Post by Michelle on Jan 15, 2009 12:39:41 GMT -6
Tanning Rabbit Hides
Once a rabbit has been killed and the head removed, it is suspended by one or both back legs to allow the blood to drain. When hung, the animal is flayed, removing the hide from the carcass. Cut the skin around each hind foot and carefully slit the hide inside each leg from hock to anus, being careful not to slice the meat. Strip the skin from the carcass by gently pulling downward toward the rabbits head. Use your fingers or a skinning knife to loosen any difficult spots.
The freshly flayed hide (“green” skin) is now cased or sleeve pulled to put the fur on the inside and the flesh on the outside. Let the cased pelt soak in cold water while you finish dressing out the carcass and storing the meat.
Now thoroughly rinse the hide in more cold water to finish cooling it as quickly as possible. Be sure to wash away all blood left on the skin. Carefully squeeze (never wring) the excess water from the pelt. Thoroughly cleaned hides can be preserved for later processing by freezing, drying on a stretcher, or salting and drying.
When the pelts are clean and cooled, begin tanning. Using a four to six gallon container, pour two gallons of room temperature water into the pail and add one (but not both) of the following tanning recipes (each recipe should tan about 6-9 medium sized pelts).
Tanning Recipe #1: (salt/alum)
1 cup of coarse or granulated salt (not iodized)
1 cup of common alum (aluminum sulfate), powdered or granulated
Tanning Recipe #2: (salt/acid)
1 pound of coarse salt or granulated salt (about 1 3/4 c)
1 ounce of full strength sulfuric acid or 4 oz (½ c) of batter acid - dilute sulfuric acid
Add the chemicals to the water and be sure the powders are completely dissolved before adding pelts. Drop each skin into the pickle (tanning mix) and swish it around with a wooden spoon or stick to work the solution into the fur and skin. Allow the pelts to remain in the brine at room temperature for 48 hours, stirring them at least twice a day. If the pelts float to the top of the solution weigh them down using a water filled glass jug or clean rock. After 48 hours squeeze the excess brine from the skins (save the solution for later) and rinse them in cold water.
Fleshing is the process of removing the fatty tissue and flesh to expose the actual leather to chemical action. Rabbits have clearly defined undertissue that can be peeled off in one piece carefully after the first soaking. Start from the rump section and peel toward the neck. Use a knife to loosen any tough areas around the legs and belly. Be careful not to expose the root hairs. When finished, rinse the hides in cool water and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Add the same amount of the solution used in the first soaking to the reserved brine. Put the pelts in the liquid one at a time. Keep the skins soaking at room temperature for seven days, stirring them at least twice a day. To test for “doneness” boil a small piece of hide for a few minutes in water. If the leather curls up and becomes hard and rubbery, return the pelt to the solution. A well tanned hide should show little or no change in boiling water. After one pelt has tested done, remove them all from the solution and squeeze out the excess pickle. Carefully dispose of any excess liquid.
Wash the pelt thoroughly with a mild detergent. Rinse several times in lukewarm water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Hang the pelts in the shade to dry. It will take from 6 hours to 2 days for the skins to be fully dried. If wanted, when the pelts are barely damp throw them in an electric dryer with no heat for 15-45 minutes. This will make the fur easier to work with.
Pull the skin of the damp pelt in all directions, working only a small area at a time. The leather will begin to turn soft and white. Don’t use too much force so as not to tear the leather. If the hide gets dry or hard resoak it with a wet sponge until soft enough to stretch again. Keep doing this until the skin remains soft as it dries. “Broken” hides may be tacked to a board or frame to keep them flat when drying.
After the hide has dried and is soft, give the fur a good brushing with a small hairbrush. Massage mink oil into the skin side of the hide with your fingers. The leather may be buffed with pumice or fine sandpaper to give it a soft velvety feel.
To sew with leather, use a glovers, leather or furrier’s needle; waxed nylon, linen or heavy carpet weight thread; and a running stitch, whipstitch, or cross stitch. For machine sewing use a No. 16 or 19 needle and good all purpose thread, setting the machine to 7-9 stitches per inch. To flatten seams or hem edges, place a warm, damp cloth over the seam/hem line on the skin side, and pound the leather with a wooden mallet or hammer.
