How to tan skins at home. Preparation and sequence of the technological process for tanning hides at home. Soaking skins and fleshing

DAVID HARPER, MOTHER EARTH NEWS
“NEW GARDENER AND FARMER” 4, 2002

It is a sin to throw away the skin taken from the carcass of a killed animal, be it a trophy of a successful hunt, a domestic goat, sheep or nutria. Discover a cheap and simple method of tanning hides that I believe is accessible to everyone. I use it for skins from sheep, deer, marmots, rabbits and goats. But the method is suitable for tanning the skins of all mammals, especially if you want to preserve the fur. After such dressing, the skin becomes soft and easy to work with, for example, for making things that require cutting and sewing.

Sprinkle salt on raw skins

The raw skin, just removed from the carcass, must be cooled after removing any remaining meat and fat from its inside. To cool, the skin is spread in the shade on a completely flat surface, for example, on a concrete or stone floor, with the wool facing down.

When you feel that the skin has cooled to the touch, immediately pour non-iodized table salt onto its inner side (the inner side). To process sheep or deer hide you will need 1.5 to 2.5 kg of salt. If the skins are not salted immediately after skinning the carcasses, they will be lost. The decomposition process will begin and the skins will lose their fur during further processing.

The skin should lie on a flat surface and its edges should not curl. When dragging the skin, do not stretch it. If some of the salt falls off the surface of the flesh, add it without skimping. The salt should absorb moisture so that the skin is completely dry and crispy. The process can take from several days to a couple of weeks. Completely dried skin retains both its shape and quality well.

What is needed for tanning skins?

If you are ready to start tanning hides, prepare in advance everything you need for this:

26.5 liters of water,

1 kg (16 cups) bran flakes,

16 cups regular non-iodized salt

2 large plastic vats with a capacity of 114 l and 1 lid,

1 wooden stick 1.2 m long for stirring the solution and turning the skins,

3.5 cups of car battery acid,

2 packs of baking soda,

Wooden grid or flooring for stretching skins,

Hoof oil,

Wire brush.

The indicated quantities are calculated for the production of four skins of large animals, or 10 rabbit skins, or 6 skins of medium-sized animals, for example, marmots. To tan a smaller number of hides, adjust the indicated numbers.

Solution for tanning hides

A few hours before you plan to start dressing, dry skins should be immersed in fresh, clear water and soaked until they become elastic.

Boil 11.5 liters of water and pour it over the bran. After an hour, when the flakes have steamed well, place them on a sieve to strain out the brownish infusion. Bring the remaining 15 liters of water to a boil. Pour 16 cups of salt into a plastic vat, pour boiling water over it and stir thoroughly with a wooden stick until the salt is completely dissolved. Pour the brownish infusion of bran into salt water and stir the resulting liquid.

When the liquid has cooled and becomes lukewarm, add car battery acid to it. Observe the precautions indicated on the label of the acid bottle. Wear old gloves and a long-sleeved shirt when working with acid. Pour the acid carefully, holding the bottle above the very surface of the solution and do not allow it to splash. Stir the resulting mixture thoroughly.

Now you can start cleaning the dry flesh. When dressing fresh skins, this procedure can be omitted. Immerse the skins in the solution and stir. The skins must be completely covered with liquid in order to be thoroughly saturated with it. The skins must be kept in the solution for about 40 minutes, periodically stirring them with a stick to ensure even soaking.

Fill the second plastic vat with clean, warm water and begin rinsing the skins. Remove all the skins from the solution one by one, using a wooden stick, and place them in a container with clean water - you need to wash off the excess salt from the skins. In order for the skins to be washed better, they need to be stirred and patted with a stick for 5 minutes, and when the water becomes dirty, change it to clean.

Some people add baking soda to the rinse water to neutralize any remaining acid in the hide. This allows you to protect people with sensitive skin from possible irritation. But on the other hand, this neutralizes the acid that was used specifically to preserve the skin. Therefore, before pouring soda into the vat to wash the tanned hides, decide for what purpose you will use them. If the skin or fur is expected to come into contact with human skin, then you need to rinse it in water and soda. And if the skin is thrown on the floor like a carpet, or hung on the wall, then, in my opinion, you don’t need to add soda when rinsing.

The washed skins must be hung on a stable and strong crossbar so that the water can drain from them. Then saturate a sponge, rag or brush with hoof oil and apply the oil to the still wet flesh. For this you will need 30 g of hoof oil. It will be absorbed very quickly into the flesh, leaving only a light oily coating.

Now the skin needs to be stretched onto a wooden grid or flooring. When nailing the hide to the flooring, gently stretch it so that the tension on the leather is felt, but not too much. Move the flooring with the stretched skin into the shade to dry.

Do not pour out the acidic solution remaining after tanning the hides without neutralizing it. To neutralize the acid, two packs of soda are enough. During the reaction, the solution will begin to foam strongly and release toxic gas. Therefore, it is better to do this in a room with good ventilation and stand away from the vat. On my small farm, I pour the neutralized solution into a roadside ditch and in this way destroy the weeds there. Do not pour the solution near the drain.

