Also, I decided to use the trappers solution to make sure I was not messing up the brains or the eggs or the smoking. How would I know if the wool was slipping or if it was just shedding like it typically does? One less thing to worry about, so I decided no tanning hair sheepskins until I figure out what I am doing. There is a problem that can occur during the tanning process that is referred to as “wool slip”. Why not use ours? I was afraid to test them! At the time I started this adventure, most of our sheep butchered are hair sheep. This is the same method for brains, but you use eggs.Īfter I decided which methods I was sticking to, I needed to get sheepskins.
:) The hides are then washed with soapy water to remove any smells or fragrances of wood smoking or solution. This is the only chemical reaction I was comfortable dealing with. The reaction of the smoke and the brain or egg or fat solution “sets” the tan and makes the hide waterproof. I get the pig brains from my butcher, and after the solution is applied, you set the hide over a fire to “set” the tan. it is the traditional and natural way to tan animal hides. (If I am unable to do acquire brains or it is too rainy to smoke the hides, then this is the solution I use) 2) brain tanning.
It is not harsh and does not require mixing. This is an easy to use premade solution and it is not difficult to obtain. 1) Hunter Trappers Tanning Solution, in an orange bottle. I decided that there were three methods I was going to stick with. Anything that mentioned weighing solutions, or checking temperatures, or using masks or chemical safe gloves, I steered away from. People used Alum, brains, eggs, fats, tannins (from tree bark or other vegetables) and even battery acid! I am not good at chemistry (ask my professor from Wilmington College). Once I started down the “how do I tan a sheepskin” rabbit hole, I realized there are so many different ways to tan a hide, and each person that writes the article or book, has their preference. I will spend countless hours reading, combing the internet and checking out books at the library (I love the library!) before I dive into something new. If you don’t know me personally, then you might not be aware that I am an obsessive researcher/reader when it comes to starting projects. This is when I decided I was going to try and do this on my own. I did not expect that, and it took months before the smell dissipated. I was so afraid that I did not prepare the hide properly before sending it to the tannery, that it would not be salvageable. It took 3 months to get the sheepskin back. (The salt draws out moisture to preserve and cure the hide.) It sat there for 8 months under salt before I would send it to a tannery in Pennsylvania to have tanned. I took the sheepskin into the barn and poured salt all over the pelt. I took out my grandpa’s pocket knife, and saved what I could of his pelt, and then buried him.
Now, I realize that most of you reading would not have the instinct to do this, but it is what I did. He was beautiful and spotted black and white, like a small baby cow. Brokenhearted to find such a beautiful ram that was meant to live on in our flock as a herd sire, deceased, I felt helpless and wanted to honor his life. I walked out into the pasture field, like I do everyday, to check on the sheep and Magnus (our livestock guardian donkey) Much to my shock and sadness I found one of my young jacob rams dead.
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