How to Make Leather Out of Hide

Tanning leather requires the proteins in the animal's hide be rendered inert to prevent bacterial decay. Because of concerns over chemicals, many consider the traditional tanning techniques developed and used by Native Americans both safer and superior to commercial tanning methods. Making leather out of an animal hide is laborious and time consuming, but high quality results can be attained with completely natural methods by precisely following a set of steps.

Things You'll Need

  • Fleshing beam
  • Fleshing knife
  • Rubber gloves
  • Safety goggles
  • Wood ash
  • Bowl
  • Plastic bags
  • Nylon scrubber
  • Hose
  • Measuring cup
  • Brains
  • Blender
  • Sauce pan
  • Dish soap
Show More

Instructions

  1. Preparation

    • 1

      Drape the hide over a 6-by-8-inch wide board or beam with the hair side down.

    • 2

      Hold a fleshing knife with one hand on each handle with the blade pointing away from you. Work the hide with the fleshing knife, scraping away from you with forward stokes, until all flesh is removed from the hide and the roots of the hair become visible.

    • 3

      Lay the hide out flat with the hair side up. Put on a pair of rubber gloves and safety goggles to protect your skin and eyes from the lye in the ash. Add wood ash to a bowl and mix in just enough water to form a soupy paste.

    • 4

      Rub the ash paste well into the hair down to the skin. Fold the hide over once with the hair on the inside of the fold. Place the skin in a plastic trash bag for 72 hours.

    • 5

      Remove the hide from the bag and try to pull the hair from the hide with your fingers. If the hair pulls free easily, thoroughly rinse the wood ash from the hair with a hose. If the hair does not pull free apply a second coat of ash paste to the hair and return the hide to the bag for an additional 48 hours.

    • 6

      Lay the hide over the fleshing beam, hair side up. Gently scrape the hair from the hide with a forward motion of the fleshing knife. Once all hair has been removed from the hide wash both sides of the hide with a hose, nylon scrubber and mild soap. Rinse the soap from the skin with the hose. Work all areas of the hide vigorously with a clean nylon scrubber and rinse again.

    Tanning

    • 7

      Place 1 cup brain matter in a blender. Add just enough water to cover the brains and puree. Heat the puree in a saucepan on medium low-heat just until the puree begins to simmer. Remove the brain matter from the heat.

    • 8

      Work the pureed brains well into every inch of the skin with the nylon scrubber. Roll up the hide and place the hide in a clean plastic garbage bag for 48 hours.

    • 9

      Wash both sides of the skin with the hose, nylon scrubber and soap. Rinse the skin thoroughly with plain water.

    • 10

      Hang the skin out of direct sunlight. Allow to dry until barely damp; do not allow the skin to dry completely or it will become too stiff to work.

    • 11

      Rinse the fleshing beam thoroughly with the hose. Hold the skin between your hands and rub the skin vigorously, in as many different directions as possible, over the beam. The more the skin is worked, the more the fibers will be broken down and the softer the finished leather will be. It is not necessary to finish working the leather all at once; it can be worked over a period of days, weeks or even months -- provided the leather is kept dry.