During the drying period, the skins must be checked daily. When the flesh in the center feels dry, elastic and soft to the touch, remove the skin from the flooring, lay it fur side down and go over the flesh with a wire brush. Thanks to this procedure, the skin becomes softer and lighter. Don't brush too hard or rub any one area of ​​the hide. Just try to give the flesh a suede-like appearance. After this, the skin needs to be hung for a couple of days for final drying.

Last tip

Once your friends find out that you know how to dress hides, be prepared for the fact that you will have a constant stream of people wanting to take advantage of your abilities. If you cannot refuse such a service to your friends, then at least do not do it for free. Industrial tanning of hides costs between $25 and $45 each, and your service should be reasonably priced, even if the money you receive is only enough to buy a case of beer. Otherwise, the hunters will drag you all their trophies, overwhelm you with work and deprive you of the opportunity to do other things.

It is possible that someone will use the services of professionals to find out what mistakes you made, or how much your service may cost. People really value their own skins, and my warning will help you avoid misunderstandings and maintain good relations with your friends.

Is it difficult to tan a goat skin at home? Is it necessary to invite the most experienced specialist for this, or can the basic skills be acquired through personal experience? Where should you start, what tools will you need, what methods are best to use for further processing? We will try to answer all questions in this article.

The skins of these animals are called goats and are used for the production of fur products and shoes.

Domestic goats are bred mainly to produce healthy dietary milk, and also, although less frequently, meat. But in any case, at the final stage, it is possible to obtain additional products from the animals, the main of which is the skin. True, this process is not simple; dressing goat skins requires special steps, the success of which directly depends on practical skills. Beginners will have to put in enough effort and effort to become a master in this matter.

The technique in this case is similar to the technique of removing the skin from a sheep, and the technology of making cuts and removing the skin tissue is called “plastic”. First, the carcass of an animal - a goat or goat - is hung up, then three cuts are made on it.

1. Transverse, runs from the first hoof of the hind leg to the second hoof, passing through the anus.
2. Transverse, which is pulled from the metacarpal joint of the first front leg to a similar joint of the second, this time along the chest.
3. Longitudinal, starts from the animal’s throat, then runs along the chest and stomach and ends in the middle of the tail.

• the skin is pulled away from the carcass, first in the neck area, then on the front legs;
• gently pull with your hands until it comes off, making sure that no fat or lard sticks to the skin.

In those places where the skin with the body is too tight, you can cut it a little. The main thing is not to spoil the valuable fur. Additional incisions are also made in the anus and around the loop (in females). Having reached the hind hooves, you need to stop pulling, make the necessary cuts and only then continue.

Important. In those places where lard and fat accumulate in the animal, it is also advisable to cut with a knife so that they do not come off, but remain on the meat.

The removal technique is similar to the method of removing the skin from a sheep, and the technology itself is called “plastic”.

When all the material has been removed, it is laid out or stretched on a special frame. This will allow the skin to dry without losing its configuration.

Initial briefing

We would like to remind you that proper skinning is a very difficult process and takes a lot of time. We strongly recommend that beginners do not perform these manipulations themselves; it is better to invite an experienced specialist for the first time. If there is no such specialist in your region, you can, of course, fix the material yourself by performing all the steps in the required sequence.

In order to obtain the best quality goat skin, it is advisable to prepare it soon after harvesting, while it is still “warm”. True, this is often rarely possible, so it is recommended to carry out at least initial conservation.

Conservation

The best way to protect the hide and skin until the day you take on the dressing is to treat it with dry salt. In other words, you will have to salt the goat skin, as it were. This is done in the following way.

1. The skin that has just been removed is laid out on a flat surface with the fur inward, or, in other words, with the flesh (skin) facing up.
2. Meat stuck to the material must be scraped off with a sharp instrument.
3. Dry salt is used to cover the entire skin, paying special attention to the edges.
4. Next, the material is placed in an envelope, making sure that the core lies on the core.
5. Fold the material in half again and place it in any container for three days.
6. After this period, the skin is unfolded and hung on a flat horizontal bar, always with the flesh side up, bending along the ridge line.
7. Place the skin for storage in a dry room, or perhaps in the attic.

Everything, after such primary processing, the material can be stored for a long time. The owner will only have to make sure that moths do not eat it.

If you raise rabbits and want to learn how to properly tan skins, you must know everything about the animals, what time to slaughter rabbits for skins, how to remove the skins and how to properly preserve the skins so that they can be stored for a long time. This is all the preparatory work that includes dressing the skins.

The first operation is to remove the skin from the animal. Rabbits should be slaughtered for skins in late autumn, winter and early spring, when the molting process is completely over. The flesh of the skins is uniform, of the same color, without dark spots, the pile is the same in height, there is an underfur.

If you slaughter from 5 to 6 months of age, the skins are thin, tender, and the amount of fat in the inner layer is small. Rabbits older than one year have thicker and fattier flesh. In males, the thickness of the flesh and the elasticity of the skin differs from that of females.

For fresh skins, it is necessary to do primary fleshing (degreasing) - to remove the remaining meat and fat, otherwise, during long-term storage, putrefactive bacteria develop in these places and with further dressing, limp hair appears on the skin.

