tanning skins

[Junky]

Brother inlaw has had a few lamb growing in the meaty patch at his house. 

Been skinned and hung in cold room for butcher tomorrow. 

 

Have kept the hides and I'm  attempting to tan them. 

Never done it before so we're just following YouTube advise. 

Well see how we go. 

 

Currently cleaned the underside of the hide with the gernie and have them soaking in a tub of water with washing powder for 2hrs. 

 

 

Our time measurement is in Turkey 101 cans. It only took two cans to clean two skins, and it smells like a can of lanolin has been sprayed all over me. 

Interesting, and much more pleasant than red meat skins. 

 

They'll then be hung for the night and put into a solution of salt and aluminium sulphate mixed in water for 2 weeks. 

 

All new to me, and completely experimental at this stage. 

Will update as we go, but like I said, 2 weeks in solution so we'll see how we go. 

 

Any helpful advise will be taken with appreciation. 

 

Cheers. 

Damo. 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Good luck Damo, what is the purpose of tanning them? 

[Angry51]

I've only used that " Leidreitter's" tanning kits on cow/roo skins with good success. A fair bit of work but very satisfying.

Most important part is making sure there's no meat/fat/sinew left on skins/hides before tanning.

And then lubing them and breaking the fibres.

[ellicat]

I'm interested in seeing how you go. Sounds almost too easy and the smell is a win.

It looks like it was a decent size sheep.

[mangajack]

Get a tanning kit rather than buying the raw chemicals.....ratios are fairly critical for a long lasting skin. Keep them cool as possible at all times during the prep and tanning / breaking process to minimise bacterial growth. 

Breaking the skins is probably the hardest part of the whole process but it just takes patience to do it right.

Very satisfying when a good skin is the end result.

 

[Junky]

1 hour ago, AUS-BNE-FISHO said:

Good luck Damo, what is the purpose of tanning them? 

G'day Hamish.

It's the process of turning their skin to leather. It's just soft and slimey at the moment. If you ever see a lambswool have a feel of the back. 

Have to be careful of shrinkage and fleece separation. 

It's all just YouTube vids and trials. 

They were going to be thrown out and my bro inlaw is a keen tryer of things, so we thought there'd be nothing to loose and education to gain. 

[Junky]

1 hour ago, Angry51 said:

I've only used that " Leidreitter's" tanning kits on cow/roo skins with good success. A fair bit of work but very satisfying.

Most important part is making sure there's no meat/fat/sinew left on skins/hides before tanning.

And then lubing them and breaking the fibres.

 

 

Thanks angry. 

 

The gernie got all the meat fat sinew off fairly easily. 

Just a light trim with the knife for the really stuck on stuff tomorrow morning. 

[Junky]

1 hour ago, ellicat said:

I'm interested in seeing how you go. Sounds almost too easy and the smell is a win.

It looks like it was a decent size sheep.

 

Yes Brain, that's what im worried about. Why is it so easy? 

Okay size to them. 

I think they came in around 30kg on the hook. Will k ow tomorrow as I'm heading over to watch the butcher weave his magic. 

 

I like lambswool. Nice and warm under feet. Will go nicely on the floor up north. 

[Junky]

1 hour ago, mangajack said:

Get a tanning kit rather than buying the raw chemicals.....ratios are fairly critical for a long lasting skin. Keep them cool as possible at all times during the prep and tanning / breaking process to minimise bacterial growth. 

Breaking the skins is probably the hardest part of the whole process but it just takes patience to do it right.

Very satisfying when a good skin is the end result.

 

Greatly appreciated mangajack. 

 

Looking online, it looks like Greg grants on Ipswich road sell kits. 

Will head over tomorrow and have a look. 

[Bob9863]

I like brain tanning, I just flesh a hide using a pressure washer, stretch and dry it, paint on the brains and your GTG. Well for a rug anyway, you can smoke it or treat it with softening treatments if you want it pliable. 

