Homemade Buckskin/Hunting Jacket A-long Finally Done! WHEW!!!

[Little Tree]

Hey Gangers, just thought I would throw my latest  adventure at you. And what and adventure it CAN become with hazy or incomplete information. I hope I can shed a little light on this often misunderstood art. It is actually a very simple process, with very simple tools most people have laying around the ranch. It just involves a fair ammount of elbow grease, and a bit of patience. I first learned how to do this 10 years ago at Tom Browns Wilderness Survival School, coincidently that was also where I learned how to make a Self-Bow. A few years ago, a few good buddies and I (you may know Shaun from the Gang)took a hunting trip to the Eagle Cap wilderness in N.E Oregon in search of the wily Elk herd bull...well to make a long story short, Shaun decides to drop the herd bull at 8 yards, and we all get get sent home with a share of meat and a lifetime of memories (thanks again buddy). But I was fortunate enough to get the hide...minus the cape...which know resides in Shauns den! Anyways, that hide is my motivation for this project. I need some handle wrap material for my buddy Jims' (who was also on the hunt) new python backed osage static recurve that I am building for him, and thought it would be fitting to add a piece of that magical hunt to his new bow.......and he is being sooooo patient, might I ad!...It has also been a goal of mine to tan enough buckskin to outfit my wife and I for the upcoming Renzdevous season. I figure I will need about 10 hides to complete the mission. A shirt, pants, moccs X 2, and a  full dress and shawl. I heard through the grape-vine that Elk is a pain in the ass to soften because of the thickness. So I want to freshen my skills on a few Deer hides before I attempt the Elk.... So...I better get to work, hope you join me for the ride!

[Little Tree]

The first thing you will need a hide. We will be using deer here. You want to use your skinning knife as little as possible to remove the hide, to prevent nicks and cuts. Try to pull it off as much as possible, and if you do need to cut, just be cautious. Next, you need a good stable fleshing beam and scraper, I built one out of dead ironwood and elm with a diameter of about 6 inches. What you want is something at the right height, I found if it comes up to about your belt line, you are in the right ball park. As far as the scraper goes, you just want something that has an edge (not too sharp) and comfortable handles. I just made one with a piece of scrap steel, dowel and duct tape.
You are now ready to flesh the meat and tallow off the hide to prepare it for the soak. I found that if you let the hide crust over ever so slightly, it becomes much easier to work with. Not so slipery, and the meat and fat comes off in sheets. This process makes for very happy dogs! Anyways, once you have fleshed most of the stuff that can rot off the hide (you don't have to be too picky here as you will do it in earnest later when the hair is removed), you are ready for the bucking process.
 

[Little Tree]

my scraper
 

[Little Tree]

The process that I follow is from the book Deerskins to Buckskins by Matt Richards. I have found that this process works the best for me. So the Bucking process uses an alkaline sulution to make the hide swell up, both releasing the hair and the grain, (the layer that holds the hair to the hide) from the fiber(Dermis) of the hide. You can use  hardwood ash and water or hydrated lime and water, but I have found  KOH (potassium hydroxide) or Red Devil Lye to do the best and cleanest job. All you need is your 30 gal. trash can and 8 oz. KOH to 20gal H2O for your bucking solution. Place the hide or hides in the solution and stir. Let sit for three or four days, and you are ready to grain your hide..........more to come.
 

[Dano]

Following along Brad.

[mmgrode]

Cool Brad! Looking forward to the rest of this. Always wanted to know how it's done. Matt

[coaltroll]

I will be watching this one real close, been studying to do the same thing. Decided not to use my elk hide I got this year but maybe next. Keep it coming.

[Little Tree]

Alright, 3 days have passed in cyberworld... time to scrape all the hair and grain off the hide. The lye has done its job and has swolen up all the layers of the hide so they can be separated with the scraper. Remember, we are after the fiberous dermis here, we want to remover the hair, grain, and membrane (flesh side) and leave the dermis behind. The lye will also make the grain easy to differentiate from the dermis. The grain is lighter colored, and the dermis is tawney. notice that I am wearing gloves, Lye will dry out your skin like a harsh soap. So after contact, rinse the slimey feeling off your hands and rub some oil or something into your skin....we got to take care off our hands!! also notice the strip of grain in the front of the scraper, it will come off in strips.
   

[Little Tree]

Tomarrow I will try to membrane, rinse, and dress the hide with the conditioner (eggs instead of brains in this case) stay tuned!!

[John Scifres]

I am just about at the same point Brad.  It's a tough gig, doing this for the first time.  I'm glad you are here to show the way  

[slayer1]

This is great. Teddy Roosevelt mentioned - on many occasions in his books- using buck-skin as camo. I always wondered how it was made.

[JBell]

This tan-along couldn't have come at a better time,getting ready to do my first buckskin soon. Thanks Brad, keep it coming.

[Little Tree]

Properly smoked buckskin is one of natures greatest camo set-ups. Esp. with fringe to break up your outline. And the smoking can help cover your scent. My ultimate goal in my de-evolution through time is to hunt exclusively in buckskin and fur. And then...stone points.

[JStark]

Good job, LittleTree!  I've got my doeskin in the freezer right now, and soon I'll have it in the eggs.  I'm looking to make tiny moc's for my new baby girl, and hopefully some for her mama, too.

[Dryrot]

Originally posted by Little Tree:
My ultimate goal in my de-evolution through time is to hunt exclusively in buckskin and fur.

I've been trying to get my brother in law to wear a fur hunting outfit for years but he keeps balking when I hand him the hat with the fork horn rack tied on to it...   :p  

But seriously, I got to hides in the freezer just waiting for me to get after it...

[Tom Leemans]

I've been waiting for one of these tutorials for a long time!

[Shaun]

Ah yes, the build along season. Good one Brad, very timely. When you do the elk, save me a piece about handle size, good COD mojo in that one.

[Little Tree]

No problem Shaun, there should be plenty....hope it turns out, I am a little intimidated by it, Some sections of the hide are nearly 3/8 of an inch thick! It has been dried on the rack for a few years now, so I have been rehydrating it for two weeks, and it still has some stiff spots, but it is loosening up slowly. I plan to egg it numerous times to get the penetration, and plan to soften it with a few people working it.

[Little Tree]

Couldn't do much today, cause the wind chill was 12 degrees, and my hands were freezing. The job is hard enough as it is with all your fingers working! Tomarrow should be warmer, will try to post some more info.

[juneaulongbow]

I did this a few years ago with a small piece of hide.  I used Lime from the Hardware store and eggs.  Cool!