After the initial fleshing, the skins are stretched over the rules and dried, maintaining the original size. Dry the skins in the warm season under canopies, avoiding direct sunlight. In cold weather, dry in a warm, dry room or drying cabinet.

Fresh skins are afraid of high temperatures, keratinization occurs, such skins do not soak well, so dressing skins at home does not always turn out soft. It is best to preserve rabbit skins at home using a fresh dry method; dry salted preservation is rarely used.

Before dressing, I sort the skins into batches by size, thickness of the skin, age and gender. Thick hide skins, skins of old males are placed in a separate batch, since for such skins during dressing it is necessary to increase the duration of stay in solutions, the temperature and the amount of chemicals by 30%. Immediately before soaking, unnecessary parts, heads, tails and paws, are trimmed off the skins.

Soaking skins

The first thing you need to start with is soaking dry preserved skins in a special solution; without this, not a single tanning of skins at home can begin. But before you start soaking, you need to prepare tools, tools and equipment for dressing.

The container must be acid-resistant (enamel pots, bathtubs, plastic containers, stainless steel tanks, etc.). To mix the skins you will need a wooden spatula, a thermometer, and rubber gloves.

The purpose of soaking is to bring dry skins to a steamy state, to remove dirt, excess fat and protein. Poorly soaked skins after dressing are rough and inelastic. The water for soaking is taken fresh, it must be soft, insoluble lime soap is formed in hard water. Usually hard water is softened by adding.

Water is taken at a temperature of 18-22 degrees; at higher temperatures, putrefactive bacteria develop faster. To suppress these bacteria, add salt 40-50 g/l and any antiseptic (formalin 1 g/l, zinc chloride 1 g/l, KFN 1 g/l or disinfectant tablets).

The amount of water is taken so that the skins float freely. The soaking time ranges from 12 to 24 hours; as soon as the unsoaked areas disappear, the soaking is stopped.

To reduce the soaking time for heavily dried and thick-hide skins, add 1-2 g/l washing powder, or 1.5 g/l acetic acid or soda ash, sometimes add ammonia and 1 g/l borax to reduce the soaking time. The skins need to be stirred frequently. After soaking, the skins are pulled out, squeezed out and the skins begin to be fleshed.

Skinning

This process is necessary in order to remove subcutaneous fat and muscle layer from the animal’s skin. If this layer is not removed, then during further processing of the skin, the chemicals in such places (acid, salt, tanning agent, degreasers and other additional preparations) in solutions will poorly penetrate deep into the leather tissue, this will affect the quality of the tanned skin.

Dressing rabbit skins allows you to skin the skins in various ways: just with a knife on a plywood rule, you can use a two-handed scraper on a block, on a special sharpened staple or on a scythe, if you have one flesh drilling machine then this is the best and easiest option. I believe that when tanning hides at home, the most optimal and least difficult option is fleshing on a scythe mounted on a bench.

After you have cleaned the skin, you can begin degreasing the skins (washing them).

Washing with degreasing

The skin of cut skins contains internal fat, its amount depends on the type of animal, if it is a domestic animal, then also on its feeding. Internal fat prevents the penetration of chemicals in aqueous solutions deep into the animal’s skin.

When dressing rabbit skins at home after the fleshing operation, we have to wash the skins using degreasing materials, surfactants (surfactants) - washing powder 2-3 g/l and soda ash 1-2 g/l. You can use various washing pastes, liquid soap, Feri, Prevocel, OP preparation, various synthanols.

The temperature of the washing solution should not exceed 40 degrees to avoid welding the skin. You can wash the skins by hand using a corrugated washing board or in a simple activator-type washing machine.

If tanning skins at home takes a long time, then this is the best option to facilitate all water operations. Frequently stirring the skins in the degreaser solution helps to quickly wash out the fats.

You need to wash the skins for no more than one hour so as not to damage the skins, because all detergents have weak alkaline properties, and alkali strongly corrodes the shit. After washing, the skins are rinsed well in plenty of warm water and squeezed.

Pickling, pickling

These are equivalent processes. Pickling is a more labor-intensive job. Pickling is the action of acid and salt on the hide. At home, rabbit skins are prepared using soured kvass and directly with acids.

When tanned with acetic, formic, and lactic acid, the skins are more elastic. Formic acid has good penetrating ability. Good results are also achieved when using sulfuric acid.

To prepare a good pickel, you need to take 40 g/l of table salt and 15 - 25 g/l of 70% acetic acid or 8 - 10 g/l of formic acid. Instead of these acids, you can take sulfuric acid 4.5 - 5 g/l; a mixture of two acids, acetic acid 10 g/l and 1.5 g/l sulfuric, gives a good result. Salts in all cases are from 40 to 50 g/l. The temperature of the solution is 30 degrees, for thick skins 40 degrees. The duration is from 16 to 24 hours, or more precisely determined by the appearance of a “dry patch” on the skin in the groin area. If there are white stripes on the folds, this indicates that the skins need to be removed.

The readiness of the skin is determined by “pinch”. If, with a little effort, the pile begins to come out, this means that it is time to stop pickling. After pickling comes curing.

Tanning hides at home can also be done with fermented kvass; this method is little used by furriers. The strength of hides prepared by fermentation is 2 times higher, they are more viscous and elastic.

