

Saturday, March 5, 2011


Animal skins make great trophies, can be sold for extra cash and can be used to line or make clothing warm and comfortable. When preparing animals skins for tanning, or when simply curing them for use, the most important thing to do is make sure any meat or fat is separated from the skin to reduce the likelihood of the pelt becoming
rancid. The time required to prepare the skin is determined by both the size and thickness of the skin, as well as the humidity and temperature of the air.

Remove any muscle tissue and fat from the inside of the skin. When scraping the tissue and fats from the skin, be sure not to scrape through the actual skin material, as tears, rips and overly thinned areas will make stretching
the skin difficult without doing further damage.

Staple or nail the skin, fur or hair side down, to a level board larger than the skin. Start with one corner of the skin, and stretch the skin taut as you place the next staple or nail through the skin. Each skin's size and shape will determine the number of staples or nails required. Lay the board on a flat surface.

Pour a 1/8-inch layer of non-iodized salt over the skin to absorb moisture. The entire skin should should be coated with salt when completed. If any salted areas become moistened during the salt layering process, pour more salt over the area.

Add more salt to areas that become moist as the skin continues to dry. Do not remove the old salt until the skin is completely dry. Monitor the skin twice daily for the first week, and continue to monitor the skin once every other day for the remaining time required.

Remove the salt when you believe the skin is dry. Pour any loose salt off the skin and lightly scrape the remaining salt from the skin surface. If necessary, repeat the process.