Stretching and Salting

GameEarGabe

GameEarGabe

New member
I am just getting into skinning and tanning hides, my question is do I need to salt the hide and then stretch it, or can I just salt it? I have not come across any reading that does both. Either salt or stretch, or salt and stretch

Thanks
Gabe
 
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Here is what I can share with you...
I used to live in Alaska and would do very remote hunts for Dall sheep.
I stopped by a taxi's shop before my hunt and got his opinion of how to best preserve the hide for mounting later.
He told me that after skinning (and a decent job of field fleshing) to lay out the hide and dump 5 pounds of salt on it. I can't recall the kind of salt though, it wasn't table salt. Spread the salt around evenly and fold it hide to hide, not hide to hair. Once folded a couple times then roll up tight and tie. Given our temps at that time of year, that hide would easily stay good for roughly 10 days, plenty of time to get back. This is my only experience with salting hides.
HTH
 
if your talking about furbearers, you do not need salt, here is how you do it:

http://www.furharvesters.com/pdf/pelthandling.pdf

if your talking about ungulates, lions, bears, etc, you do not need to stretch.
after fleshing, lay the hide out flat on a a slightly inclined flat surface and salt and resalt until almost dry but not so dry you cant fold it up and then put it in a box for shipping to a tannery.
 
When I read your post this morning...somehow I was thinking you were mounting the critters. If you are tanning just for hides to hang on the wall, I don't think you salt them. I know fur buyers DO NOT want you to salt anything, just stretch and let dry.
 
Don't use salt.You can use borax.I use it on my cats I put up and then I don't have to turn em.Borax will really make your fur like cats fox and yotes look better as well!
 
It really depends on when you plan to start the tanning process.If you start tanning right after skinning,you will not salt or dry the skin unless salt is called for in your tanning kit.Make sure you skin out the ears and feet,if you plan on leaving them on the hide.Follow directions closely.Hair slipping is a problem on cheaper kits that me or my friends have tried.
 


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