For fermentation, oatmeal or rye flour, yeast and salt are used. The skins are turned inside out with the fur, coated with a thick layer of starter and folded in layers, covered with polyethylene, after a day the skins are again coated with starter, the skins ripen for 2-3 days. The temperature in the feet should be no more than 35 degrees. The duration is determined by the “drying”.

Tanning hides

After being treated with acid, hides can be stretchy and soft, but as soon as you wet them and then dry them, they immediately become coarser. The acid exfoliates the collagen fibers in the dermis, and when moisture enters, they stick together again and the skins become tough.

To prevent collagen from sticking together, it must be coated with a tanning agent, and when fattening, also with particles of fat. Such skins are not afraid of moisture, temperature and aggressive chemicals.

You can tan skins in many ways: using chemicals, or using natural tanning substances of plant origin (wood or grass). Tanning can be chrome, aluminum-potassium (more often when tanning hides at home, chrome and aluminum-potassium are combined in equal parts 4 g/l + 4 g/l), chrome peak, formaldehyde (formalin 40% 10 g/l), cellulose, synthetic, and of course vegetable (tannin).

The most common tanning is chrome (for fur 4 -7 g/l of dry powder of chromium sulfate, basicity 33%). Skins tanned with aluminum-potassium alum are soft, the dermis is white, one drawback is that when moisture gets in, the alum is washed out and the skin becomes rough, so they have to be combined with a chrome tanning agent. Duration 10 - 20 hours. Solution temperature 25 – 28 degrees.

In the absence of chemical tanning agents, you can use. These are decoctions of willow bark, oak, chestnut, Siberian fir, common spruce, Siberian larch and so on, or you can use decoctions of herbs: horse sorrel, forbs (hay). Be sure to contain salt in any tanning agent from 40 to 60 g/l.

In Russia, in villages, tanning hides was often practiced with a decoction of hay, which is how hides were tanned in Rus'. A container of 40 - 50 liters was filled tightly with hay, filled with water, boiled for half an hour, then the broth was infused, salted, cooled to 30 degrees, decanted and 2 - 3 skins could be loaded. The duration is several days, the tanning agent must penetrate the entire thickness of the leather.

Fatliquoring of hides

Tanned skins need to be fattened. Collagen fibers coated with tanning substances in the dermis must be covered with particles of fat, otherwise in a humid environment, as well as when washing fur, the tanning agent may be washed out, and when drying, the skins become coarser. Collagen fibers lubricated with fat slide and do not stick together, the oiled skin is elastic and stretches in all directions.

In production, industrial fat compositions are used for these purposes; there is a wide variety of such preparations. They have been tested by technologists in production and have good penetrating and lubricity.

The main component is animal fat (all domestic animals and birds) and liquid industrial oils (industrial, obtained from the processing of petroleum products: machine, spindle, transformer, vaseline).

There are two ways to fatten skins: dipping and spreading. The dipping method is more productive and is used in production. The disadvantage is the high consumption of emulsion. This work is done in containers and is often combined with tanning.

But tanning hides at home mainly uses the spread method. The fat emulsion is applied to the dermis with a brush, the consumption is small. Artisanal fat compositions have good performance in the preparation of rabbit skins and are readily used by home-based craftsmen.

To prepare such an emulsion, you can take 200 g of any animal fat, dissolve it in half a liter of boiling water, add 25 g of machine fat and 40 g of glycerin, and then add 200 g of chicken yolk. Mix the entire composition well, then use it for its intended purpose.

After tanning and curing, the rabbit skins are stretched on the rules, coated with fat, and after two hours they are hung out to dry.

Finishing work.

Dried skins are kneaded and pulled in all directions. The trifle crumples well with your hands, you should not allow it to dry out. Dried skins will need to be moistened again. Larger skins can be pulled through a bracket, kneaded on a disk, you can sharpen one edge of the board and use this edge for kneading.

For large skins use. Rabbit skins are processed well at home and, if properly processed, are easily wrinkled by hand.

If you process a large number of skins, then you need mechanization -. It can be made from wooden boards or plywood sheets. The diameter of the drum is 1.5 meters, width 70 cm. To rotate, you will need a small electric motor and gearbox.

The optimal drum rotation speed is 30 - 40 rpm. There are partitions inside for capturing skins. To break down the skins, you need large pieces of car tires or river pebbles the size of oranges.

Skins and sawdust are placed in the drum. When rotated, the skins fall and, thanks to pieces of rubber, are kneaded. In a drum, you can clean the skins from fat; for this, a solvent (turpentine, white spirit, etc.) is added to the sawdust.

After this treatment, the skins need to be shaken free of sawdust either on a special mesh drum or on the same drum where a mesh is installed instead of a locking hatch.

Sawdust is used from deciduous species (oak, aspen, birch, beech). After breaking down, the skins need to be given an aesthetic appearance; the dermis is sanded with sandpaper by hand or on a machine. After processing, the skins become even softer. Then the pile is combed out with a metal needle brush.

If you don’t have a retractable drum, it’s okay, dressing skins at home can be done without it, you can clean the skins by washing them in wool shampoos, you shouldn’t wash the skins immediately after dressing, you need to wait a while so that the fat from the fat emulsion lubricate the collagen fibers well, the skins should rest.