Once a rabbit has been killed and the head removed, it is suspended by one or both back legs to allow the blood to drain. When hung, the animal is flayed, removing the hide from the carcass. Cut the skin around each hind foot and carefully slit the hide inside each leg from hock to anus, being careful not to slice the meat. Strip the skin from the carcass by gently pulling downward toward the rabbits head. Use your fingers or a skinning knife to loosen any difficult spots.
The freshly flayed hide (“green” skin) is now cased or sleeve pulled to put the fur on the inside and the flesh on the outside. Let the cased pelt soak in cold water while you finish dressing out the carcass and storing the meat.
Now thoroughly rinse the hide in more cold water to finish cooling it as quickly as possible. Be sure to wash away all blood left on the skin. Carefully squeeze (never wring) the excess water from the pelt. Thoroughly cleaned hides can be preserved for later processing by freezing, drying on a stretcher, or salting and drying.
When the pelts are clean and cooled, begin tanning. Using a four to six gallon container, pour two gallons of room temperature water into the pail and add one (but not both) of the following tanning recipes (each recipe should tan about 6-9 medium sized pelts).
Tanning Recipe #1: (salt/alum)
1 cup of coarse or granulated salt (not iodized)
1 cup of common alum (aluminum sulfate), powdered or granulated
Tanning Recipe #2: (salt/acid)
1 pound of coarse salt or granulated salt (about 1 3/4 c)
1 ounce of full strength sulfuric acid or 4 oz (½ c) of batter acid - dilute sulfuric acid
Add the chemicals to the water and be sure the powders are completely dissolved before adding pelts. Drop each skin into the pickle (tanning mix) and swish it around with a wooden spoon or stick to work the solution into the fur and skin. Allow the pelts to remain in the brine at room temperature for 48 hours, stirring them at least twice a day. If the pelts float to the top of the solution weigh them down using a water filled glass jug or clean rock. After 48 hours squeeze the excess brine from the skins (save the solution for later) and rinse them in cold water.
Fleshing is the process of removing the fatty tissue and flesh to expose the actual leather to chemical action. Rabbits have clearly defined undertissue that can be peeled off in one piece carefully after the first soaking. Start from the rump section and peel toward the neck. Use a knife to loosen any tough areas around the legs and belly. Be careful not to expose the root hairs. When finished, rinse the hides in cool water and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Add the same amount of the solution used in the first soaking to the reserved brine. Put the pelts in the liquid one at a time. Keep the skins soaking at room temperature for seven days, stirring them at least twice a day. To test for “doneness” boil a small piece of hide for a few minutes in water. If the leather curls up and becomes hard and rubbery, return the pelt to the solution. A well tanned hide should show little or no change in boiling water. After one pelt has tested done, remove them all from the solution and squeeze out the excess pickle. Carefully dispose of any excess liquid.
Wash the pelt thoroughly with a mild detergent. Rinse several times in lukewarm water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Hang the pelts in the shade to dry. It will take from 6 hours to 2 days for the skins to be fully dried. If wanted, when the pelts are barely damp throw them in an electric dryer with no heat for 15-45 minutes. This will make the fur easier to work with.
Pull the skin of the damp pelt in all directions, working only a small area at a time. The leather will begin to turn soft and white. Don’t use too much force so as not to tear the leather. If the hide gets dry or hard resoak it with a wet sponge until soft enough to stretch again. Keep doing this until the skin remains soft as it dries. “Broken” hides may be tacked to a board or frame to keep them flat when drying.
After the hide has dried and is soft, give the fur a good brushing with a small hairbrush. Massage mink oil into the skin side of the hide with your fingers. The leather may be buffed with pumice or fine sandpaper to give it a soft velvety feel.
To sew with leather, use a glovers, leather or furrier’s needle; waxed nylon, linen or heavy carpet weight thread; and a running stitch, whipstitch, or cross stitch. For machine sewing use a No. 16 or 19 needle and good all purpose thread, setting the machine to 7-9 stitches per inch. To flatten seams or hem edges, place a warm, damp cloth over the seam/hem line on the skin side, and pound the leather with a wooden mallet or hammer.