Greetings! I've recently been thinking heavily about brain tanning as a hobby (you can start laughing or make squeamish sounds now.) I understand the process and all of the steps so far, but before I invest in a pelt, I had a few questions that I hope somebody can assist me with.
The pelts I'm looking at are something called "Green Dried." I'm not quite sure what that is exactly, but can you still brain tan a pelt that is "green dried"?
Normally you tan things in a separate room, preferably an outdoor shed because the chemicals smell so badly. I'm considering brain tanning because there are no chemicals in it to make me ill (do brains smell?). But a later part of the instructions say to go smoke the skin in your teepee after it's been well brained. Unfortunately, I live in a small apartment and have no garage, yard, or teepee. Can I dry the skin in something more convenient, like my oven, or a dryer? Or given the size of my living place, should I put this potential hobby on pause until I have a yard?
Next, what do you do with the carcass? Rabbits, deer, bear, snakes and such you can eat, but what about things like the coyotes and beavers and foxes? Is it even safe to eat these animals with all the diseases out there? (I don't want to be wasteful, I just don't know what to do with the leftovers.)
If anyone can be of assistance to me on any of these questions, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance for help and advice, and have a healthy day.
~Sannie
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It's devoted to brain and bark tanning. They also have a discussion forum where you can ask questions. Hope you find this helpful.
Is a wonderful way to produce some beautiful leathers.I have dabbled a bit myself and can say that the smoking step does more than just dry the hide.It seems to chemically change it as well.It changes the color considerably.Spring being here, and tree sap being high now is yhe time of year for high tannin sapling bark.Definately look at braintan.com and maybe check out the book "tan your hide".You do want to be cautious of course (prions) but a few simple measures and you are quite safe.Be inventive and dont let the apartment stop you.It's a lot of work, especially breaking large hides, but very rewarding.