For those who tan buckskin

[LamiPub]

My 17 and 19 ds got young bucks this year and oldest ds is tanning the buckskin. I told them I would make them moccasins for them (I was thinking of making them just for house shoe/slippers so they would last???). I have a pattern but wanted to know the best why to wash/treat/condition the moccasins so they will last. If you have any recommendations I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[longshot38]

check over at braintan.com and get into the Hideout. lots of good folks there who have been there done that and can help.


dean

[MTplainsman]

Cut your patterns from the center (spine) or better yet, the rump of the buck hide. The closer you go towards the sides and neck the flimsier your mocs will be. Deer hide is not very durable for heavy use in footwear, so I suggest adhereing some sort of soles to make them last many times longer.

I braintan and oil tan Buff robes, buckskin, and furs. If you need any advice in the process, just ask anytime. Joel

[MullersLaneFarm]

This is the way I've brain tanned hides:

http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/braintan.html

For soles, you'll want a good thick elk or buffalo raw hide.

Make the soles out of the deers neck. Top part or what you would consider as the back of the neck. This is the thickest part of a deer skin. Then make the rest out of the rump area.

[LamiPub]

After you make them and wear them for awhile can you wash them? Is there a way to clean them and treat them (like you would a leather shoe etc) to make them last longer AFTER they are made and been used?

With my boys big feet I don't think the neck area will be enough for the soles lol but thanks for the suggestions.

[Rockin'B]

I'd had wash with a good saddle soap and a brush, and then treat with lexol.

[Shinsan]

Well, I know this is going to sound right off the wall, but a mate of mine used to prep 'roo hides by laying them out flat, saturating them with kerosene and then adding a load of bicarbonate of soda, which he worked into a paste covering the hide. Two days later he'd wash the hide out thoroughly, then put it in a drum with water and a very large quantity of chopped up wattle bark, (for the tannin). Can't remember how long he left it there, and I think he may have boiled it. After all was done, the hide was stretched out to dry, and then later worked it back and forward around a length of pipe to make it supple. He reckoned that it could be made very supple by chewing it, but didn't think his teeth would be up to handling the number of hides he had. To take the hair off a hide before tanning, he'd soak it in a barrel of water with lots of charcoal for a week, and the hair would come off really easily.

Now, that brings to mind a question: The reason for using the wattle bark being that it contains a lot of tannin, would it be possible to soak the hide in a strong solution made using tea? Yes, the stuff we drink as a beverage. It contains an awful lot of tannin after all. Anybody willing to try it? (Don't add milk and sugar, though a twist of lemon probably wouldn't hurt.)