I ordered some glycerine to try out on hides and it didn't come with any directions,and i called supplier back to talk to some one and there was no one there to help me they are all at conventions must be nice.Any way my question to any one who is familiar with glycerine, is, should i mix it with water and place directly to allready tanned and dried hide,or place on after tanned but before dry.It is told that glycerine will keep hide feeling like it's still wet even though it's dry.That's how pliable iam trying to get these mountain-man coon hats but no matter what i do there still a little stiff.When i make one from a fox or coyote they are really pliable for the hats, but these coon are stuborn little suckers. thanx for the help in advance
Red,
Glycerine doesn't come with directions any more than gasoline comes with them. It is a synthetic "oil" made from fats and natural oils that is used in everything from dynamite to cosmetics. There a zillions of uses for it, and your whiz-bang buddy must have discovered one that you'd like to duplicate in keeping your tanned hide wet with oil instead of wet with water or some of the better tanning oils available for that exact purpose. It can also be injected into animal and birds toes to keep them puffed and life-like. It can be mixed withs parrafin and vaseline to a gelled consistency and it works as a great suppository laxative. And make expecially sure that you don't happen to get it confused with the Potassium permanganate that can be used to stain antlers and horns. We'll read about you in the papers if you do.
And I've tried so hard not to act like a smartass.
But what you REALLY need for you coonskin hats is to "break" the hide. When any hide is tanned, it's not the oil in it that makes it soft. It's the hide fibers being "broken" that make it soft. Breaking a hide commercially is done during the process by drums. Home tans however need extra work. The hide must be oiled to make it supple and then it must be drawn back and forth over a dull edges as a dull ax, plow, or fence post. When all the fibers are broken, the hide will hang limp as a dishrag even if it's bone dry and remain soft. Using glycerine as a cure will end up with you having a slick heead and your hat still having some hard spots.
I don't think you tried hard enough george you are sounding like one. Now if what you just told me about breaking hide's i didn't allready know then i would then smack my self on my forehead and say why didn't i think of that.There now i had my chnce to be a smart-ass.Now all b.s. aside i need a little genuine advice. the truth is i have been using all the best methods of tanning and oiling and tumbling and i have been sanding,breaking,and hammering these coons and like i said i can't get them as pliable as the other animals george? So with glycerine out the window can you suggest any thing else. For the record i have probable tanned 40 or 50 coon's with 3 tanning method's and can not get them pliable.method's lutan-f,liqua-tan-liqua-soft,rienharts cream tan-sofning-oil,and i used pre-tan,and saftee-acid.I degrease with ritel's super solvent? thanx for any help
It sounds like you've dotted all the "i's" and crossed all the "t's" on this one. Are the particular places the spots appear. I mean is it the nose, ears, lips, what. If you've truly done all you've stated, there doesn't seem to be any reason they remain stiff. The sanding should have thinned the hide properly. I've used PTO from Van Dykes in the past and re-broken hides to get them soft. It's a lanolin based, water soluable oil, but I'm sure Bruce has some good stuff available. He's the guy who's going to have to be your guru on this problem. Good luck, and keep that greasy kid's stuff off your head. LOL
Thanx for the help i'll try what you said and talk to the main main.Have a good one!red.