Hi, I have a three part question about rug tanning a deer hide. I have a deer hide from a deer that I shot and I've already removed all meat and fat. I've done the salting stage, now it's in the pickle bath. I have a Dull or fleshing knife and I made a beam. To remove the membrane after the pickleing process can the fleshing knife be used? I'm going to use this hide to make a quiver and I'd like the hide to be soft and flexible. Would I need to use a Mini Flesher or Fleshing Machine to accomplish this? Would I need to use oil to soften the skin and when would it be applied? Thanks.
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or a draw knife will break the membrane, but it will not thin the hide. A mini flesher/fleshing machine will. If you don't have one, then what you could do is tan the hide with Lutan F, don't use a paint on tan, it may not tan all the way threw the skin. Make a drying rack, you can use some scrap wood, and tack the hide to it. oil the skin with protol oil. You will have to remove the hide from the drying rack and stretch it every so often till it is dry. then you can use sand paper (a belt sander comes in handy for this) to soften the hide and as you sand it you will also thin it.