channle and the way you responded to comments, thanks for the entertaining whatch!

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

If it dies for us, we respect by using it.

[@judescott658]

Great video. Thank you for the details and sharing your knowledge

[@airbornemelody6156]

awesome!! i found you through the amazing video where you saved that sweet doe, i just had to check out your channel. i’m very interested in taxidermy and have bleached bones and stuff myself but never tanned any fur (though i have a few tails from ppl who know how to), but i’ve always been interested in the process! you did an awesome job explaining everything, and your result looks rlly nice! awesome job buddy

[@dossenheimer]

Thank you so much, this one is really perfect for beginner! 👍😀

[@gunaholic73]

Thanks for this video

[@jessicamcknight4531]

Very informative video thank you, I would like to learn how to make shoes and hats.

[@tracydobson9914]

That was an awesome video!

[@michaelbowes6277]

Nice work bud.

[@varun009]

When we process lambskins, we put them in pillow cases then throw them into a cement mixer with some linex covered ball bearings (12mm diameter). It can get noisy but if you just leave it tumbling it does an amazing job making perfectly supple pelts. Lambskins are delicate so we can't break the fibers on a fleshing beam. I imagine the same should apply here.

[@smackymcproductions4443]

thanks dude!

[@emilyliolin4001]

Thank you! Super informative and helpful… if you can turn your camera horizontally in future videos, we could see a little bit better…

[@wyattbaker12]

Them crocks actually look sick! Great job!

[@tbhella]

He looks like my bus driver,but great job I enjoyed it 😇

[@fluteloop6737]

Great video and thanks for the tip on using eggs. I've been using some orange junk from Cabelas with unimpressive results. Biggest problem I've had is with the furs coming out crinkly. Yours sounded similar at the end so I'm curious how much do you work these pelts before they're nice and supple? Seems like a heck of a lot of elbow grease

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

You have to work "break" them quite a bit to get the softness that you desire. An old dryer with some media also works to tumble them

[@thedeathwolf5177]

I’m really glad I came across this while searching up for pelt tanning methods. I’ve tried this before by using egg but I don’t know if I did it right. It seems that I just possibly didn’t break and stretch as much as needed and gave up when I felt like I ended up with rawhide. I wonder if they’re salvageable considering I seems to have the basics down? Either way thank you so much for the clear video on this method! It’s given me some hope that I don’t have to go looking for a more expressive process and that I might not be far off from a proper tan!

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Rehydrate and start over

[@davidlee9299]

Yes just rehydrate and do the stretching... And keep at it until fully stretched and dry... If you stop stretching before it's dry it will return to rawhide..

[@carolynburns5580]

What kind of oil did you use? I might paint something on my bobcat and not sure if oiling it will keep the paint from sticking. He was a road kill and only crushed the skull I was hoping to get too. Great video ill let ya know how mine turns out.

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Linn Seed

[@arnoldraymond6369]

​@@TimLewisMountainMan boiled or raw linseed oil?

[@martinpickering991]

can i ask why you skinned the head out just to cut it off?

[@mariannazanforlin]

"It is what it is"

[@bumblebee0198]

If you let the hide dry streched, will you not need to stretch it out by hand?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Less stretching needed

[@bumblebee0198]

@@TimLewisMountainMan omg thanks for the fast response! Also, thanks for the great video. Greetings from Sweden🙏

[@davidlee9299]

If you want it soft you have to break the hide working it over back of chair or.... Or keep stretching and pulling the hide until you see the white showing... Will turn white as you stretch it... Just stretching on a frame will just make a bigger stiff hide... Hope this helps...

[@danielfox4446]

How do you stretche raccoon square because I want to tan a square raccoon in 18 the century way. That because I like living history,and reenactments !!!

[@jacoblindahl3206]

I don’t know if you’ll see this, but would this same technique work for ram?

[@davidlee9299]

Yes...

[@sarahjohnson4213]

I forgot to put a damp towel on my cat. Is it ok to still dry and oil or do I have to start over

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

I bet it would be alright.

[@katiesiouxlamoureaux7757]

You store it in the freezer before you tan it?

[@davidlee9299]

Putting in the freezer just preserves the hide until you are ready to do the work. Not part of the tanning process

[@fluffybunny1086]

looks great but... you really don't need that much conditioner. It is kinda just wasting. I have a lot of hair and use less than that. Just thought I would let you know so that yo can continue using it without wasting it.

