How to Treat Deer Skin
- 1). Skin the hide from the animal, keeping the hide as whole as possible.
- 2). Remove all of the meat and fat from the skin. The hide will not tan correctly if any meat or fat is left on it.
- 3). Remove the hair by soaking it in a solution of 1 gallon of hardwood ashes, 2 gallons of slaked lime, and 5 gallons of warm water for three to four days (or until all of the hair falls off).
- 4). Mix 1 pound alum and 1 gallon of warm water in the 5-gallon bucket. Now, mix the contents of the bucket with 2 1/2 pounds of salt in the large barrel with 4 gallons of cold water. Soak the hide in this solution for six to nine days.
- 5). Remove the hide from the tanning solution, stretch it across the sapling frame, and place it in the sunlight to partially dry. Rub the neat's foot oil into the hide to begin softening the leather. Continue to knead and work the hide until it is supple and soft.
Source...