Working the raw material

[PatrickM]

Another busy day scraping down hides for winter projects, great weather, no flies and quite cool - ideal conditions

[southey]

Oooof some work there Mr M! lovely looking hides.

[Eric_Methven]

Nice haul Patrick. Are you going to do rawhide, buckskin or a mixture of the two? Did you get the brains with the skins or use eggs?

Eric

[PatrickM]

Hi Eric, all these hides will be transformed into buckskin, I have a freezer full of heads
Two of the larger fallow hides which are in the cool house will be brained with the hair on for a cape.
A full outfit of mocs, mitts, hat, breeks and shirt or jacket will be made up in early spring when I have the time.

[joe o]

Hi Patrick,

I'll look forward to seeing that lot. In fact I might race yer to a fully finished buckskin and fur outfit (feeling confident as I've got a head start and also knowing that you'll probably have several hundred metres of nettle cordage to twiddle on the side )! I'm getting there with a red deer hide hooded parka, dry scraped, brained and softened then smoked to within an inch of it's life up in the smoke hole of the main camp shelter throughout the whole year. The buckskin trousers and hunting shirt I'm aiming to make up from buckskin pieces, some smoked more heavily than others to give a sort of 'two tone' camouflage and the pucker toe woodland moccs are done, just waiting to be worn in and moulded then re-smoked.
I've roughly calculated for 9 fallow sized buckskins for moccasins, mittens, troos, shirt and sewing thonging plus three red hair on hides for the parka.
Keep posting the pics, it'll give me the kick up the rear I need to get everything finished over the winter.

Cheers

Joe
www.wilderness-survival.co.uk

[Black Sheep]

Good to see the hides been put to some use

I'll be interested to see the finished hides and what you make from them/

Richard

[PatrickM]

Almost finished, this lot are soft and fluffy with one partially smoked. Only another 6 to soften then I will smoke them and begin the cutting and sewing.


PS Joe - that sounds good I hope to see the results when I see you next, I'll leave the race for the time being as I gave up running marathons a few years ago.

[wildranger]

Very nice Where did you get all the hides? Obtained through your own hunting or purchased/donated?

[Toddy]

I've seen those buckskins that Patrick made, and they are just superb : what an amount of work to achieve something like this though.
They really are white too, I know why they're to be smoked, but it somehow seems a shame. On the other hand if they turn out a good rich colour, they'll just be all the more wearable


How are you getting on with yours, Joe ?

cheers,
Toddy

[leaf man]

on here, i think alot of us are on a constant hunt for new skills and trying to become enlightened with the ancient skills. looking at what you have already achieved with those buckskins, patrick and joe are obviously already there. cant wait to see the finished clothing! well done

[PatrickM]

Hand sewn buckskin outers, fur inners - super warm and cosy. Almost finished another pair with a more simplified pattern
- looks as if I will be sewing for a wee while yet.




Mary I agree with you, buckskin always looks nice when it is white but alas not very practical to wear in the outdoors.

Smoking is essential and its nice to play with the different colours the smoke produces and the various materials to burn - grass, bark, punk, fungi etc

[pound]

Another busy day scraping down hides for winter projects, great weather, no flies and quite cool - ideal conditions

interesting...look forward to seeing the finished product.

[RonW]

I truely am in awe.....

Fantastic work!!! From start to finish...

[grey- array]

Awesome work, would love to learn those skills to some time ^^

[PatrickM]

Thanks for the comments folks, I have a little time today so I cut out the lower parts of the mukluks - lots of sewing awaits.

[Toddy]

Looking forward to seeing these
The mitts look really good

cheers,
M

[PatrickM]

Vamps sewn and front puckered, only the heel and lace tabs left to do - then on with the uprights for the legs

[Toddy]

Those look beautifully neat :

M

[grey- array]

Really cool, I read allot of things about mukluks and would really love to make a pair sometime, would be a lovely change from the extremely rugged mountain boots I have, but what kind of pattern did you use as I can'[ t seem to find any useful pattern, would you like to enlighten me where you got it or even perhaps share it with me.

A humble student of the traditional ways

[British Red]

Amazing stuff - I get a lot of enuui when the same old stuff comes up - but your stuff is amazing Patrick - and this is the best yet!

[PatrickM]

Lots of odd pieces of buckskin left over from the various projects come in handy.

[PatrickM]

One boot almost finished - lacings to be cut and fitted.

I will finish the other boot next week when I have the time and then smoke them for a few nights over the camp fire.

[warthog1981]

stunning work as always

[Toddy]

Absolutely beautiful Just so 'right'

The pouches are an excellent colour with the smoke too

cheers,
M

[PatrickM]

Cheers folks, managed to finish the other boot this morning and get a start on a pair of puckered toe moccasins
- off to the woods now to smoke them above the parachute canopy.

[grey- array]

Looks absolutely cracking Patrick, Would you have any directions for me to look too if I might wish making myself a pair, its really a skill I would like to master some day, and I have been looking for some good plans for quite some time now yet seem not to get lucky yet ^^
Yours sincerely Ruud

[Wayland]

As always I am in awe of your work.

Great thread and fine looking Mukluks

[British Red]

Those really are some stunning slippers

[crosslandkelly]

Fantastic work really beautiful.
Colin.

p,s thanks for the info on Leylandi carving.

[Treeclipper]

Really beautiful work. I also like the pouches, didn't realise it was the smoke that coloured the buckskin. You learn something new on here with almost every thread you read .