I have recently tanned a large bull bison, probably five to eight years old, and have run into an interesting problem. It seems as though there are about 8 years of grain "chaff" in and around the face and forehead of this old bull buried in about 9 inches of coarse curly hair. Of course the chaff is right next to the skin. I have combed for about 6 hours and don't seem to making much headway. I know combing machines exist but don' know if anyone has this as a service. Does anyone have any suggestions...or sympathies?
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If not (and if it is, try this next time) wash it with a cheap hair conditioner that you can buy by the gallon. Let it set up for about 30 minutes and then take a pressure washer with a warble head nozzle and clean it from tail to head. Work only layers about 2 inches deep at a time and it will not only clean the chaff, it will comb the hair so that you can back brush it later much easier. The combing machines don't impress me much. The last one I had done that way seemed to have less hair in the end than in the beginning and it left small cut trails in the hide itself.
Try to do most of your cleaning and combing when you are washing the hide.I do a detailed wash and comb prior to my pickle and tan(I know this isn`t recommended by some).It is then that 75% of my hair cleaning is done.Combing is way easier when a buffalo is wet, you could comb til you blue in the face and still not get that chaff out of a dried hide.Tumbling will also knock some of it out.The more work on the front end virtually eliminates the extensive combing on the back end.Plus your pickle and shop won`t smell like a barn.