The processing of hides and skins is one of the oldest known crafts and cultural techniques. Today, tanning is primarily done with chemicals, but traditional tanning was done with fat, smoke, and plant extracts to make the hides durable and soft. This book teach you the centuries old art of easy-to-do, natural, inexpensive fat tanning with a few simple tools and limited space. Tanning with pure natural products leads to wonderful leather products that anyone can make themselves at home without prior experience or knowledge.The step-by-step illustrations show in detail how the self-tanned skins are processed, as well as how to turn raw pelts and furs into leather gloves, moccasins, hats, capes, jackets, and other simple everyday leather objects.Explore different tanning methods like the "open method" an the "tube method" and learn associated skills like salting, freezing, and drying your homemade leather.
Hard cover, in 7 x 9" format, with 135 pages, well illustrated with photographs.
The Table of Contents includes the following:
Forward
Tanning
Definition
History and Background
Tanning Methods and Overview
Tanning with Fats/Chamois Tannign
Vegetable Tanning
Mineral / Chemical Tanning
Ethics of Tanning, Legal Principles, and Hygene
The Practice - Tanning Your Own Leather, Pelts, and Furs with Fats and Smoke
Basic Requirements
The Selection, Procurement, and Quality of Raw Materials
Remove the Skin Yourself
The Open Method
Tail, Head, and Feet
The Tube Method
Perservation and Storage of Raw Materials
Salting
Freezing
Drying
The Basics of Tanning Leather
Washing
Scraping the Raw Material
The Fleshing Beam
The Scraper
Scraping the Hair Side
Scraping the Flesh Side
Rawhide
Neutalization
Preperation and Application of the Dressing
Wringing
Application
Sewing the Holes
Drying and Softenign
Smoking
The Smoking Bag
The Fabric Funnel
The Smoking Bucket
The Smoking Material
The Process
Duration of Smoking
Washing and Cleaning
Tanning Pelts
Washing
The Rack and Racking
Fleshing and Drying
Removal of the Scubcutis and Thinning
Dressing
Softening and Sewing Holes
Smoking Pelts
Tanning Furs
Washing
Fleshing
Sewing Up the Holes
Dressing
Softening
Smoking
Processing and Sewing Leather, Pelts, and Furs
General
Leather Projects
Moccasins in the Traditional Style of North American Woodland Indians