[Junky]

8 hours ago, Bob9863 said:

I like brain tanning, I just flesh a hide using a pressure washer, stretch and dry it, paint on the brains and your GTG. Well for a rug anyway, you can smoke it or treat it with softening treatments if you want it pliable. 

I've just last night read about this method bob. 

Unfortunately it will have to be next time as the heads have been taken away. 

[Junky]

This is the method we are following. 

 

 

 

Tanning kits are heavily priced for my first go, and I would like to try the egg yoke idea. 

Alum powder is cheap as chips. 

I'm not to bothered if the skins  turn out a little on the "stiffer" side (haha, where will the boys go with that comment) as the skins will just be used as floor rugs, and no doubt the hound will find them comfortable as well, although she already has a super king sized woolen doggy bed. 

 

Will keep the updates coming as I fumble around. 

 

[Bob9863]

I used alum when I was a kid, but it used to give me a rash. Brains is easy and cheap and luckily every animal skin comes with one complete brain. 

[Angry51]

13 hours ago, Junky said:

 

Yes Brain, 

We know he's the brains of the outfit but that's not his name.

[ellicat]

I didn't pick that up.

[Junky]

4 hours ago, Angry51 said:

We know he's the brains of the outfit but that's not his name.

Haha. 

I was covered in lanolin. 

My fingers were slipping. 

 

I am however sidlexic. 

[Junky]

Okay. 

The recipe is as follows for one skin. 

20ltrs of water. 

5kg of salt. 

500g of Alum, aka aluminium sulphate. 

 

I went to school in Cleveland so my maths is not the best but I calculated for 2 skins... 

40ltrs of water. 

10kg of salt. 

Ikg of Alum. 

 

So here we are. 

 

 

As per the video, I am to stir this twice daily. I have my trusty old landing net handle minus the landing net as it broke off a while ago. (yes I have a new net for fishing.) 

As per the video clip, I have my safety boots on and I used the human skinned gloves. 

 

In one weeks time, I'll get the skins out for drying.

I also have an Engel full of meat. Butchers said keep it refrigerated for a week (at least) before freezing. 

I'm on a carnivore diet atm so it may not last long enough to hit the freezer. 

 

These are the butchers. 

Good blokes and very quick. 

Very nice cuts. 

 

 

Will update in a week's time. 

Cheers. 

Damo. 

[Angry51]

Damo, you realise you can stir more than twice daily.

I used to do it many times, whenever I was near it, doesn't hurt it, just covers it better.

[Junky]

18 minutes ago, Angry51 said:

Damo, you realise you can stir more than twice daily.

I used to do it many times, whenever I was near it, doesn't hurt it, just covers it better.

Thanks angry. 

I'll give it a stir now. 

 

It's actually really exciting times for me atm. 

I'm slowly getting back into hunting and I am currently in the process of getting my firearms license updated and reregistered. Have to do the safety course again though as my brief expired yrs ago, and no, I don't have any firearms atm. 

 

That thread of bobs with that deer kicked off my enthusiasm again. 

We used to do a lot back in the 90s and if I can get this tanning sorted I'll get some deer hide and I'll have some nice ground covers in my fishing shack. 

Would love a few trophy heads as well. 

[Junky]

Another thing I learnt today was that the grass seeds work their way into sheep's skin, and I mean to the underside. 

 

I'll get a pic when I pull these skins out. Little black seeds pretty much ready to reach the flesh. Was very close with this one lamb. Other skin is clean as a whistle. 

 

As I was gernieing the fat and sinew off I noticed these black things that looked like farmers friends embedded into the skin. 

Turns out they're grass seeds and can be fatal to sheep. 

Luckily the sheep that owned the skin was okay but the butchers said that we just got to him in time before the seeds worked their way into the flesh and started to grow. 

Once that happens the sheep is toast, well the flesh is anyway. 

 

Interesting. 

