The processing of hides and skins is one of the oldest known crafts and cultural techniques. Today, tanning is primarily done with chemicals, but traditional tanning was done with fat, smoke, and plant extracts to make the hides durable and soft. This book teach you the centuries old art of easy-to-do, natural, inexpensive fat tanning with a few simple tools and limited space. Tanning with pure natural products leads to wonderful leather products that anyone can make themselves at home without prior experience or knowledge.The step-by-step illustrations show in detail how the self-tanned skins are processed, as well as how to turn raw pelts and furs into leather gloves, moccasins, hats, capes, jackets, and other simple everyday leather objects.Explore different tanning methods like the "open method" an the "tube method" and learn associated skills like salting, freezing, and drying your homemade leather.
Hard cover, in 7 x 9" format, with 135 pages, well illustrated with photographs.
The Table of Contents includes the following:
Hard cover, in 7 x 9" format, with 135 pages, well illustrated with photographs.
The Table of Contents includes the following:
- Forward
- Tanning
- Definition
- History and Background
- Tanning Methods and Overview
- Tanning with Fats/Chamois Tannign
- Vegetable Tanning
- Mineral / Chemical Tanning
- Ethics of Tanning, Legal Principles, and Hygene
- The Practice - Tanning Your Own Leather, Pelts, and Furs with Fats and Smoke
- Basic Requirements
- The Selection, Procurement, and Quality of Raw Materials
- Remove the Skin Yourself
- The Open Method
- Tail, Head, and Feet
- The Tube Method
- Perservation and Storage of Raw Materials
- Salting
- Freezing
- Drying
- The Basics of Tanning Leather
- Washing
- Scraping the Raw Material
- The Fleshing Beam
- The Scraper
- Scraping the Hair Side
- Scraping the Flesh Side
- Rawhide
- Neutalization
- Preperation and Application of the Dressing
- Wringing
- Application
- Sewing the Holes
- Drying and Softenign
- Smoking
- The Smoking Bag
- The Fabric Funnel
- The Smoking Bucket
- The Smoking Material
- The Process
- Duration of Smoking
- Washing and Cleaning
- Tanning Pelts
- Washing
- The Rack and Racking
- Fleshing and Drying
- Removal of the Scubcutis and Thinning
- Dressing
- Softening and Sewing Holes
- Smoking Pelts
- Tanning Furs
- Washing
- Fleshing
- Sewing Up the Holes
- Dressing
- Softening
- Smoking
- Processing and Sewing Leather, Pelts, and Furs
- General
- Leather Projects
- Moccasins in the Traditional Style of North American Woodland Indians
- The Template
- Placing the Template and Cutting the Leather
- Sewing
- Three Finger Gloves
- The Template for the Main Section
- The Template for the Thumbs
- Placing the Templates and Cutting the Leather
- Sewing
- Fur Projects
- The Iceman Cap
- The Template
- Placing the Template and Cutting the Fur
- Sewing
- Kamik and Mukluks
- The Template
- Placing the Template on the Pelt
- Sewing
- Pelt Projects
- Shaman's Cap
- Construction
- Sewing
- Trapper's Cap
- The Templates
- Placing the Template and Cutting Out the Pieces
- Sewing
- Further Reading