Skins or Pelts or Furs

[Chas]

I have a question, or lots of questions. The trouble is, I don't know, what I don't know, so I don't know what questions to ask.

Best I start at the beginning.

I have an acquaintance who owns a farm, which produces exotic meats for the restaurant trade. Not endangered, but exotic and rare in this country. No primates, no reptiles, no turtles, no cuddly animals - just bovine, ovine and porcine. That is to say cows, sheep and pigs.

He and all his staff and the premises are licensed and inspected on a monthly basis. The animals get regular veterinary attention, whether they need it or not. They live out of doors, but have adequate shelter from the weather if they choose. They even have 'toys' to play with. The cows seem to like the big 'footballs'.

The animals have a good life, but they are part of the food chain and most will not live to die of old age.

He has his own abattoir and butchery department on site. One of the by-products is the skins or pelts or furs (my lack of knowledge creeping in here). Each skin is sealed in a plastic bag and frozen. Once a month, someone comes from 'way up north' to take then away. He pays for them, but not a lot - just enough to cover the storage costs.

I have been offered these skins in a totally untreated condition. They are just as they were taken off the dead carcase.

Now we come to the questions.

Would it be feasible for me, on my own, to tan (cure) (I don't even know the right words) them myself? Can it be done with very little cash investment? Are there major pitfalls that I should know before even thinking about this?

I keep thinking of all these hunter gatherers. They managed it without sophisticated equipment, so why can't I?

Any thoughts, warnings, dire predictions?

Regards

Chas

[Mikewood]

Tanning a whole beef is quite demanding. You will have to lay it out and strip all the fat and connective tissue. Then slip the hair or leave it hair on. Soak it and hang dry in vats of different solutions so you will need tubs, hangers, catch tubs and racks. It's very involved. Finally you need chemicals and a buyer for your completed leather.
I buy my leather from zack white. http://zackwhite.com/xcart/home.php?cat=260
The prices will give you an idea of profit margin.
Good luck!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I once tried to tan a prong horn antelope hide with only limited success. As Mike has pointed out, tanning a cow hide would be a fairly involved process (and neighbours might complain of the smell). Since you are getting the hide for free, you might want to find a local tannery and ask what they'd charge to tan the hide for you. I doubt it would be more than a couple of quid, and you'd end up with an excellent piece of leather to work with... unlike my "self disintegrating" antelope hide.

[Meadcrafter]

Take a look at this site.

[O'Searcaigh]

Tanning a whole beef is quite demanding. You will have to lay it out and strip all the fat and connective tissue. Then slip the hair or leave it hair on. Soak it and hang dry in vats of different solutions so you will need tubs, hangers, catch tubs and racks. It's very involved. Finally you need chemicals and a buyer for your completed leather.

Hi Chas --Mikewood is correct. I have cured some small pelts (rabbit, fox) and even that involves some pretty tedious and messy work, just on a smaller scale. I myself would not try tackling a large animal but the process would be basically the same although it would require investment in larger vats, more chemicals and a lot more work/time. I find it much easier (and ultimately less expensive) to just buy my leather from a local Mennonite leather shop here. If you are looking for leather for your own projects, it would probably be easier and less expensive to buy from someone else already in the business. If you are planning to go into the business of providing cured/tanned leather for others, I would think you would have to do some pretty serious thinking about the investment, market analysis etc and I suspect you'd be facing some pretty stiff competition. If you have lots of time and money and just want to have the satisfaction of going from "raw" skin to a finished leather project, then have at it but I'm sure the farm produces way more skins than you individually could use for such projects. If the farm is licensed and inspected regularly, you probably wouldn't run into any potentially serious adverse health issues -- and that's part of what the chemicals (depending on the process you use) are for anyway. I have had a few friends who were seriously into the DIY re-enactor thing who have made their own bowie knives, buckskins etc "from scratch" but it is a serious labor of love or lunacy depending on one's priorities and point of view. Cheers!

[artificer]

I once tried to tan a prong horn antelope hide with only limited success. As Mike has pointed out, tanning a cow hide would be a fairly involved process (and neighbours might complain of the smell). Since you are getting the hide for free, you might want to find a local tannery and ask what they'd charge to tan the hide for you. I doubt it would be more than a couple of quid, and you'd end up with an excellent piece of leather to work with... unlike my "self disintegrating" antelope hide.

I'm with MoR here. As you are getting them for little to no cost, find a good local tanner and have them do the dirty work.

ith:

[O'Searcaigh]

I'm with MoR here. As you are getting them for little to no cost, find a good local tanner and have them do the dirty work.

ith:

Yea, I agree: absolutely the best solution (no pun intended). Three votes for that, so far!!!

[Harold Cannon]

I have tanned a number of pelts while I was a scout and I got away from doing it for a reason. It takes time and can be a messy job. If you do have a tannery local to you that would be your best bet. Plus if you had a few hides done up there may be a few on the forum who would help you by taking some of the fee on in return for a hide or two. Just an idea.

[Ryan Ross]

Sure you can do it. You just go out there and do it, is all.

I keep thinking of all these hunter gatherers. They managed it without sophisticated equipment, so why can't I?

Because you don't have the brains.

[Chas]

Thanks, everyone for the input and the links.

This was never designed to be a money making business, so if it never happens, it doesn't matter. I was not particularly interested in the cow hides, but some of the sheep and lambs have very interesting pelts - anywhere from an Angora like to something that looks like an Astrakhan.

The plan is to do a lot more research using the links and at the same time contact tanneries and find out what they can offer.

If it is at all possible, this is a skill that I would like to master. I might have mentioned in the past that I live in the middle of a forest. Well, road kill is an every day occurrence here. Deer (red, roe, fallow and muntjac), fox and badger are seen on a daily basis.

Thanks again

Regards

Chas