I am trying to tan/dehair a bison hide for thick leather to make re-enactment armor any suggestions?
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If you're speaking of the shield, a large round was cut from a hide and then staked over hot stone so that it shrunk. Once it was about half it's original size yet almost twice as thick, the hair was removed with an adz. This made the shield very good at deflecting spears and arrows from glancing shots, but, in reality, was as much ceremonial as anything else. The breastworks, of course, were made of bones strung together with rawhide.
either way , you can make one with a kids round sledding saucer ( at least that is what I use ) and it will give a nice concave shield and if you are tanning , I would suggest a good vegetable tan but I believe rawhide is the authentic way to go and makes a super strong shield. There is a book that I have called Authentic Indian crafts and it gives directions on how to make them. You could check you library for it or Amazon.
Actually it is medieval armor leather i am trying to make and i was told that rineharts tanning cream was effective on very thick hides anyone know if this is true