How to processes your own hides at home:

1. after skinning the animal, it is best to try and scrape as much fat and membrane off the skin as possible.

2. if there is not an abundance of furs to tan at one time, freeze the hides soon after step one is complete.

3.place furs in the tanning solution and wait a few days ‘til they are ready for completion.

4. after hides are tanned, give them a good stretching, then wash the entire hide with soap and water.

5. let the fur dry over night.

6. turn the skin inside out if it is cased, and let it dry for a while

7. after hides are almost dry, rub the leather side down with oil mixture to make it softer, then turn it fur side out, and let it sit for about 4 hours.

8. turn hides inside out again and let the leather dry almost completely.

9. place the hide in a dryer and let it get tumbled around for a while so the leather can loosen up

10. after the hides have dried for a few hours, start the breaking process just before the leather is completely dried and turns hard.
      - sand the leather or scrape with a wire brush until the leather is a white color and feels soft.

11.turn hide back to the fur side out, and let it finish drying. (brush hair to make it look nice for presentation)

(If hides become too hard early in the process, just rewet them and start over)

Degreasing Hides

If you have any questions about what is written here or what types of tanning solutions to use, please feel free to contact me and ask. Good Luck!