Degrease tanned hide? HELP

tmurphyh

New member
Hey guys I recently got my first coyote I skined and fleshed it and washed with dawn and finally put it in an alum tan. Now that it is drying it has a lot of grease coming out on the skin side and has a not so pleasant smell I'm wondering if I put borax on the skin side will that pull all the grease out. I tried searching but couldn't find much thank you in advance for the help
 
Tanning is a messy stinky and labor filled process.

I tried it once, and that was enough. Nice to know how to do it, but that's where i stopped.

I found that for $25 Moyles in Idaho would do it from start to stop. Given this price, there is no way I would do it again.

If you don't agree, wait until you start to dry it, and work it until its dry to make it supple. (most common method I found was Hemp rope tied to ceiling and floor and pull it back and forth around that rope)
 
I believe Moyles is $16.50 if you send in 10+. I have tanned quite a bit of fur myself. For years I used LutanF and I still think it's a great option if you're mounting something. I've since moved on to EZ tan because it gives a garment quality tan that is moisture resistant with no "shelf life".

I hate to say this but your hide is probably gone. You'll kill plenty more coyotes. Don't worry. The only possible option would be to completely retan it. I would buy the EZ tan kit. I buy all my material bulk now but for you the kit would be fine. While you're at it buy a professional degreaser like Super Solvent. Follow the directions and you MIGHT save the hide. Running the dull side of your fleshing knife along the greasy areas first is a must to squeeze the bulk of the grease out. That sounds like a lot and it is. I wish I had a better answer for you. If it's any consolation, I'll bet I butchered 30 coyote pelts before I really became proficient.
 
Sorry I haven't been on in a few of days thanks for the replies. I ended up scraping a lot of coyote butter off with a spoon then worked in borax until it stopped feeling greasy and was almost like paper I think I salvaged it. The stench is gone but I think I will have to wait and see if end up having any slippage. for my first one I think it turned out pretty good. Now it's time to make a fleshing beam to make the job easier for the many more to come
 
I used a slab of Mesquite that was 2" thick and curved it over using an angle grinder and belt sander to match the contour of a 12" pipe on top. I started that off by cutting it down using the dimensions of the Coyote stretcher from NAFTA. Then a small piece of the pipe to grind away until it matched, and smoothed it with the belt sander and then sanded it to the 400grit level.

Several coats of epoxy and it's worked for years.

I did the stand that way to make so that it folds up and stores away, and gives it stability when fleshing. The plywood where you would stand helps to hold it steady when you are fleshing.



Hopefully you can use this as a starting point to build off of.
 
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