When washing, chemicals (tanning agent, salt) will be preserved to some extent and the skins will remain soft.

Dressing rabbit skins at home: Instructions

For thin rabbit skins, you can apply the following processing scheme.

1) SOONING. Soaking freshly dry skins in a solution: take enough water at a temperature of 20-25 degrees so that the skins float freely in the container. The amount of salt is 30 g/l; to prevent the solution from rotting, add formaldehyde 40% - 1 g/l.

For better watering of the skin, you can use washing powder 1 g/l and 70% acetic acid 1.5 g/l. We trim off everything unnecessary on the skins: tails, paws and heads. Load into the solution and stir frequently. The skins will be soaked for 20 hours. The skins are then pulled out and pressed. Let's start the fleshing.

2) MESHING. We remove the remaining meat and fat from the dermis using a scythe, which is fixed to the bench. You can remove the meat film with your fingers, but this takes a long time; on a spit, it takes several minutes for an experienced master to churn the remaining meat. Finished clean skins are sent for washing (degreasing).

3) DEFEATING. We wash the skins in a washing machine, the old type, or by hand. We take the same amount of water at a temperature of 35 - 40 degrees as for soaking. The amount of washing powder for hand washing is 3 g/l, soda ash is 2 g/l. If the skins are oily, you can add FERI 1 g/l. We wash for 30 - 40 minutes. Then we wash the skins in plenty of warm water. Place the squeezed skins into a container with acid.

4) PICKING - TANNING. Pickling can be combined with tanning, thereby reducing the tanning time. The bath is being prepared: the same amount of water as when soaking, the water temperature is 28 - 29 degrees. The amount of sulfuric acid 5 g/l, salt 70 g/l, 6 g/l chrome tanning agent (chromium sulfate with a basicity of 30% - green powder), 7 g/l hyposulfite, 12 g/l aluminum alum.

The processing technology is as follows.

Salt is poured into water at a temperature of 30 degrees and acid is added. Load the skins. Tanning skins at home requires frequent mixing, so skins are often mixed. After 10 hours, hyposulfite is added. After 2 hours, pour in the first half of the dissolved chrome tanning agent and mix everything. After an hour, pour in the second half and stir again. After an hour, aluminum alum is poured in.

After four hours have passed, the skins are checked for drying; if the result is positive, the skins are removed, laid out in layers and left to lie in this position for 12 hours. Then the skins are split on a spit, stretched lengthwise and pulled over the rules.

The skins are fattened with fat emulsion, after 2 hours the skins are hung out to dry. As soon as the skins begin to dry out, they are crushed, broken, turned inside out and dried again. Dry and crushed skins are sanded, cleaned and fur combed.

Tanning hides at home: especially for beginners

The processing scheme for rabbit skins is as follows:

1) Soaking preserved skins.

To begin, select skins, preferably thin-flesh skins of young rabbits. Do not tan the thick skins of old males yet. Prepare the solution: take enough clean tap water (preferably soft) so that the skins can float freely in the container.

Water temperature 25 degrees. Dissolve salt 30 g/l - for freshly dry raw materials or 20 g/l for dry salted skins. Fresh skins that have just been removed from an animal (steamed) should not be immediately tanned by beginning furriers; during dressing, limp hair may appear on the skins. In order not to take risks, the skins should be trimmed (cleaned of fat and meat residues), stretched over the rules and dried.

Such skins can be dressed in 2 weeks. It is necessary to add some kind of antiseptic to the soaking solution so that putrefactive bacteria do not develop. 40% formalin 1 g/l is best, you can use tablets, 1 tablet of furatsilin per 1 liter of water.

If the skins have been stored for a long time and have dried out, then 1 - 2 g/l of washing powder for wool and 1.5 g/l of acetic acid can be added to the solution, this will help better hydrate the skins and make it easier to flay. Duration of soaking is 16 – 20 hours. Stir the skins frequently.

The skins must be thoroughly soaked, otherwise the dressing of the skins will be poor. Then the skins are wrung out and fleshing begins.

2) Fleshment.

You can clean the skins from any remaining meat and fat using a knife, stretching them onto a wooden rule; this is long and difficult. Can be done on the deck using a two-handed scraper. I recommend using a scythe attached to a bench for these purposes.

With certain skills, this work will take a few minutes. You need to peel off the skin well, pull off the muscular film with a stocking. The dermis must be completely cleaned, otherwise in those places where the film remains, the skin becomes rougher. The skins are then washed.

3) Washing (Degreasing).

It is necessary to degrease the skin, remove the fat that is inside the leather tissue, otherwise the penetration of chemicals in all liquid operations will be difficult. You can wash it in an old type washing machine or by hand.

Prepare the solution: Water can be taken as for soaking, at a temperature of 35 - 40 degrees. Salt 20 g/l, washing powder 2 - 3 g/l and soda ash 2 - 3 g/l. We wash for 30 – 40 minutes. Then rinse in warm water, wring out and put in a pickle.

4) Pickling.

