View Full Version : Tanning Rabbit Skins
How do you tan your rabbit skins? :?:
I would like to hear some easy methods with readily available materials. I think Paganwolf touched on it in a previous thread, off topic, using handcream or something :shock: a long long time ago.
Do you have to file down the skin and what if there are fatty deposits such as on larger rabbits? Can they get damp once they are tanned with whatever? Do they smell? :roll: Im thinking of making a hat.
I know you can dry them with salt but then they can't get wet if you dont do anything further. Is that correct?
Thanks in advance(i'm sure :wink:)
Hootchi
readily available materials.
evey mamal has enough brain tissue to tan its own hide.. though i dont know the process im sure someone will!
arctic hobo
04-12-2004, 18:56
I've only done reindeer, and I don't remember well as I just followed a book and kept getting it wrong. I just scraped it down to get all flesh etc off, stretched it over a light wooden frame, and let it dry for a week in the sun (on my back). I don't know how you'd keep flies off in warmer climes :?: or how to tan it properly. However it made very smart gloves (well, smart considering I made them!) which are warm too, and it's very satisfying to have your own gloves you did all yourself :-)
They are almost waterproof, and do not smell. Feel free to ask more! :-)
James Watson
04-12-2004, 18:58
Have a look at braintan.com You can use eggs as well to tan hides. I've found brains are hard to come by! be careful with rabbit skins, i've riped them when softening.
Paganwolf
04-12-2004, 19:06
the easiest way i find is to streatch it out and pin it to a board scrape it then cover with lots of salt to draw out the moisture,leave it for about a day scrape off the salt and re-apply and leave till dry, then work it with a tallow or a hand cream to supple it up again, works ok and only needs normal house hold stuff... but there is more than one way to skin a cat or rabbit :wink:
Thanks guys. I dont think im going to mess around with brains :shock: but use Paganwolfs method.
PW or anyone else, can you get the hide wet after treatment and does it smell?
Thanks,
Hootchi
James Watson
04-12-2004, 22:27
I will need to get a few. But if it rains :roll:
:biggthump
I suppose I could try to 'wax' the fur on the outside with vaseline or something :?:
If you tan it with brains or egg (not sure about handcream) you can smoke it. This Changes the protein structure which makes it waterproof...ish. Well when dry after being wet it won't become stiff.
I see your in Devon. I've recently moved to Exmouth. If your every in this area I'd be happy to show you the process. I'm in the middle of tanning two deer hides at the moment.
Best wishes,
James
Paganwolf
04-12-2004, 22:30
Thanks guys. I dont think im going to mess around with brains :shock: but use Paganwolfs method.
PW or anyone else, can you get the hide wet after treatment and does it smell?
Thanks,
Hootchi
I never got one wet, what you thinking of doing with it :shock:
Im thinking of making a hat.
I will need to get a few. But if it rains :roll:
:biggthump
I suppose I could try to 'wax' the fur on the outside with vaseline or something :?:
Thanks for the info guys. This thread is a little confused with the times :?: but I think I will try Paganwolfs method. It seems the simplest and no smoking needed :super: Its almost so simple I cant believe it works.
Any more tips :o): ?
Thanks everyone, I can really rely on you! :wink:
Hootchi :You_Rock_
arctic hobo
06-12-2004, 20:26
I can't see why you couldn't get one wet, it is skin after all :?:
My reindeerskin & bearskin are almost 100% waterproof, and I've no qualms about getting them wet. I'm fairly sure the bearksin is tanned with chemicals however. If all else fails you could coat it in something modern too keep the wet out. :roll:
Paganwolf
06-12-2004, 20:41
some kind of silicone proofing oil? i never got mine wet as i said, so it may be a give it a go job matie, let us know the out come....
Dunno if it is relevant (or even strictly bushcraft), but whilst I was in Pearce-Tandy on Saturday, I was slightly surprised to see they stock Tannit solution, which will do hair-on tanning.
Here endeth my knowledge on the subject :D
Thanks again all!!
I was just wondering if they got wet they may start smelling as the salt cure would have been reversed, but if I use vaseline or handcream this should keep the water out and stop this?
Cheers
Paganwolf
07-12-2004, 12:28
Just been talking to an old guy at work about this he tells me that he PU glued a piece of fabric to the back of rabbit skins before stitching together to make them tougher and less likely to rip when made into a hat ect :?: sounds plausible.
rapidboy
07-12-2004, 19:28
I got a little tanning kit from Snowdonia Taxidermy supplies.
Just mix it up with water and it will last for years.
Clean the skin and chuck it in the solution over night and it's done.
A quick rinse and let it dry.
Really easy and effective.
Sounds good, will check tham out. Rabbit skins are good and thin so dont need scraping etc?
that would seen to work PW. Are they normaly fragile?
Paganwolf
07-12-2004, 19:58
Sounds good, will check tham out. Rabbit skins are good and thin so dont need scraping etc?
that would seen to work PW. Are they normaly fragile?Young bunnies tend to be, tough old bucks are a bit better, they do have a tendancy of tearing if you are too close to the edge when they are wet, ill have to try that rapid :biggthump
I believe that if you are dressing your hide you shouldn't get your leather wet or you'll wash out the brains/fat. Smoking coats the collagen fibres in formaldihyde(sp?) and so gives them a limited water resistance, you still need to work them dry or you'll get stiff spots.
