leather

[ibuyre]

I was thinking about having some hides from hunting tanned into leather. Who would you go with, for that kinda thing. I used Mole and Mink and was amazed how nice it turned out. I got drawn for cow moose and just filled that tag yesterday, and was focused on keeping the meat cool and getting it home and chilled down. I kept the hide and tried to keep it cool, iced it (it was in the 70s). When I got home I was beat and hung the meat in my homemade getto cold room, and tossed the hide on the floor in the cold room, and slept. Well today, I pulled out the hide and started to flesh it, and handfuls of the fur is falling out. So I guess my plan of having it tanned fur on as a wall hanger is gone. But I still have the hide and figure it's still good for leather? Don't know what to do at this point.

[ibuyre]

When I said I used Mole and Mink I was talking about on my furs last year. I don't know who to use for leather.... That's why I was asking. I got the M and M recommendation from hear, and was super happy. That's why I was hopping you had a idea to point me to for leather. Anyone had leather tanned? But maybe it's just a lost cause, I let the pelt get wet and warm and wow they can start to slip fast. Live and learn, I am just supper happy about the meat, and taking care of the meat was #1 for me, the hide was back burner.

[Humptulips]

I see you are not getting much help. I can't help you but I was thinking you might call Doug Stanley, Carp Commander on here. He might have some info.

[Encore 280]

I would say check with MM and see if they can do it. No harm in asking.

[Remnar]

Might check with Centralia Fur and Hide .

[Carp Commander]

I use Legacy Leathers for all my leather goods. They are in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Dan is great to do business with and the quality is the best I have seen.

[ibuyre]

Thanks for the replies and ideas. It is to late for this one, I made a few mistakes and sadly ended up having to pitch this one. But I want to at the least learn from it so I don't make that mistake again. Lessons learned.

Don't let them stay warm, I noticed when I got home from the 6-7 hr drive, on a 60-70 deg day, I had the hide folded up into a 2'x2' ish square. Ice on top and in the middle. Well between the layers it was warm, almost hot. When I went to lay it out in the cold rm. Plus it was wet from melted ice. She was slipping the next day. Maybe that's a moose thing?

Next, I let it get some small rocks and gravel on it, they stuck to the fat, didn't think much of it. But laid out in the cold rm over night, they dried into the hide (not a lot, but a little). Enough that they didn't want to come off, and where making fleshing a PITA.

Plus I wasn't set up to flesh something that big/heavy and my fleshing beam kept falling apart, and it was just a all around PITA. So I ended up tossing it. I need to build something better for my fleshing. What I had worked for beavers and otters, but it just fell apart when I was trying to do the big hide.

So I just said forget it, and make sure I have everything in order and take proper care of the meat. Again meat was my focus. And the meat turned out great and I didn't lose any of that.  And I learned some lessons about how quick you can lose a cape or pelt. I was shocked that the hair was falling out the day after the kill. But it's my mistake, wet and warm, it's a bad combo. I should have known better.

[wags]

Next time get yourself a 25 pound sack of fine salt (not rock salt) and salt the hide well. It is not at all necessary to keep a hide cool. Salt is what you need.