I just bought a cape that had been tanned with the JRTS tanning cream, something i've never used before. It doesn't look like it has been shaved nor has it been washed seeing how there is still blood on it. It does look like most of the cream has been removed so i assume maybe the person only rinsed the skin side off? The person i bought it from didn't tan it but bought it from someone else.
I've read the postings and it seems like George has the most experience with this tan. Sounds really easy to use and i'm impressed with how much stretch there is in this cape with no slippage whatsoever. I usually use Rittel's products but i have had problems with slippage.
So here are my questions:
1. Seeing how it looks like it has been rinsed once to remove the cream, will i wash out any of the tan if i rinse it again to remove the blood on the hair side?
2. I would like to try to shave it thinner. It sounds like it penetrates well so am i safe to assume i shouldn't have to apply more tan? (hope not cause i don't have any although i do have the McKenzie brush on tan, just to scared to try it)
3. George has stated he only uses it on fresh skins. What is considered fresh? Killed w/n 24 hours? Most people i know hang their deer for a few days before doing anything with it. Would those capes not be good "candidates" for this type of tan?
4. Is shaving a salted skin as "easy" to do as a pickled skin?
5. Can you remove ear cartiledge easily?
It just sounds like a good tan, easy to use, and eliminates pickling (unless it is a questionable cape). almost seems like it's too good to be true. I AM impressed with the skin I received. So much so I may have to buy some and try it out...or perhaps try the mkenzie brush on tan i have. there are just too many choices!
thanks everyone
christine
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I never wash my hides before I tan them either. I flesh as well as I can, salt overnight, rinse the salt of, and paint JRTS on for 6+ hours, and then I freeze it. When I'm ready to work it, I take it out the night before. The next morning I was the hide in lukewarm water and Knobloch's ProTex PreSoak. This gets all the mud, blood, and other grime out of the hide. I spin dry it only and mount.
A salted hide and a pickled hide are entirely different in that the salted one simply gets tanned, while the pickled one has to be shaved and then tanned (or should be as it's easier).
I routinely shave all my hides before mounting them. The JRTS has saturated through and shaving them has not proved problematic to me at all.
A "fresh" hide to me is one that I know got to me as soon as possible after harvest. If a deer comes in with dried nostrils, lips and eyelids, I know it's not fresh. If it stinks like rotten eggs instead of all rutted up, it's not fresh. And if I've seen Billy Bob driving it around town for the last 3 days showing it to his friends, it's not fresh. Those get a contract notation about me not bearing any responsibility for the hide slipping and after I flesh it, I decide if it should be pickled.
For ear cartilages, I remove them when I flesh the deer. If, by chance I CAN'T remove them then, when I tan, I pour JRTS down the ear pocket so that I can insure that both pieces of hide are tanned and the cartilage did not act as an insulator. Still, I've had no real problems removing them at that point. But, as I said, I try to make a practice of removing the cartilage when I'm fleshing.
do you shave your skin right after you rough flesh it.
also how much money do you have in one deer cape using jrts.
thinking about switching to jrts. thanks in advanced.