Treatment of hides in acid and salt. Solution: water, the same amount as for soaking, temperature 28 degrees. We keep the temperature of the solution constant throughout the pickling process. Salts 50 g/l, acid 70% acetic 15 - 20 g/l (you can use sulfuric acid 96% - 5 g/l or formic acid 100% 8 - 10 g/l).

Stir the skins frequently. The duration of pickling is 16 – 24 hours, or more precisely determined by the appearance of “drying” on the skin. After this process is completed, we squeeze out the skins and lay them out in layers on a hill in a basin in a warm place of 18 - 20 degrees. Duration of storage is 20 – 24 hours. The skins are then neutralized.

5) Neutralization.

We will tan the skins with tannins, so we carry out neutralization after pickling. Remove acid using baking soda. Prepare the solution. Water temperature 25 degrees. Baking soda 2 -3 g/l, salt 20 g/l. Duration: 1 hour, stir the skins frequently.

6) Tanning.

We will tan the hides with vegetable tannins (tannids). Prepare the tanning agent: finely chopped branches, bark or sawdust (200 - 250 g/l) of willow, oak, spruce, wild rosemary are placed in a container, filled with water and boiled for 30 minutes.

Then cover and leave for several hours. The solution is decanted, filtered, salt 50–60 g/l is added, cooled to 25 degrees. The skins are loaded for 15–20 hours or even up to 2 days. The tanning agent must saturate the entire thickness of the dermis, it is checked on a cut of the skin, the cut is painted yellow. After tanning, the skins need to be fattened.

7) Fatliquoring.

Take glycerin and chicken yolk in a 1:1 ratio, mix well, get an emulsion, brush the skins using the rules without sparing the preparation, put them in piles, after 2 hours hang them out to dry.

8) Drying and finishing operations.

We dry the skins in warm weather in the air, and in cold weather in warm rooms or drying cabinets. The temperature should be sufficient, 35 - 40 degrees, but not higher. The skins should dry within a day but no more, during which time the emulsion should penetrate deep into the dermis.

When drying, the skins are constantly monitored; as soon as you see that they are drying, we remove them, crumple them, turn them inside out, dry them, and crumple them again. Be careful not to let the skins dry out, otherwise you will need to re-moisturize them. If the dressing is successful, the skins are soft and can be easily kneaded by hand.

Dry skins are treated with emery cloth, the pile is cleaned and combed. The skins can be washed in wool shampoos, but not immediately, you need to let the skins sit for at least 2 weeks so that the fat soaks the collagen fibers well, otherwise you can immediately wash the chemicals and the skins may become coarse.

Also watch an interesting video on dressing rabbit skins at home:

Now, after reading and watching, we can say that you are ready to start tanning hides at home! Well, for those who don’t want to risk their skins and value their time, I suggest using the method that I have worked on over the course of 20 years of my practice!

Content:

The ancient clothing of primitive man was skins. Therefore, one of the first professions that he had to master was their manufacture. By the way, the profession of the hero Nikita from Russian epics was a leather worker. His name was Nikita-kozhemyaka. Surely this work helped him become strong and not be afraid of the stinking breath of the fire-breathing Serpent-Gorynych. These are the qualities that a skin tanning specialist needs.

Modern processing methods are simpler - chemistry helps. Now you can make high-quality skins even at home. This could be a small business idea or a good additional income.

If, for example, you decide to breed rabbits, then you simply need to learn how to tan their skins. Let's consider the technology of this process.

Technology

It is a set of sequentially performed operations. The quality of the fur will depend on the careful and correct execution of all stages.

• The preparatory stage is conservation.
• Soaking (soaking).
• Fleshment.
• Degreasing.
• Pickling.
• Curing and neutralization.
• Tanning.
• Zhirovka.
• Drying and kneading.

Let's consider each operation separately.

Preparatory stage - conservation

If you do not process the skin right away, it must be preserved. That is, save it until the time comes to process it. It happens like this.

After slaughter, the skin is removed with a stocking. You cannot leave it unstraightened for a long time (it may rot). Should be stored as follows:

• the stocking is turned inside out,
• pulled onto the rule,
• the lower end is secured so that the stocking does not wrinkle.

You can make the straightening yourself from two wooden blocks measuring 20x50 mm. They are cut along the edge and tied with ordinary metal tape. It looks like clothes tongs. A movable wedge is installed between the bars, which moves them apart to the width of a rabbit stocking.

The skins are dried on straightening in a well-ventilated area, but not in the sun or near heaters or radiators. Otherwise they will become brittle. From the inner side they are rubbed with salt. Dried skins are stored in a cool place.

Soaking (soaking)

Before you can start processing dried skins, they need to be soaked. A special solution is prepared for this. The proportions of the components are as follows:

For all leather dressing operations, only warm water (35-40 degrees) is used.

The total volume of water in relation to the weight of the skins is as follows:

• 9 parts - water,
• 1 part - weight of skins

The soaking process can last six hours or four days. But if soaking is delayed, then after 12 hours the solution is changed.

The readiness of the skin for further work is determined by the degree of softness of the core.

Skins that are processed immediately after removal do not require soaking. Their processing can begin with the fleshing.

Flesh

It is carried out for two purposes:

• first, remove the subcutaneous layer of fat and all organic residues,
• secondly, loosen the dermis.

