Salting a fox hide

[timbo]

Just a general question,

How long do I need to salt the skin for before I take to it with a deflesher? Than how long after that should before I put it in the tanning solution?

I have removed as much flesh as I could, it is well salted, wrapped in a cotton towel and hanging in a tree at present.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Cheers Tim

[Mozza]

Timbo,
I normally salt a skin as soon as I have finished skinning the animal, then rollup the skin after making sure that you have pushed the salt to the edges all over the skin.
Leave it for 24 hours and then shake all the salt off and repeat the process again.
When you have done that the skin will keep for ages, but after fleshing the skin, put it straight into the tanning solution.
Best of luck with it, let us know how it turns out:)

[Luke bazook]

i just skinned a fox the other day and put it straight in the tanning solution. Should i have done it another way? and what do you mean by a deflesher?
Thanks

[Dale Furze]

Luke, the skin has a membrane on the inside that needs to be broken to allow the tanning solution into the skin to better preserve it. You salt it a couple of times first, this draws out the fat and other liquid in the skin and also kills the bacteria that makes the hair/fur slip. There is a special tool that you can buy, it is called a fleshing tool, it will possibly cost around $15, you do need one if you want the job done properly.

Dale.

[Luke bazook]

ive salted skins before and then put them in tanning solution but it never made much difference. Some of my skins turn out alright but other skins aren't flexible. Maybe a fleshing tool will do the trick and make em turn out to be more supple.

[Rock Steady]

Tim

Here is a short list of what IMO you need to do.

STAGE ONE


Skinning: Skin fox as soon you can, the sooner it is skinned the better the hide will be. I like to skin them while they are still warm.
Lay the skin out in the shade to cool and use a sharp knife or scalpel to remove loose fat, meat and blood patches.
Once the skin is cooled you should salt the flesh side of the skin with about 1mm of fine salt, make sure to rub it in all the way to the edges. This should happen within 1 hour of removing the skin and unused fine cooking salt will give better results then coarse salts, never reuse the salt.
Roll the skin up by folding the edges in and then rolling the skin up.
Store in a cool place for 24 hours. I normally use an old pillow case to hang the skin in under the house.
After 24 hours unroll the skin and salt it again with fresh fine salt. ( Note: you can scrap off the original salt as it should be full of the juices etc off the skin)
Fold the edges in again and roll the skin up again and store for at least 7 days to allow them to cure before tanning, you can store it this way for several weeks if in a nice cool area and a couple of weeks in warmer areas. (Note: do not freeze salted skins unless they have been cured for at least 7 days, you can freeze for up to 4 months)
STAGE TWO


Fleshing: This is usually done with the fleshing knife on a beam (see diagram).http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/boarsbilliesnbarra/Odd%20Stuff/Tanning/fleshing.jpghttp://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/boarsbilliesnbarra/Odd%20Stuff/Tanning/Hide1sm.jpghttp://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/boarsbilliesnbarra/Odd%20Stuff/Tanning/LTK5-1.jpg



http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q69/boarsbilliesnbarra/Odd%20Stuff/Tanning/BK401and2.jpg

The beam should be round with a radius less than that of the curved fleshing knife, and smooth. It may be made of wood or plastic.
A good beam can be made from a curved heavy PVC sheet or a section of PVC pipe 10 - 12 inches in diameter.
It works best if the beam can be anchored down in some way so it doesn't push over readily.
Height should be such that when you use it you are sitting on a stool so you don’t have to bend over too much. Otherwise it doesn't take long to get a sore back.
It will take some practice to get it right but once you get the knack it’s not too hard. (Note: take your time with thin skins as they can tear)
The salt you have used to cure the skin will help soften the membrane and make fleshing easier.
Keep the knife teeth clean, as the teeth clog up just push the knife in the opposite direction to clean the teeth.
Wash the skin thoroughly in clean water with a little detergent before placing in the tanning bath.
You can use the tanning bath to soften the skin further, roughly flesh the skin then place in the tanning bath for 30-40 hours and then remove the skin and wring the solution out of it and finish the fleshing.
Put the skin back into the tanning bath to complete the tanning.
STAGE THREE

Tanning: Follow the instructions that come with the tanning solution you buy, the more accurately you follow their instructions the better the finished product will be.
After tanning wash the skin in clean water and soap powder.
Move on to breaking skin straight away.
STAGE FOUR

Breaking: The breaking in of the skin will need to start as soon as you have washed it and wrung it out.
After weighing the skin tack the skin to plywood or similar into a nice shape.
Apply leather lube or equivalent to skin, follow the instructions that come with the lube it will explain weighting the skin and application of the lube.
After the skin has dried break the skin with the tanning knife. Get some sort of pad to place under the skin, thick soft rubber, old blankets. You will need it about 25mm thick.
Lay the skin on the pad fur side down and work the skin with the small tanners knifes round edge, push away from the center and work towards the edges. Take care not to tear thin skins.
Repeat after 24 hours.
You can sand the leather side of a skin with a sander, coarse paper is best, this will also soften the skin more and remove the plumb left from breaking giving a very professional look to the finished skin
Trim the edges with a very sharp knife to remove the nail holes and rough edges, for the best results hold the skin of the bench whilst cutting as you will only cut the leather and leave the edge fur looking more natural. (Note: never use scissors or push down on a bench when trimming the edges as it will cut the fur and leave an unnatural finish).TIPS: For smelly furs you can wash in shampoo or for oily skins you can wash in oily hair shampoo before breaking it in. I have heard some people rinse in kero for a smelly Billy etc.

If you look around on the net or in book shops you may be able to find a more detailed book on tanning, I have an old copy of "Knives Skinning & Tanning" by John Leidreite which I got 30 years ago which is really good. It shows a lot more info on tanning of all types of skins from rabbits to Buffalo and reptiles. You should also be able to buy a basic tanning kit from a farm type store, Leder Tanning Kit.

I have tanned about 30 hides over the years and have always had good results following the steps laid out and the instructions on the tanning kits.

Anyway hope this helps.

[howie]

Excellent info Rock......

[zao]

yeah, thanks for all that. Can't wait to give it a go.