How can I darken brain tan hides

[Rickd]

I managed to get a few brain tan hides,very thin hides I might add..How can I darken them right now they are a dirty white color

[Red Badger]

Smoke 'em !

[Rickd]

how and with what kind of wood??

[Red Badger]

Rick that i don't know.... One of the others will defiantly be able to tell us... I have a video which shows how to brain tan and it say that by building a fire and making the hide into a big bag so the smoke is trapped in it it will turn color as the smoke filters through it... the big warning  in the video are 1. don't let the hide catch fire, and 2 watch it so you remove it from the smoke when it gets the color you want.....

[DandJofAZ]

Punky old wood that smolders instead of burning good.  Lots of smoke and stick, not so much heat.

[Micanopy]

Rule number 1: BIG SMOKE SMALL FIRE! Do not let any of the heat get to the skins. Once you start this you are married to them until they are the color you want.Dont even wander over to the rest room, or talk to your dog, unless the dog comes over to you. Flare ups have ruined more hides than anything else in the world.
The best way to smoke them all even is to stitch them into a very large sock, or pillow case, meaning all the sides are sewn to each other so the form a big bag.

You will need a lot of rotten punky woor, or bark, I use oak, because that is what grows here. I use only the bark and soak it for about two days before I start smoking, damp woos smolders and smokes, less chance of flare ups. You will need to be able to suspend the pillow case over the smokey fire, you can either build a frame out of 1x1's and hang it from an over head branch, or build a small tipi frame. The draw back on the tipi frame is you have to move the hides around so that everything gets smoked at the same color. Do this on a windless day. Watch carefully while you are smoking and as soon as you get the color you want pull the hides off the smoke and turn them inside out and rehang them to smoke the inside the same color as the outside. I hope thats understandable, if not just pm me or post the questions. You'll do fine with it.

[voyageur1688]

  I have had great luck with forming the hide into a chimney for over the smoke pit. You can either stitch it or I have on occasion even just used clothes pins to connect the sides together as long as they are fairly tight. You hang this from a frame of some sort--I usually make a tri-pod of wood to hang it from the middle of. Dig yourself a smoke pit or use some form of container you can light a smudge pot fire in.  You want to use punk wood for the smoke as it smolders and smokes rather  than just burning. You can even soak the punk wood chips (oak works great--especially if its the darker punk of the wood) in water for a bit before adding them to the fire so they smoke more. Keep the fire as low as possible and watch the hide closely as it can change real fast and it could have a flareup if your not in control of it. You have to watch the fire and the smoke to get the feel for it.  The smoke goes up the inside of the hide and will need to be turned inside out after you have the inside the color you want and the process repeated for the other side. The great thing about a smoked hide is even if it gets wet it will not get stiff--it will dry and return to being as soft as before without any problems.
Hope this helps.
Voy

[Red Badger]

Thank's guys I knew I could count on you to help!  (I even learned sumthin!)

[DandJofAZ]

Jammin Jim==keep this learning stuff up and you might just get smart!
Doug

[Red Badger]

 

Jammin Jim==keep this learning stuff up and you might just get smart!
Doug

  I hope so!

[Micanopy]

Sorry it took me so long to respond on this thread but I cant see anymore. small fire BIG SMOKE! ke to good smoked skins.

[Rickd]

I had no idea it was that much work to darken these hides..I`ll leave them as is and buy darker thicker hides at a later date

[Micanopy]

Yes sir, it is a lot of work, none of it easy I might add, well, cept the shootin'em part! LOL!

[Red Badger]

Yes sir, it is a lot of work, none of it easy I might add, well, cept the shootin'em part! LOL!

Speak fer yerself...    them critters is smarter than me sometimes....

[Micanopy]

Smarter than me all the time!