Has any one used eggs instead of brains to tan with???????????
That's a new one on me! But when you think of it, why not? Similar composition and consistency...should work. If you try this please post the results...with photo's if you can.
Ned
hey that commercial (this is your brains on drugs );D don't mean that the eggs will turn to brains ;D ;D ;D ;D
i never heard that either but could be they have the same protein and chemical make up and work the same. i had a friend once that kept talking about sweat browning a gun bbl , it consisted of when you get hot and sweat wipe the sweat from your fore head and wipe it on the bbl. could not convince him it was just plane rust but it actually looked ok. so who knows. ;D
I just foud some info on using eggs to tan hides. The info I read said to mix 12 eggs with 1 galon of water (not over 120 deg. F) to make a dressing for the hide after removing the hair and fleshing the hide. I would think that you could use these proportions to make a batch large enough for your hide. One gallon dose not sound like enough for an average deer hide to me.
My grandson 13yrs old does hides with eggs. Last year at when he was camping with me at Great Trails RonDe Vo, He tanned a Muskrat hide one eve by candle lite. I think you only use the yokes, there the same as brains, cholesterol. Dilly
I called the grandson. 12 egg yokes equal one lb of brains. You put yokes in water hot as you can put your hand in. He didn't say how much? I am guessing 2qt as he said 12 would do a deer hide,maybe 3? You rub in hide, then roll it up and leave dry,4hrs or more, then do it again and leave overnite. Then you stake it. A beveled stake in ground, not sharp. After you get it soft ,you smoke it. Its the same as brain tanning. He is doing a sheep hide now. The hard part is the rubbing on the stake, the more you do it the softer it gets. Have another recipe for tanning, will put it on soon. Dilly
cool, thanks Dilly!
I know very little about tanning but would like to learn more.I'm guessing you salt and scrape the hide first?And how do you go about getting the hair off,let it slip on its own?
Batman1
Use something non metallic and soak the hide until the fur slips. you can use lye to help it along
To slip the hair. per gal of water-4 oz hydrated lime, 8oz hardwood ashes. Once the hair is off ,this is rawhide. the bugs won't touch them. I have my first deer hide I shot in 83, still same. When you start to tan, you will know why the mountain men had squaws . I have never salted a hide, I scraped them, then put in ashes& water to slip the hair. You have to watch you hides,check them,when hair start to come loose, take out and scrape off what you can, put back in. neck is last to come loose. then stretch out and let dry on frame or wall. Will keep forever. The ash water will eat them up if left in too too long. Will put up another tanning one later. Dilly
Thanks, I'm thinking of trying it with our deer hides this year.
Heres another one I have.Two parts salt, one part saltpeter,one part alum, one part baking soda. Cover flesh side,fold fur side out,fold skin in half, then fold again. roll tightly beginning at middle rolling outward, roll up in newspaper, lay at a slant so fluids drain out for 1-2 weeks. scrape and dry, then stake it till soft. I got this out of a book. Dilly
Dilly
Does your method leave the hair on?
The hair is still on as it says to fold fur side out, so I say yes. I never got around to using this one. I got it out of a book. I liked the short cut part. I used a salt and Alum one, have to dig it out. It is with out the hair. It came out like chamois. You can use the eggs for keeping on the fur. Grandsons muskrat had the fur on when he tanned it. The trick is to work them to make them soft . Dilly
The tanning agent in eggs is fat. I have a buddy who "brain" tans deer hides with a mixture of water, lard, and oatmeal. It doesn't stink like brains do. It wonders me if Crisco would work?
His "brain tan" is every bit as good as the old fashioned kind. Remember, it's the fat that does the deed and the smoke that kills the teeny stinkers, bacteria and such like. Same amount of work, though.
Three Hawks
I have tanned many hides with the egg tanning method. The proteins in eggs are the same as in brains.an average sized deer will require 1 -1 1/2 dozen egg yolks.
For a deer hide, once the hide is ready to be tanned--either hair on or hair off, you just scramble the egg yolks together like an all yolk omlet. The hide has to be moist--not wet but moist in order for the egg to fully saturate it. Stretch the hide out flat and just smear the egg yolks onto it and rub it in as much as you can, then you can either turn it over and do the same to the other side or you can just let it set. Leave the egg on the hide for 24-36 hours to do its majic--cover it with plastic or roll it up and bag it until its time is up. Then take it out and rinse it off with water until the water runs clear. Once it is rinsed, take the hide and stretch it to let it dry somewhat. While it is still damp and flexible, you can connect it by one end to a raised rack on the back of a pickup truck and go out for a drive for about 8-10 miles each way. Drive just fast enough for the hide to flap pretty good and by the time you get back with it the hide will be pretty white and will be broken. The hide will be nice and soft. This method is alot faster than using a beam or cable to break the grain. However it is not good to do it this way if it is done with the hair on.
