I have a commercially tanned black bear hide that was put through the entire process without the lips, ears, nose, or eyes turned. Amazingly enough, the hair didn't slip, but of course it's now "hard dried" leather. The customer wants a rug or possibly even a full body mount. I've warned him that it'll be really hard to turn the ears and trim up the other areas at this stage, but I'm willing to try. I also warned him there's no guarantee the hair/epidermis will stay on once fully rehydrated. Question: Do any of you have any tips for relaxing the head/ear cartilage well enough that I can carefully and successfully turn the ears at this late stage of the game? Any ideas appreciated!
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Now, I am not trying to be a smart a$$, but I typed your posting in the search engine verbatim, "Turning ears after tanning", and got 149 hits.
Read them, and if the answer is not there, re-post and I will answer it.