I'm Going to Go There...

I bought this book based on it's glowing reviews.  The back cover states "If a guy can't tan a hide with this he should stay out of the woods!" - Ted Fry, Raptor Archery. 

My boyfriend's hides from the deer he harvests don't exactly go to waste. We put them far back in the woods somewhere where they get eaten. Yes, eaten. Usually little birds and rodents pick away at them and then at some point a larger animal, quite possibly a coyote will take a large portion of the hide if not the entire thing. It's simply amazing how many animals will feed off of other animal's remains. If it were warmer at the time, many little bugs would get in on the action too.  That being said, I'd still like to do more with the hides.

I've wanted to tan a hide for awhile now, I just wasn't exactly sure where to start. This book provides you with step-by-step instructions on how to tan using either brains, soap or eggs. I'm hoping to use brain, since I might as well use them for something.  I'm not going to lie, it will be a lot of work! My boyfriend will help me, especially in areas like brain retrieval. There's a lot of steps involved and it will be fairly time consuming. The first time will probably be a rough trial and a bit of an educational process. Hopefully, it will still result in a usable, tanned hide. I'm not exactly looking to make a buckskin coat with fringe, more so interested in making maybe slippers, a hunting pouch and maybe some change purses/wallets. 

I truly believe you dishonor the animal when you waste parts that could be used. We don't waste any meat and eat organ meats and other 'scrap' meat portions. When you put time and effort into either raising or harvesting your meat, you appreciate it so much more and wouldn't dream of wasting any of it. Same as growing veggies. Being disconnected from where our food comes from is a problem.  I look at tanning as another way to honor the animal, and a way of making quality goods for myself, my boyfriend and gifts.