I found a neat method of brain tanning on the internet and i was planning on trying it out on a bobcat. Is this a safe method. Does it really work?
thanks
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Don't mess with brains...they can cuase you to get Rabies. If you get Rabies and don't get treatment before you start to show symptoms, you WILL die!
is work as a tanning oil. They do not actually tan a hide, they just allow you to soften it, with some work. You can get the same effect with egg yolks if you're leery about brains, but pork brains and cow brains are pretty safe.
If you dig deeper into brain tanning, you will see that the outter layer (membrane) of the skin is removed in the process. This is generally scraped off with the hair. Pretty obviously, you can not remove the membrane without removing the hair. I would not imagine that you want to tan the bobcat without the hair, so I don't think the process will work for you. Hope this helps.
egg yolks? i never heard of using them to tan with. recipies? do they leave the hair on? and does it really work? i'm just getting started on the tanning scene, and would like to know more about cheap\free tanning soulutions that could be found around the house.
thanx
Steve
Egg yolks do the same thing the brains do. They contain emulsified oils. And yes, they are typically used for buckskin, in which the grain is removed. However, furs can be braintanned. Again, the hide is not really tanned until it is smoked. A wall hanging might not need to be smoked, but it would help to keep the bugs away.
I have limited experiance with doing furs ( I have done beaver and coyote.) For a fragile fur like bobcat, I wouldn't soak it, but just rub the oils into the flesh side.
Steve-try braintan.com
thanks a lot guys. I'm glad I asked before rushing into this bobcat tanning.