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Post by Cody ( The Patriot ) on Sept 9, 2008 19:13:33 GMT -5
Thats awsumm
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Post by Buckskin Billy on Sept 9, 2008 19:45:44 GMT -5
very nice work
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Post by longtrail on Sept 9, 2008 22:10:41 GMT -5
Thanks grizz for removing the photo. Again, I apologize for using the photo without permission. It didn't even enter my head that I might be doing something wrong.
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Post by chuck on Sept 10, 2008 0:02:47 GMT -5
that is a beautiful hide!
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Post by caretaker on Sept 10, 2008 11:41:10 GMT -5
I want to thank everyone for keeping things civil. I agree that hide is beautiful and you have every right to be proud of your work. I have worked smaller hides before, coon,fox,treerat,possum and even a skunk. Yep, back when I was in my early teens my brother. our best freind and I found a dead skunk that didn`t stink. We proceeded to skin said skunk. Mark and I had just abut completed skinnin the skunk when my brother dropped it and busted the sent sack. Needless tosay the three of us spent the next week or so outside. I wish I could work a hide but I have to wear a nitro patch 12 hours a day becouse of chest pain even so I usually walk 21/2 to 3 miles a day. Maybe I can find me another road kill skunks that don`t stink on one of my walks and get one of y`all to hold it while I skin it. Thanks again. David
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Post by Cody ( The Patriot ) on Sept 10, 2008 13:21:51 GMT -5
My brother the skunk story brings back fond memories of when I was a young trapper ,2.00 was a lot of money to me then .Ifn it wernt for my wife id do it again
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Post by paskinner on Sept 10, 2008 13:27:02 GMT -5
longtrail, I know you mentioned that you have been in the east. I was wondering if you ever tanned here. I'm curious about the differences the humidy makes in how fast hides dry. Liza and I were talking about this, and we have friends who moved from here to Montana who have commented on how fast clothes dry on the line and how you just don't sweat as much.
It can get a little boring waiting for hides to dry at times, and we only rarely get really good conditions outside, so I do it inside with the fans, so don't have the benefit of sunshine. Like today, I could have softened outside, but it's only in the 60's and the sun comes and goes, so I opted for inside. Think maybe I need to put a de humidfier in the shop, at least for the winter.
Anyone else here who has tanned hides in different climates?
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Post by 3balls on Sept 10, 2008 16:52:37 GMT -5
Missouri, I have never had a hide that dryed and is soft under 5 hours. inside or outside,
this last week end i did try the per-stretch, pre-braning, stretching again, then pre- smoke steps this was on a bucked hide. due to the fact i don't have any fresh hides, in fact it was my last hide i have. sure glad deer season opens in a few days. anyways it still took about 5 hours to soften, temp was about 75 and rainy, but the kicker is I think this was the best hide i ever did. what was that word you use a while back longtrail, loftyer, there just may be somthing to all this pre- this and pre- that can't say it was any less work but i like the out come .
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Post by longtrail on May 4, 2009 12:05:24 GMT -5
Hello, Joe pointed out something to me that he was reading. I just want to clear up the we DO NOT SOFTEN ANY HIDE TWICE. Putting a hide on a frame, stretching it side to side to open the fibers is not softening the hide. It is flexible when it comes off the frame, but it it were softened, we would not go any farther in the process. We show the flexibility of the prestretched hide to show just how far the fibers have been opened up to allow the smoke and brains to absorb. The prestretching DOES aid in the last step of actually SOFTENING
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Post by longtrail on May 4, 2009 12:06:04 GMT -5
(OOPS, HIT WRONG KEY)
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Post by longtrail on May 4, 2009 12:08:14 GMT -5
WTF! at any rate, inspite of the fact Pa doesn't really understand out method and insists we soften twice, it is not the case. Prestretching makes the softening easier. And thats whats so great about the method we use. In my obviously and repeatedly pointed out, not so damn humble opinion. lt
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Post by longtrail on May 4, 2009 14:03:13 GMT -5
Ya, me again, after walking away from this one for a bit, and doing some sewing on some mocs, I wanted to add a comment.
The pre-stretching we do, aids in the last step, which is the softening. But that is not the only step in our process that aids in the last step of softening. The very first step, that of fleshing, we flesh with the hide sideways on the beam, this opens the fibers, dehairing is done in the usual manner of neck to butt, BUT the dehairing is easier because of the way it was fleshed, the fibers being opened which allows for better water absorption and the hair comes off easier.
After the hair is removed we cut the lacing holes and put it on a frame for a few minutes just to open it sideways again for the prebraining, after prebraining, the hide is hung sideways, which keeps the fibers open from the weight of the hide, the smoke goes farther into the hide when the fibers are opened. So I guess you can work towards having a soft hide from the beginning of the process, or wait until the end and do it all then. Each step we do, makes the next one easier. Makes sense to us. And at no time does our hide resemble a slimy piece of shrunken rubber like other methods present. We do not soften twice. geeee where have I heard that crap before, oh... matts site.
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Post by joanne2 on May 4, 2009 20:39:03 GMT -5
Good post LT.
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