After this operation, the skin will become susceptible to chemicals during further processing.

It begins with the removal of residual muscle and scraping of fat. A sharp knife is used to remove excess, and a blunt knife is used to break and loosen the dermis. He does not cut the flesh, but only drives it away. Simultaneously with the removal of the flesh, you need to press on the skin. Then fat will come out from the thickness. It can be collected and used later for fatliquoring.

Fleshing begins from the tail along the ridge and to the head. If the skin is steamed (just removed), then the skinning can be done by hand. To do this, use a knife to pry up the inside of the tail a little, move a couple of centimeters, insert your fingers there, and then do everything with your hands.

With this method of removal, no metal objects affect the skin. Pulling and pressing to squeeze out fat is done only with your hands. In this case, there is no danger of damaging the skin and overdoing the scraping.

Mezdrovka is not an easy procedure. But the result justifies the effort - the skin becomes absolutely clean.

Degreasing

The proportions of the composition for degreasing are as follows:

Salt is added to all solutions necessary for tanning leather. If there is no salt, the skin will absorb a lot of fresh water and become glassy. Further processing will become impossible, since subsequent chemical solutions will not be able to penetrate inside. This phenomenon is called gluttony.

The proportion of the total amount of water is the same as for soaking:

• 9 parts - water,
• 1 part - the weight of the skins.

The degreasing process takes about an hour. After this time, the skins must be washed to remove powder and blood residues.

Rinsing

It prepares rabbit skins for subsequent operations and washes away excess fat and powder. The procedure is performed in ordinary warm water (35-40 degrees). The inner layer is washed thoroughly, the outer layer is fur. Then everything is slightly wrung out.

Pickling

The word pickling is of English origin (pickle - pickle, brine). The meaning of this word explains the essence of the process. It involves exposing the skin to acid and salt (their aqueous solutions).

Fat-free skins are dipped into an acid-salt solution. The simplest and most affordable option is to use 70% acetic acid (acetic essence). You can also use sulfuric acid, but it is difficult for an ordinary person to acquire. Pickel solution proportions:

When working with acid, be sure to wear protective gloves. It is better to carry out this procedure in some isolated room, since vinegar has a specific smell. All components of the solution are mixed well. The total amount of water is taken depending on the number of skins. The proportions are the same:

• 9 parts - water,
• 1 part - weight of skins

Fat-free and washed rabbit skins are dipped into the solution. They should be completely covered with the pickle mixture. Just don’t put a press on top for this. It may interfere with the mixing of the skins. As a result, they will not be able to be evenly saturated with the pickle solution. Stir the skins at least once an hour.

Checking the readiness of the skin by drying

The pickling operation lasts on average from 5 to 12 hours. The readiness of the skins is checked by the “drying strip” (white stripe). To do this, fold the skin into four edges, press on the fold, open it and look. The “drying mark” in the form of a cross should remain visible for three to five seconds.

Duration and neutralization

Remove the skins from the pickle solution. Then

• squeeze slightly
• turn the fur inside out,
• put in a pile,
• put a press on top.

Some people use tiles as a press. The skins are kept in storage for up to a day.

After curing they are neutralized. Solution proportions

The duration of neutralization is maximum 30 minutes. If you add less soda, then you need to lengthen the residence time in the solution to one hour. Being in a neutralizing solution eliminates the smell of acetic acid.

Tanning

Treatment with tannins gives the leather

• plastic,
• strength,
• wear resistance,
• elasticity.

It is better to use the bark of willow trees as tannins. It is not recommended to use oak bark for rabbit skins. It makes them rude. Willow gives the skins a creamy tint. Natural tanning solution is prepared as follows:

• Boil the bark in a saucepan for half an hour,
• For one liter of this boiled solution take 40 grams of salt.

In the chemical tanning method, chrome alum is used instead of bark. The proportions are like this

	Chrome alum

Chromium alum is dissolved in very hot water, almost boiling water. Alum is diluted in a small amount of water.

While the water is clear, table salt is dissolved in it. Then diluted chrome alum is poured into it.

To lower them into the tanning solution, rabbit skins are turned inside out. In it they are carefully straightened, especially the tips. In this case, everything is evenly soaked.

The tanning time depends on the method of its implementation - natural or chemical. When using chrome alum, the tanning time ranges from 12 to 24 hours. If you use willow bark, the process will take much longer.

In order for the skins to tan evenly, they must be stirred periodically. But they do this less often than with pickling - once every two to three hours.

After the tanning time has elapsed, the skins are removed, straightened and placed under a press to ripen for 24 hours.

After the press, they need to be stretched on the rules, where they will dry out for the next operation with them - fattening. Dry it for five hours.

Zhirovka

The purpose of this operation is to obtain softer and water-resistant skin. You can use animal fat

• beef,
• pork,
• rabbit

It is better not to use lamb, as it hardens quickly.

Proportions of fat mixture

Cooking method

• Melts fat.
• Rub laundry soap there.
• Pour hot water.
• Heat over low heat.
• Pour in ammonia.
• Stir well.

