Fish Skins

[Ranger Bob]

I was skinning some fish for dinner tonight and it occured to me just how tough they were. Does anyone know if they have any use?

[steve a]

I've seen eel and salmon skins cured and processed into leather goods before, so I'm sure that at least some fish skin can be used.
Try a search for curing methods or alternatively someone here might know.

[greg2935]

I know you can tan fish skin and it is tough as have seen handbags made from it, not sure what the process is though.

Greg

[Keith_Beef]

I was skinning some fish for dinner tonight and it occured to me just how tough they were. Does anyone know if they have any use?

Like ranger Bob mentions, some have been tanned. Nile perch, Salmon, and (I think) Carp are sometimes offered in leatherwork shops.

Dogfish has apparently been used as an abrasive for woodworking (sandpaper substitute).

But as a kid, I was always told to eat the skin, as "it's where all the vitamins are"... but then, I think that mothers always lie to their kids.

Keith.

[Snufkin]

I have used salmon skin for backing bows as it is very thin (therefore light) and tough. I usually colour it by making a tanning solution from oak bark.
get a pile of oak bark roughly chopped cover with water and simmer for a few hours let it sit for 24 hours and strain off the juice. Put the fleshed and descaled fish skins in this solution and give them a stir every so often so all parts of the skin are exposed to the solution. It'll take about 4 or 5 days to tan them. I then rinse them out and roll them up and store them in the freezer 'til I need them. If you don't want to freeze them just scrape, scale and wash them well and nail them to a board until the dry and as long as they don't get wet they'll last indefinately.
I have made a bowstring from the rawhide too but haven't used it so I don't know it's durability.
I have also tried to make leather with limited success, it turned out rather stiff and crackly but worked ok.

[Ranger Bob]

Thanks guys :biggthump :You_Rock_

[Squidders]

To the best of my knowledge, fish skin is mainly used to stop the inside of fish from being on the outside.

Other than that I have heard of dogfish skin being cured and made into gloves... I'm not sure I'd want to though. Maybe at a basic level you could try and make some kind of waterproof pouch and go on from there.

[bushwacker bob]

Tanned fish skins were used as non -slip sword handles in the 18th and 19th century.Shark and ray skins were tanned and called shagreen when used decoratively(very hard wearing)

[shinobi]

To the best of my knowledge, fish skin is mainly used to stop the inside of fish from being on the outside.

:rolmao: :rolmao: :rolmao:

[Realgar]

I've got a wolffish skin wallet, I've tanned conger skin before and I've seen plenty of salmon skin goods - apparently it's due to become the latest leather for shoes and bags. My own attempts at tanning scaled fish haven't gone too well - it either dissolves ( in urine ) or turns out like cellophane ( oil tan ). I got a wolfskin tanned ok( Oil method ) but it got destroyed/lost in the move or one of my ex's tantrums.

The fish smell does go after a couple of months of sitting around.
Oneforthepot

[Toddy]

Salmon skin used to be used to make 'cagouls'/ water proof overjackets, It's also used to make water proof leggings.
Thanks for all the info.....we get quite a lot of salmon and a friend keeps asking me about tanning the skins...we've also got *lots* of oakbark :-) He can do it himself!
Toddy

[bambodoggy]

I seem to remember Ray Mears mentioning that the Eskimo/Inuit people used tanned Salmon skins to make very hard wearing and water proof mitten for kayaking....

Don't think he went into details of how they did it though....

[hootchi]

Yep you're right Bambo.

[Realgar]

the simplest way is supposed to be to soak the salmon skin in stale urine for a couple of days then rinse and break. Whenever I've tried it the skin has just dissolved, too much red meat in my diet?
Realgar