what happend if you wet or try to rehydrate a soft or garment tann

[fowlhunter8]

i was told in taxidermy school never wet or rehydrate a soft or garment tan because it will shred is this true ?
Randy

[WeaponX]

The only capes we mountedi n school were soft tan, we re-hydrated ans sweat them and mounted them with no problem.

[fowlhunter8]

i was told they use a different oil on soft or garment tan that when sweated will break down
Randy

[Paul K]

Maybe at your school , But if that were the case I highly doubt the best tanneries out there would be putting their reputations on the line. Most tanneries will however recommend re hydrating within a certain time period for various reasons. Most I think recommend no longer than a year. I re hydrated a bear that was dry tanned for ten yrs without any problems except possibly some lack of stretch.

[Felpy]

In general garment tanned hides are thinner and more delicate so you have to treat them a bit more gently.  Unless a germent tanned hide is blocked/stretched at the tannery you will need to do this step yourself.  If you try to sew an item out of an unstretched hide the pieces you are sewing will stretch out of shape and the item you are making will look terrible.  My wife stretches her sea otter by spraying them (on the leather side) with water and a bit of joy soap mixed in.  She then blocks/stretches and tacks the hide to a piece of plywood and allows to dry overnight.  The next day the hide is removed from the plywood and tumbled in the dryer (air dry setting) for 10 minutes.  The hides come out soft and supple and she has had no problems with the hides deteriorating.