just fleshed my first bear skin.. questions..

[TheN3wguy]

hi, I just fleshed my first bear skin and I had a few questions

1) what would be best used to sew holes in the hide?

I'm planning on stretching the hide and then salting it, is this the proper thing to do?

it's just going to be a wall hang for my house or I may get it tanned, I have it folded up in the fridge now until tomorrow when I can build a stretcher

ty in advance for any information

[shakeyleg02]

You can use waxed thread to sew the holes ...dont worry about building a stretcher get it salted or frozen Sooner than later ..it will need to be tanned before you can hang the hide in your house
You can just open it up and cover good with salt everywhere... let drain for couple days ,,resalt and dry it then you can get it tanned ....make sure all the meat is off and the bones are out of the feat right down to the claws so u can pack the salt in there also ..
Good luck

[TheN3wguy]

I'm wondering if this is close enough to salt?

I was worried to go any further, I exposed a few roots in places around the edges

[HunterDave]

You are going to have to get it tanned or tan it yourself. Here's what to do to prep it for tanning:

http://www.internationalfur.ca/prepping.html

You can tan it yourself using this formula. The directions are right on the label of the bottle.

https://www.halfordsmailorder.com/ki...hidetanformula

You'll need a strong needle to sew the hide. I use a Glovers Needle with dental floss.

[TheN3wguy]

where would you get a gloves needle?

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by TheN3wguy

where would you get a gloves needle?

Halford's sells them. What area do you live in?

[waterninja]

Next time I have to sew a hole in a hide I am going to try braided fishing line. Very tiny diameter and much stronger then dental floss.

[winmag]

get the paws knuckled out or get it back into the freezer or fridge until you have a good plan in place good luck

[TheN3wguy]

could I use this method

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homes...-hide-zm0z01on

for tanning a hair on hide? would the battery acid ruin the hair?

[jmparker]

Originally Posted by TheN3wguy

could I use this method

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homes...-hide-zm0z01on

for tanning a hair on hide? would the battery acid ruin the hair?

this isn't the best method to tan. battery acid isn't a good pickling acid. citric acid is recommended for greasy skins such as bear.

a good tan that i've had nice results with is Ez 100. its not available in canada unless you ship it up from the states. if i were you i would use Liqua Tan. you can get it at AAA supply house in Calgary.

If you follow these steps you will tan the hide properly:

http://www.amystaxidermy.com/pages/tanning.htm

these instruction are for ez-100 but liqua tan uses the same steps. just use liqua tan where it says to tan with ez-100.

make sure you degrease it properly!!!

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by winmag

get the paws knuckled out or get it back into the freezer or fridge until you have a good plan in place good luck

!!!!

I can almost smell it from here.


Newguy, how long has the hide been off the bear unfrozen or salted?
Three, four, six days?


You are going to lose this hide if you keep on proceeding the way you are.


If I was talking to someone who was seriously asking for advice and willing to listen, I would tell them to IMMEDIATELY put the hide in a freezer until they finalized a plan on what they are going to do with it. If a freezer is absolutely not an option, then they must skin out those paws and salt the hide. Get this done NOW and THEN figure out what to do from there.

[HunterDave]

What have you done with the hide so far?