You could bark tan them, chop up some oak bark cover it with water and simmer it on the stove for a good few hours, it smells really nice. Strain off the liquid and let it cool then pop your hides in it, stir it once a day, never done rabbit but squirrel took about 6 days, to check if its done just cut a sliver off the neck (thickest part of the hide) and if you have an even colour through the hide it's done. Then let it dry a bit but while still damp give it a coating of warm lard (paganwolf's vaseline would probably work just as well, I can imagine him in Boots "It's for a rabbit skin, Honest!" :naughty: ) and then work it til it's dry and supple. It won't be waterproof but the leather will dry out without rotting or stinking.
If you can't get oak bark just get a cheapo packet of loose leaf tea and use in the same way, it doesn't smell as nice though.
Also if you use brains you should cook them first as they can give you a nasty bacterial infection.
Paganwolf
07-12-2004, 23:43
:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :nana: :nana: :rolmao:
:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :nana: :nana: :rolmao:
:o): :biggthump :rolmao:
:rolmao: what :?: doesnt every one buy Vaseline by the gallon :rolmao: :nana: :nana: :rolmao:
I do - we use in the lab. the fun bit is melting the stuff down and pouring it into syringes.....
I've tried glutaraldehyde on rabbit skins, it makes a very weak leather but it's supposed to be machine washable. the method was developed for sheap skin. I've use marrow ( bone ) from an animal in much the same way as brain - but it colours it a little darker. Can't say I fancy using either of those on my hare skin though - those creatures really smell.
Anyone come across the turpentine tanning method? given the way it reacts with iodine I rekon it must have a lot of unsaturated bond that allow cross linking with the collagen. That's turpentine not white spirits or turpentine substitute - hardly the cheapest option but one worth bearing in mind.
Realgar
Realgar,
Here is a link for a turpentine tannage (http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_l/l-103.html) method.
I never thought of it in a chemical type of way and it so happens I am studying chemical physics at university :shock: :o):
It makes sense what you are saying. H-bonds, possibly, and all that :wink: but i'm not sure of the chemical composition of turpentine. I may try the boiling some oak bark aswell in the holidays.
I'll let everyone know how it goes :wink:
Cheers
Hootchi
P.S Can you use birch oil, from 'baking' to tan skins :?:
Paganwolf
08-12-2004, 22:31
It says on there that Air drying is suffice for small pelts, i skinned a mole once and dryed it out worked ok didnt smell at all, you would need a few to make your hat though Hootchi :rolmao:
I think i'll need a few rabbits aswell!! :rolmao: I'v done a fair bit of research on the topic and get conflicting methods everywhere about drying, scraping, tanning time..... :roll:
:wink:
Paganwolf
08-12-2004, 22:48
Give it a go, there only a small thin pelt so you wont need any heavy tanning or prep, rabbit skin drys right out and goes like thick parchment, i think inuits chew the thin pelts when dry to soften them! er id leave tha chewing to them though, just get the Vas out and give it a good rubbing :wink: it will soon soften up. :shock:
Thanks Paganwolf and everyone else.
Cheers :You_Rock_
SilverWolf
03-01-2005, 17:42
Hardly sounds like traditional way to do tan a bunny around here.
I've not fully tanned a bunny yet. I've cleaned and dried one (had it about 9 months and it don't smell), and it is like parchment, just thinner. Bunny skins when cleaned are very very thin. My first piece of skinning and hideworking however was a roe deer head (part of a lithics project so my uni department supplied the head but I had to give it back since I had removed the skin and ears). During that first project I was adviced that a stick works well enough to clean a bunny skin. And it does, if split and you have a knife handy to cut bits of flesh and member off when it gets awkward.
As for tanning, I've heard that liver works well, although usually with brain. Eggs would be interesting to try. Let us know how the hat goes. I'm working on the lining for a pair of mittens this weekend. I'm planning a fleecy outter and a bunny skin liner for extra warmth and to improve waterproofness. My problem is that I currently only have one bunny skin waiting to be used. So I'm going to have to send my partner out to get another. Then I'm going to have two skins to clean in the cold!
Got a dehaired hare hide ( or what's left of it - the thing was well hung ) in a bark tan mix at the moment. It's been in a week, no bad smells yet but the sauerkraut batch probably covers up most smells anyway.The bark mix was just standard pine bark chippings, boiled in an equal volume of water and allowed to ferment for two weeks before use, it looks like murky weakish tea.
Oneforthepot
Celtic Dragon
08-01-2005, 15:19
I got a little tanning kit from Snowdonia Taxidermy supplies.
Just mix it up with water and it will last for years.
Clean the skin and chuck it in the solution over night and it's done.
A quick rinse and let it dry.
Really easy and effective.
I'll second this kit, it is excellent, I used to have 1 when I activly did pest control.
I have used salt sucessfully in the past, pin the pelt out to a board fur side down and pile salt on it for a week.
Simon
Thanks guys. I'v been gone for a while and more people have posted! i havn't had a chance to get any bunnies but now I know!