PRESERVING RABBIT PELTS SKIN
PRESERVING RABBIT PELTS FREE

These will only enlarge as you hand stretch the hide later). Incidentally, do all your scraping by draping the hide/pelt over a smooth round log and keeping it taut throughout to avoid puckering which can lead to small nicks and tears.

PRESERVING RABBIT PELTS SKIN

If that's the case then right after scraping the flesh off the hide, soak the whole thing in a thick, gloopy solution of hard wood ash and water for a minimum of three days to force the epidermis to slip and you should be able to scrape away hair and epidermis, or 'grain' (top layer of skin, with a grainy pattern like our own skin or the pattern found on shiny leather outer surface) using a blunt draw knife. Also, buckskin will dry a lot quicker than 'hair on' hide. Deer hair is pretty good at breaking and falling out all over the place anyway, especially on heavy use garments such as mittens. If hand stretching you'll probably want to remove the hair and make buckskin. Deer hide will go through exactly the same tanning process but on a larger scale, requiring more elbow grease (smaller hides such as muntjac can be hand stretched exactly the same as the rabbit pelts) and more eggs (around 12 for a large fallow so adjust for small roe or muntjac). Not sure if your pelts are intended to become mittens on their own but if I were you, I would use them to make inners only and get hold of a deer hide from any stalker or game dealer to make the tougher outers. Just try not to breathe the stuff in too much. No wet dog smell either, just lovely wood smoke! Use hard wood chippings over hot coals to engulf any pelts you have in plumes of thick, formaldehyde rich smoke for around an hour minimum or hang your pelts up, spread eagled on a line in the eaves of a group shelter to absorb all the campfire smoke that passes through. The longer you smoke it, the more protected it will be from future soakings (a well smoked pelt will stay soft if it gets damp then dries out again but a non smoked pelt will dry stiff unless it's worked soft everytime it gets wet).

PRESERVING RABBIT PELTS FREE

Wood smoke is an excellent preservative, completely free and will preserve your pelt nicely. Once you're sure the pelt is completely dry you should smoke it. If you try to 'force dry' it by sitting right near the fire or out in the sun, the pelt will dry too quick and you won't be able to work fast enough to produce a soft, flexible pelt. Set aside an hour in a warm environment for this and don't go too crazy as rabbit pelts are pretty thin and easily torn. it should change from a dull greyish colour to a bright white shade as the fibres dry and if all those fibres have been worked constantly, they should dry soft and flexible rather than cardboard like.

Next I pat the skin side dry with an old tea towel and pull, poke, prod and stretch it in your hands until the skin side has dried completely. The pelt is kept on a cool place over night to absorb the liquid (it's important not to over wet the pelt at this stage - the fur should still be dry at this point). I always use an egg whisked up in a small amount of warm water or pure soap flakes mixed with olive oil rubbed into the skin side to help soften the fibres. If it's still holding firm you might want to try the following.Īssuming you've carefully scraped any flesh and membrane from the flesh side of the pelt, lay it fur side down and rub in a softening agent. That's a lot of soaking! Is the fur still hanging on or has it started to slip (pull away from the skin)? I've found if you over wet the pelts during the tanning process the epidermis can enter the early stages of decomposition and the fur might start falling out.

Preserving rabbit pelts