Application method

The resulting substance, which is not hot, is applied to tanned skins. Use a regular paint brush. It is easier to apply when the skin is on the straightener. Be careful not to stain the ends of the fur. It must be done quickly, but carefully. The fatty substance hardens very quickly. When it cools down, it needs to be warmed up again for easier application.

It is good to fatten in the evening. Then by morning the fat will be well absorbed into the clean flesh. Then the rabbit skin is cut along the belly and finally dried.

Drying and kneading

Dry for approximately 12 hours. The skins must be periodically removed from the rules and pulled in different directions.

After drying, knead the skin with your hands to achieve softness. As a result, hairs and tubercles appear on the flesh. For cleaning, use zero or one grade sandpaper. You can use pumice.

At the final stage, comb the fur with a massage brush.

That's all - the rabbit skin has become soft, clean, and pleasant to the touch. She's ready.

Igor Nikolaev

Reading time: 5 minutes

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How to tan sheep skin at home and at the same time maintain its quality and presentation? Basically, sheep are kept for the sake of obtaining meat and wool from them, and many owners simply throw the skins into a landfill. And more often than not, it’s not at all a matter of mismanagement or lack of demand for this material.

It’s just that few people know how to make it correctly.

Many novice farmers immediately give up this activity after the first unsuccessful attempts. But this, although not the main, but not at all an extra source of additional income, and processing sheep skin yourself, although not easy, is quite possible. You just need to know the technology of this process and follow it exactly.

It should be made in several stages. This sequence must be strictly followed. These are the stages of the process:

• soaking (aging);
• fleshing;
• washing;
• pickling;
• tanning;
• fatliquoring;
• drying.

The main thing to remember is that processing must begin as soon as possible after removal, or all further efforts will be a waste of time and the material will lose all its presentation and will only be suitable for a landfill. Next, let's look at all stages of this technological process and analyze in detail the actions required at each of them.

After removing the skin from a killed animal, first of all it must be carefully examined.

If there are residues of fat, pieces of meat or tendons on the inner surface, they should be carefully scraped off with a knife. Then the wool needs to be cleaned of excess debris, since for the first stage of processing it is important that the sheepskin is clean. After completing the above steps, the workpiece is folded in half and placed in a cool place for two hours.

An important point is that freshly skinned skins should not be dried or frozen.

Stages of the manufacturing process

To perform work at this stage, a large container is needed. This is due to the rather large size of these animals, and the removed sheepskin must be completely immersed in a saline solution. To prepare this solution, you need to take:

• table salt;
• formalin or furatsilin;
• acetic acid.

Next, we follow the following proportions: dissolve 0.1 milliliter of formalin or two tablets of furatsilin for every one liter of water. Salt is added to this solution in an amount from 30 to 50 grams at the discretion of the owner. As an antiseptic, it is recommended to add acetic acid to the solution in the amount of five grams per liter of water.

More experienced furriers use additives such as a decoction of willow, birch or oak leaves, based on proportions of no more than 500 grams for every ten liters of water.

It is necessary to soak and keep the material in such a solution for at least twelve hours. If the skin does not soften during this time, the entire procedure will have to be repeated again. How do you understand that the first stage is completed and you can proceed to the second? To do this, scrape the mezra (inner part) with your fingernail. If it gives in easily, this indicates the readiness of the raw material for the next procedure.

Flesh

The essence of this process is to remove possible fat and sebaceous residues, as well as excess layers of skin.

This process is as follows: first, the skin should be stretched either on a special kind of machine, or (if there is none) simply on a flat surface. Next, scraping begins using a specially dull knife or a special iron scraper. The sharpness of these tools is unacceptable, as in this case they can damage the material. In most cases, fleshing begins from the back, in the process reaching the head.

Washing

At the end of the fleshing procedure, the sheepskin should be washed.

For this purpose, it is immersed for five minutes in a pre-prepared cleaning solution, which includes: 20 grams of table salt and 3 grams of washing powder per liter of water.

Then the material is taken out and squeezed out, after which it is ready for the next procedure.

Pickling

The purpose of this procedure is to improve the quality of the sheepskin. After pickling, the fibers of the material soften and the sheepskin acquires better elasticity.

The solution for this process consists of acid, table salt and water. The acid can be used either acetic acid or formic acid.

The proportional composition of the pickling solution is as follows: add 15 grams of acetic acid or 5 grams of formic acid and 50 grams of table salt per liter of water.

As in the first stage of processing, the material is kept for approximately 12 hours. You can check whether the procedure went well in this way: the material is folded in half and then squeezed. When the skin straightens, the folded area should be distinguished by a clearly visible stripe.

Tanning

Without this stage, it is simply impossible to obtain a quality product at home.

It is tanning that gives the necessary commercial strength.

Like many previous ones, this process also requires the preparation of a solution.

For it you need to take 6 grams of chrome tanning agent and 50 grams of table salt (also based on one liter of water). This solution must be hot. The material is completely immersed in it and kept for 24 hours. This procedure must be constantly monitored, since the solution should not cool. If this happens, then the solution should be heated.

Fatliquoring

The purpose of this procedure is to give the material shine. You also need to prepare a solution from the following ingredients:

The prepared composition must be applied to the inner part (inner part). Then you should fold the skins so that they are in close contact with the inner surfaces.