[@bobsagett1474]

Lol

[@chunkinline2969]

is this how all of your hides are tanned ?

[@daviddrinnon5003]

What kind of oil do you put on it

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Linn seed

[@aqualux5205]

Fur

[@HC_Riverboys10]

What type of oil do you use

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Linn seed (spelling?)

[@tashanielsen4675]

What kind of oil do you use?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Linnseed

[@katenedwards6934]

Can I use store bought eggs?

[@davidlee9299]

They should work...

[@slipperyace1170]

Can you use borax instead of salt?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Yes. Same concept

[@slipperyace1170]

Thanks. Great video. I appreciate it

[@randypond7499]

I don’t think you are supposed to use “iodized” salt?

[@braydoncannon7514]

What oil do you use?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Linn seed

[@davidlee9299]

Olive oil works well also

[@sammiee.702]

everyone needs a lil tan .. even dead animals lol

[@jaycaser2890]

Just went to watch ur first video and u made a video 14 hours ago...wth my dude

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

???

[@jaycaser2890]

@@TimLewisMountainMan i watched the one with the female deer video

[@raymondhannon9442]

sorry folks but that is not a tanned hide, it is rawhide

[@davidlee9299]

Egg tanning is actually a semi common practice.. normally I add about 4-5 tbsp of lite oil like olive oil or meats foot to 6 eggs for my mixture and pretty much do as he did... Yes this will be a tanned hide... To keep it from getting stuff you do need to "break" the skin.. or stretch as it dries to keep it soft and supple... For a wall hanger I would call this done.. for a a fur to be used as outdoor garment I would then smoke the hide... Good luck to all and thanks for the video!!

[@scottfrancom3057]

Almost 9K followers? This is like your own cult. Tim, you're killing me. Use a fleshing beam and a 2 handed fleshing knife to make quick work of taking the hide down to paper thin. Borax at Walmart is the go to for not only drying out the wet side of a hide, but will brighten up and degrease the fur side if you rub it on by hand once the pelt is dry. Yellow CITES tags? Those didn't look like AZ bobcats. Keep on trucking.

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

I kinda like doing them while they are flat and stretched. I know the "proper" way for the xperts is beam. Just personal preference. I might just build a frame and stretch it up with leather so I can say I do it old Indian way.

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

My own little cult. LOL ima take full advantage of 15mins of fame from viral video.

[@chunkinline2969]

is this how you tan all of your hides ?

[@salti3155]

'Butt nugget layers' cracked me up

[@barnabus5368]

That’d make a dope band name x)

[@lukeb2068]

Everything except a Buffalo can be tanned with its own brain is what I was taught growing up!

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

How did natives tan buffalo?

[@notmefrfr]

​@TimLewisMountainMan Google says "A tanning mixture made of brains, liver, soapweed, and grease was rubbed into the hide."

[@5153flash]

I have been doing some of this myself lately and if you let the hide air dry instead of putting it into dryer you can make it soft as a towel.Easily. Just let it air dry until it is damp on the hide side,,,dont matter if fur side is wet or dry? You will need a metal pipe(what I use) about 3/4 inch or so ,you can hang it over and apply pressure to and it is strong enough to hold. As it starts to get dry in spots,,start there by folding it fur to fur and bend it over pipe ,,pushing down to stretch it. As it strertches it will turn the hide white, breaking the fibers apart.Apply some good force. Keep moving the fold until the whole thing is done. Do this until it is dry. You can let it sit as you go to dry more,,But this has to be done before it dries completely. Looks like you are skipping this step.

[@1slayerfan834]

I'm glad you commented thank you so much your way sounds much better I'm doing my first deer hide soon thanks again

[@Kurtdog63]

Anti's cruising youtube looking for causes to excuse their own pathetic existence. How long did you put it in the dryer?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

It depends. Sometimes I will put it in for as long as possible with no heat just to tumble it and sometimes just a short bit to dry the fur. I like to dry it on a board while stretched better than anything else.

[@Kurtdog63]

@@TimLewisMountainMan Ah, so little or no heat?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Yes. I try to avoid letting the hide side dry up with heat in the dryer because it makes it super hard and wrinkled up. That's why I like to let it dry while stretched. It's much easier for the thing that I want to make out of it. Once it's dried stretched then I will take it off the board and start rolling on some type of edge to soften it.