Voy
I've used eggs when I ran out of brains, and for some people who can't handle the messy stuff ivory soap will work well. But in the end I can't say it's braintanned if I don't honestly use a brain. Pork brain can be had much cheaper and it works the best. Providing that you buck the hide properly and work all your steps right, there is nothing like the real braintan and smoke to a perfection it's a one of a kind leather. Most grocery stores can order pork brain for you, I've got it from almost any store except walmart. The brand I get is John Morrell , I probably go through 2 cases each year. If anyone is in my area of Oklahoma I put on demonstrations , free, or can email you with help to get started in braintanning.
1 dz eggs to a gallon of water is what I have used. Gives the finished hide a slight yellow color, but if you are going to smoke them it wont matter anyway.
Pardon me for asking, dont mean to sound weird. But why arent we using the brains of the animal we are tanning to brain the hide? After all, its already included in the package, it's free, and works. I tan many many hides each year and have none that have smelled bad. If they smell bad the brain or the hide is rotten. The only time they smell bad is during the dehairing and graining portion of the operation.
Stupid question time hdslp.....
For those of us who have hunted in areas affected with Chroic Wasting Desease, would we want to use the brains from these animals for tanning? or would the disease agents be wiped out in the tanning process?
The brains don't always come with the package My friends will save a good clean hide for me and the best ones don't have brains left when you pull out your skinner.
There is an Indian in my part of the country that will tell you you how to tan and in that conversation he will also warn you about the bacteria in those brains and how bad it is to rub them in bare handed.
I cannot remember my hands being cut free since I realized I had hands
Quote from: gru556 on June 05, 2009
The brains don't always come with the package My friends will save a good clean hide for me and the best ones don't have brains left when you pull out your skinner.
There is an Indian in my part of the country that will tell you you how to tan and in that conversation he will also warn you about the bacteria in those brains and how bad it is to rub them in bare handed.
I cannot remember my hands being cut free since I realized I had hands
Ah, I see, you get the hides from them but not the brains, which would exclude using the same animals brains. Understand now. I am lucky I guess, the ranch were I get most of my hides from saves me the brains as well, unless the animal was shot in the head. I usually have plenty to use from other sorces, ie, from hides that have been skinned wrong and what not.
What kinda bacteria would be in the brain that aint in the meat? The same blood flows thru both of them so anything thats in the brain would be in the meat, no? The only way to brain them properly is to use ones hands.
Quote from: JamminJim on June 05, 2009
Stupid question time hdslp.....
For those of us who have hunted in areas affected with Chroic Wasting Desease, would we want to use the brains from these animals for tanning? or would the disease agents be wiped out in the tanning process?
Well, Texas has no CWD so we have never had to think of that, but its a good point. In a case like that you could use the egg method, which is a good way to do them, nothing wrong with that at all. I only heat the brains up to about 140 degrees max so I dont think that is enough heat to kill anything off. Dunno?
The advantages of the egg tanning is it is faster and cheaper. The hides come out nice and soft like with braintanning if ya work em right.
Voy
You guys are awsome. This is a great way to get started in the traditional muzzle load.
Other than a slightly yellow color, i don't see any difference in using eggs. I've used cheap eggs before and no color at all shows up.. I might even have that backwards I don't know. Some eggs are sterodial born that might be the difference I seen. But it still worked fine, it's the emulsified oil that were after, lecithin. Then finally a good smoking emits formeldehyde (and more) into the skin and it's officially tanned.
A few hides I've been "re-doing" after they have been smoked prove to be much easier, many of my tanning buddies swear by the pre-smoke method. I've only inadvertenly done this but it does seem to have something to it. Next hide I do , after neutralizing I'll probably smoke it and see what the end results are. You can search for the Dinsmore method on google, I believe they started it and give free instructions on nativetech.
If one looks for pork brain at a local butcher shop, it can usually be ordered by the case. Just ask, Morrell is the common brand.
at what stage do you pre smoke the hide?
after acidifying but before braining