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elk
Feb 17, 2008 17:45:12 GMT -5
Post by Grizz on Feb 17, 2008 17:45:12 GMT -5
anybody done any elk? I'm thinking about trying one out to make a coat with. pics? tips?
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elk
Feb 17, 2008 19:16:05 GMT -5
Post by beaudro on Feb 17, 2008 19:16:05 GMT -5
Assuming you wetscrape? here's what I did, I followed billy metcalfs instructions. www.braintan.com/articles/bighides/metcalf1.htm It is true, and most helpful, you need to do several deer hides first, and try to pick out the young cow elk to do first. I have done quite a few now, and they have come out as good as deer skins, but it is alot more work. I know there is a few more on here that have done a few. here's a pic of a plain metis style coat, it's pretty much what alot of the AMM guys wear also.
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elk
Feb 17, 2008 22:05:00 GMT -5
Post by redthunder on Feb 17, 2008 22:05:00 GMT -5
nice coat beaudro, like it even if i prefer to wear shirts
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elk
Feb 17, 2008 22:29:49 GMT -5
Post by beaudro on Feb 17, 2008 22:29:49 GMT -5
I could scan some images out of a good book I have, but I don't think that would be a good thing to be doing, but if you can locate this book "IN THE IMAGE OF A.J. MILLER", by Shawn Webster, it has a group of guys that have recreated the clothing and equipment of the 1836 voyage of Miller. It has great pictures and artwork by Lee Teter. These guys make a living out of re-enacting this one particular journey and it's worth the money for sure. There are several buckskin coats shown, This metis coat is very similar but you would see a few variations as what is drawn by miller in his paintings. Sounds like one really good project your going to start, I"m working on one right along side you maybe, I'm needing to tan out one more hide and I'm going to give this a try soon. I hope we can help each other out, were going to have alot of work involved and we deserve to be proud of them when finished.
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elk
Feb 17, 2008 22:40:17 GMT -5
Post by Grizz on Feb 17, 2008 22:40:17 GMT -5
yep I wetscrape. I'm gonna do several more deer before I try an elk. but yeah that's along the same lines as what I'd be aiming to make.
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elk
Feb 17, 2008 22:59:57 GMT -5
Post by beaudro on Feb 17, 2008 22:59:57 GMT -5
I bet your gonna do fine, there's always support in here anyway. I did real well with metcalfs instructions, i'm pretty proud of mine, even the first one. I don't know what you want to buck with, I used a little kiddy wading pool , it worked real good , that hide gets heavy! haha, buy a 12 pack and invite your buddies over when your ready to pull it out of the buck.
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elk
Feb 18, 2008 9:17:49 GMT -5
Post by Cody ( The Patriot ) on Feb 18, 2008 9:17:49 GMT -5
How many square feet do they run?How does the graining compair?
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elk
Feb 18, 2008 19:59:42 GMT -5
Post by beaudro on Feb 18, 2008 19:59:42 GMT -5
I have found elk as small as 12 square feet, and I only used that because it was thick leather. Then I have tanned elk as big as 18 square feet , i'd be guessing as to how big one could get. I wouldn't want one as big as 18 again, it was tough. My first one , maybe 15 square feet , I left in a lime buck for about 12 days, I stir often with deer, but with elk, i have to buy them so I can't afford to take chances and I stirred 4 or 5 times a day. Stirring a bucking is just a big pet peeve of mine, you may feel different about that. However, when i felt it was the right time to grain the hide, i pulled it out, and went to work on it. Parts of the hide was easier than deer actually, the neck and backbone was more work than anything I had done before,, I"m scared of doing a moose now. I can offer a tip and take it for what it's worth,,, Don't sweat getting every peice of grain off the hide at this point. I don't kill myself on deer either, I will frame soften later and remove some more of with my scraper at that point. I sort of got the impression that it would be 40 times harder to do than deer and I was wrong about that, I did take extra precautions because the first few i did I invested 50 bucks into a green hide, but because of my precautions I took the steps to do it right and they were beautiful hides,, I hope yours comes out as good or better. there are good tanners in our forum here , they all helped me get started.
