Disclaimer: If you disapprove of hunting or anything related to that, read no further.
Deer season started here about three weeks ago. In case you're wondering, using your van is not an acceptable way to hunt.
I don't hunt around here but I've got friends that do.
We have asked these friends and some family to save their hides for us so that we can tan them. My daughter makes moccasins and other outerwear for her children from the tanned hides.
She could buy leather online or at a local dealer, but if these hides don't get used, they'll go to waste.
What is fleshing a hide?
Fleshing is removing the flesh, fat and membrane from the skin. I use a draw knife that is normally used to strip bark off logs or limbs. My daughter uses a fleshing knife which is not even close to what should be considered a knife. There is no sharp edge.
Draw knife
Fleshing knife
Other than a pole of some sort leaning on a fence or table, a knife is all you'll need for this portion of tanning.
I've seen people use telephone poles that are planted at an angle to do their fleshing. I've also seen people that had boards that were slightly concave. We have neither but we do have a couple of pieces of 6" and 8" PVC about 8' long. We just prop them on the fence and get to it.
The hide is laid on the pole hair side down. I position mine so that the longer axis goes up and down the pole.
Note: You'll want to ensure that the penile sheath of a buck or the udders of a doe have been cut out. We usually remove the tail also.
Starting in the middle, push or pull your knife toward the edge. Start small. When the flesh starts to separate from the hide, you can work it all the way to the edge.
If you are using a fleshing knife, you can put as much pressure as you want on it. The harder you work, the quicker the work will go. Fleshing knives generally will not damage the hide.
If you are using a draw knife, the procedure is the same but with less pressure. I have cut hides with a draw knife but not enough to render them unusable.
With either knife, tilt the blade about 45 degrees as you're working.
As the flesh comes off, rotate your hide. I generally work the center out a foot or so then rotate a bit. I keep doing this until I have a large section then I work it all the way to the edge. Most of the time it's a little difficult to work past the edge to get the membrane loose. Keep at it or just cut it off and toss it to the dogs.
My daughter has 7 dogs at her place and they all wait patiently to be tossed some flesh or fat.
When done your hide should be white and mostly clean.
My son-in-law using a fleshing knife
We had several hides to work at this point so salted them heavily and put them in a tote until we could get to them later.
The next installment will be on either bucking or dry scraping hides.
