Thinning hides

[treeroot]

I'm trying to learn how to get a beaver and bear hides ready for tanning for clothing/blankets.

I used the complete home tanning kit on 2 beavers last year and although it worked, the hide is clearly too thick to use as is.

I was curious about using a wire wheel and a drill to thin the hides. Does this work well?

I am pretty good with a beaver fleshing knife, but I think that would be very difficult to get consistent thickness and you also risk poking through the hide.


Anyone try a wire wheeel?



Also, how thin should I aim to get a hide for clothing/blankets?

[shakeyleg02]

I found the best way without a shaving machine is to frost scrape ..tack it out on a board and wait for -25 or colder and scrape it i shoot for the back skin as thin as the belly

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by shakeyleg02

I found the best way without a shaving machine is to frost scrape ..tack it out on a board and wait for -25 or colder and scrape it i shoot for the back skin as thin as the belly

I’d have to agree, I’ve thinned lots of hides for brain tanning, including thick moose hides.
Dry does work well but fresh and frozen is really nice. I have a home made fleshing tool, it’s razor sharp... causes bad things to the hide if you’re not careful.
I’ve only ever done them laced into a frame. Maybe this winter I’ll tackle a beaver or two, something I haven’t done yet.

[treeroot]

Thanks for the input..

I do have a couple really nice hides in the frezer right now. I just fleshed them like I normally would, but I didn't; try to thin them yet. Is a frozen solid hide ok to flesh your way, or does it need to be the -25?

I might try a wire wheel on my tanned beaver hides.. They aren't the best hides as they were just for tanning practise. So its ok if something bad happens..

What about sanding a dry tanned hide to thin it?

[shakeyleg02]

Originally Posted by treeroot

Thanks for the input..

I do have a couple really nice hides in the frezer right now. I just fleshed them like I normally would, but I didn't; try to thin them yet. Is a frozen solid hide ok to flesh your way, or does it need to be the -25?

I might try a wire wheel on my tanned beaver hides.. They aren't the best hides as they were just for tanning practise. So its ok if something bad happens..

What about sanding a dry tanned hide to thin it?

To have it work properly yes 20-30 below and yes you can sand also but dont get the hide too hot and man does it make a mess that crap sticks too everything lol

[calgarychef]

Originally Posted by shakeyleg02

To have it work properly yes 20-30 below and yes you can sand also but dont get the hide too hot and man does it make a mess that crap sticks too everything lol

Yup it needs to be cold out. You could lace it up, dry it and dry scrape with a sharp tool. I’ve tried electric tools and they don’t work too well. Laced up I’m convinced it will scrape much better than boarded.

[Redhorse Ranch]

I used a B&D angle grinder with the disc sanding attachment to thin a beef hide for rawhide work. I did it wet, after salting and dehairing. It took about two hours to thin that big hide down.

Use a very coarse grit paper, and do it outside. Wear an apron, goggles and/or a face shield, and don't open your mouth for nothin'.

I was able to get it fairly even, but we still needed to run the 1" ribbons through my brothers' skiver before cutting strings and braiding with it.