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elk
Feb 19, 2008 8:58:19 GMT -5
Post by paskinner on Feb 19, 2008 8:58:19 GMT -5
I do some elk. Just fleshed one yesterday. I stick with mostly cows and get them from an elk ranch. I've done a couple bulls, but the cows are a whole lot easier. IMO, forget about bucking the hide until after scraping. I just soak them in a big garbage can. They have a lot more membrane then a deer, which makes fleshing harder, you have to actaully break up membrane to get the flesh off. Graining generally is only tough on the neck. The grain layer just doesn't come off smooth on the necks and you just have to get all that you can of it. The upside is the cow necks arent that thick and they are a real loose fiber so they aren't real tough to soften once you get good brain penetration. I can generally get by with two brainings, if I pre-stetch really well. If you work them too many times the thin edges and score marks just come apart, so getting well skinned elk is really important. The other really important thing is getting them rinsed well. I check the thick parts of the hide by squeezing out juice while it's in the vinegar water and check with a (gasp) ph meter. Once it's below 7, I'm happy. They are time consuming, because they can take a really long time to dry and are tougher to wring, but do-able. I've done elk as small as ten foot but most of mine run 20-25 with some bigger.
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elk
Feb 23, 2008 14:49:31 GMT -5
Post by longtrail on Feb 23, 2008 14:49:31 GMT -5
Well, only using water and brains, we easily(yes, easily) tan cow elk. We soak the hide for a day or so in plain water, when the brownish epidermis has soaked in enough water to soften and sort of swell it up, we then scrape off the epidermis taking the hair off with it. Hide is yellowish at this point. We then pre-brain the hide in a warm brain solution,overnight, hide is whiteish, infact it begins to turn white as soon as you swish it around in the warm solution. hang it sideways from one edge on a clothes line, let it dry, yellowish when dry. Soak in plain cold water until is is sort of soft and rubbery, usually overnight, lace on frame, prestretch real well, until dry, smoke, immediately after it comes from smoker, brain in warm solution, soak overnight, Work on band the next day, wring, put on frame and soften. Our hides all come out like velvet, right up to the neck. All portions being extremely beadable, even the neck, the needle slides right through. The main step is the prestretching, it has to be done good enough so that the hide is white when it dries. You need to whiten out the edges too and work the hair side more because it is more dense. I guess you guys will just have to figure out for yourselves that you don't need all the PH~ucking PH, vinegar, lye etc. Have fun. Thats how we skin our cats.
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elk
Feb 23, 2008 15:53:49 GMT -5
Post by longtrail on Feb 23, 2008 15:53:49 GMT -5
some of our elk Notice loft and soft folds.
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elk
Feb 23, 2008 18:25:35 GMT -5
Post by beaudro on Feb 23, 2008 18:25:35 GMT -5
I'm impressed with your tanning , can't wait to hear more about it.
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elk
Feb 24, 2008 0:16:31 GMT -5
Post by longtrail on Feb 24, 2008 0:16:31 GMT -5
Thats about it in a nutshell. Having 15 years experience helps too. Its like making bread without a recipe, it is all in the feel and knowing what to look for.
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elk
Feb 24, 2008 11:13:53 GMT -5
Post by joanne on Feb 24, 2008 11:13:53 GMT -5
It has to be longer than 15 years.. Don't mean to argue with ya, lt, but I've been a member of the forums for close to 5 yrs time.. and i know there's a fella saying that he's been tanning for 15 and hadn't learned anyone elses methods for several years and he also lists you guys as having learned a great deal from... so mentally calculating, you must be mistaken and it's gotta be at least 20years? maybe more maybe less? or closer to that figure then the figure 15 yrs! Sorry don't mean to age you all, either, lol.. fwiw, pj
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elk
Feb 24, 2008 11:15:26 GMT -5
Post by joanne on Feb 24, 2008 11:15:26 GMT -5
oh by the way.. love that pic of the elkskin.. skin is skin and that skin of yours just looks daing sexy! sorry but that's just a little too much visually for my braintan obsession to ignore.. it's beautiful and I WANT IT!
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