[Angry51]

Yeah, I saw a bloke who got a speargrass seed in his thumb and 4/5 mths later it festered up on the top side behind his thumb nail and out came a grass seed when the doc cut it open.

That's those big black spear grass up in the gulf.

[Angry51]

I hope you're stirring that skin Junky, we don't want you going to sleep on the job. haha

[Junky]

4 hours ago, Angry51 said:

I hope you're stirring that skin Junky, we don't want you going to sleep on the job. haha

Yep, plenty of stirring going on. 

Just got back in from a stir actually. 

My hands feel so soft from the other day handling the skins. 

Amazing stuff that lanolin. 

[Angry51]

Yeah, if you do a season during the shearing your hands get very soft.

Good for your skin.

[Bob9863]

That might be why they say kiwi's have such soft hands, and thighs.

[Angry51]

How are them skins going Junky.

Must be looking good bout now.

[Junky]

On 15/06/2023 at 1:57 PM, Angry51 said:

How are them skins going Junky.

Must be looking good bout now.

Hey Angry. 

They look great. 

Managed to get them on the drying rack on wed, however I have the flu so haven't spent much time on them at all. Just washed them and hung them basically. 

Been stretching the skin but I have been sick as a dog for the week so motivation is just not there. They'll be okay.

I'm just trying to recover asap. Knocked me this one. 

 

Will get out in the morning for a look. Have to trim them, then sand them back a little and egg yoke them. Will get that done tomorrow. 

I'll get some pics up. 

[Bretto77]

Mend first. @Angry51 is just trying to make sure that the working class is slaving

[Junky]

Righto. 

They're yoked up and on the drying rack. 

 

The cleaned up nicely. No particular shape, just cut the dodgy edges off. 

 

 

Give this a couple of days and I'll sand up rough bits to finish. 

Brush fleece and they should be good to go. 

 

[AUS-BNE-FISHO]

Looks good ! 

[Angry51]

Look good Junky, did you give them a good stretch to break

the fibres. When you use them as mats give them a good airing in the sun over the clothes line, keeps them smelling fresh. We do ours every 2 weeks or so ( Roo skins ) Good start, next time it'll be easier.

[ellicat]

That's great. Why do I see two coats waiting to be made ?

[Angry51]

I was thinking ugh boots, whoops not allowed to say that.

Just call them boots.

[Junky]

Yep. Stretched them about twice a day as they were drying. 

I was pretty crook at the time so it was a basic 5 Min job. My brain just wasn't interested though. 

Considering the illness and lack of motivation, I'm still pretty happy how they turned out. 

Still a touch damp. 

Another week on the rack and they'll be sweet.

A light sand at the end to get all those little dags and rough bits off as well. 

Grass seed is still bedded deep in one of the skins so they'll be staying put. I'm not gonna dig them out. To many. 

 

 

Why can't we call them Ugg boots anymore? 

[Angry51]

Some clown in the us decided he used the name first and was a court case over it.

Not sure but think they won it and we can't use that name, but still see them sold as ugh boots.

[ellicat]

53 minutes ago, Junky said:

Why can't we call them Ugg boots anymore? 

Because some large American mob registered the name. Then they said the original Aussie manufacturer couldn't call the name Ugg boots anymore. I think they won the case in court.

[Junky]

Well that's crap Ray (Eric banner, comedy company) 

 

 

According to skinnys we still have them. 

UGG BOOTS

 

Surely the Yanks don't own Skinnys now. 

[ellicat]

Not sure. Maybe they are now named under licence ??

[Angry51]

Just googled Australian ugg boot co. and they are 100% Aussie owned in Melbourne.

They might have won the court case, last I heard the yanks were in the drivers seat. Looks like we're wrong Brian, I know that not possible, but we  might be not right.

[Angry51]

Correction,,, ugg boots can only be sold in Aust. Deckers in USA have the trademark in Eur/Uk/USA.

That was uptill 2021/22.

Supposed to be going to the Surpreme court in the US.