Road kill sporran in wating

[tyger]

One way to get quality hides for sporran-making is to pick up road kill. Of course, one will want to be picky in their approach to this. One will want the kill's corneas to still be soft and moist- that way one knows that the kill is only an hour or two old. This time of year, an absence of flies or yellow jackets at the kill is another sure sign of freshness.

In the past I have only picked winter fresh kills that have been bumped or rolled, not squashed. The pelt quality is unsurpassed.

However, I have been seeking a fawn, and they are not available in winter. Here, the whitetail fawn's hide has been salted 48-hours, scraped clean, and is now ready for a 72-hour pickle:



Notice the hide scraper that I made from a comfortable sized piece of wood, a hacksaw blade, and 2 nails. This tool works better than any other tool that I have ever used:



After the picke, the hide will be neutralized, washed, tanned, and softened. One of the best ways to soften a hide is to work it over a dull metal edge, then put it in the clothes dryer and tumble it on the No Heat setting for as long as it takes.


A few words of caution: 1) be acutely aware of automobile traffic, 2) observe the kill site for any vermin on the animal (fleas, ticks, lice) or around the animal (snakes, predators). (I got growled at one time as I collected a beaver. I could not see who was growling- the sound emanated from dense vegetation. I was in bear country.), and 3) Wear gloves when skinning animals such as raccoons. There is a remote possibility for the transmission of blood-borne pathogens, in this case from roadkill animal to human animal. The risk of transmission of a blood-borne pathogen from human animal to the other animal exists among living animals; however, it doesn't apply in this roadkill scenario.