[@itguy7030]

interesting vid but i really want to know why? i mean taking a photo of the cat would have lasted essentially forever and it would have allowed the life to keep living? I can certainly understand if you were living in the bush with no contact to modern society but in today's world we have plenty of stuff. also i have a counter argument to the "hunting is good for the population" and that is that in fact no it is not good for the population simply because the hunting itself is driving evolution rather than a scarcity of food. I do not believe there can be an overpopulation of anything simply because once there is too many of the thing for the area to sustain then they will begin to starve and die off. this pushes evolution to diversify to new foods or have better ways of extracting nutrients from current foods or the species dies off due to not being able to support itself if its specialized food ceases to exist. In fact hunting may push a species to start producing even more offspring even faster at a younger age thus increasing the issue you may be trying to prevent in the first place. Evolutionarily you could be pushing certain species into a dead end where they cannot actually survive in a natural environment if say humans disappeared. I do know that argument is a long shot but its not out of the realm of possibility if enough individuals in enough generations are killed. Heck there's that russian fox farm that found out they can create a domesticated non skittish fox in something like 5 or less generations so it does not take much to breed in or out certain aspects from a group. i pose these to you because you seem to be a more thoughtful person with some introspective and not someone who will just jump up and down and cite a bunch of faux articles with no real science behind them. so whats your take on this?

[@TimLewisMountainMan]

Well I will attempt to answer one of your questions. Just because we have everything we need doesn't mean we should abandon our past times and history. We have restaurants on every corner today, so does that mean people shouldn't cook at home any more? No it doesn't. All of us are literally just a generation or 2 removed from ancestors that lived off the land. I prefer to keep that history alive. Sure I can buy my clothes and food at the store. But I simply prefer to get them from a source that I personally know and do it responsibly and within the law.

[@itguy7030]

@@TimLewisMountainMan neat that works. and yes we shouldn't lose what is known. societies throughout the ages have done that many times mostly due to religious zeal. but what's your take on the fact that hunting pushes a species evolutionarily and in a potentially hazardous direction towards independence. one can argue that who cares? because if humans are gone then who cares what is left and how it survives or doesn't but that argument seems kind of callous and lacking forethought.

[@fluteloop6737]

@@itguy7030 Maybe you should take your questions to the fish and game depts around the country as they surely know infinitely more about wildlife management than a computer nerd. And while you're at it you might as well send out a memo to all of Earth's other predator species about your concerns. What good would it do just for humans to stop hunting if coyotes, owls and sharks are still relentlessly pushing the evolution of prey? Seriously

[@itguy7030]

@@fluteloop6737 oooooh seems ive touched you off and sent you for a ... Loop ... are you sure you dont mean Fruit ... as for fish and game they are less concerned about artificial evolution and more concerned about funding which means different groups which pay for their existence usually get preferential treatment. It does do some regulation to preserve actual species numbers as well and it funds projects to keep species considered pests minimized. it is not concerned about the artificial pressures sport hunting puts on a species. my point is to strike up a civil and intelligent conversation about the fact that hunting for sport and hunting with man made implements (anything that isnt strictly growing from ones body such as claws teeth fists feet etc.) will put an artificial pressure to evolve in a way that potentially can lead to the species demise when the artificial hunting is removed from their existence. take deer for instance. their survival is pretty cushy in many places partly due to humans sport hunting their natural predators and partially because they are forcing their own numbers to be far lower than what the food sources can maintain. This means their species can survive with far far less competition for food and safe grazing areas. if you were to remove people after deer have evolved for a few generations you may have a mass die out and possibly extinction as the species will suddenly be forced to compete for food have less of it to go around and have many many more predators to deal with. this sudden change can eradicate the species over a few generations. in short humans with the ability to go to grocery stores and mechanically harvest food in far smaller spaces than they ever have been able to before should stay as far away from the natural selection process as they can unless it is a dire need for sustenance that leads them to hunt. however even for the poorest people there is so much food that you just need to go to a city and get your soup and loaf of bread and if you want more than make some money and buy it at a grocery store or high efficiency farm. if you do plan on hunting then please limit it to your teeth, bare hands, finger nails, bare feet, and whatever else you had with you the moment you popped out of your mom.

[@teddylowe4018]

What kind of oil do you use

[@davidlee9299]

Olive oil works well.