I have access to beaver tails but was wondering if anyone had any insight to tanning them.
I fleshed mine out and then sprinkled some table salt on them to dry them up. I was going to rehydrate them.
Any other ideas out there guys???
Thanks
I wish I knew myself, I've got 2 beaver tails in the freezer that a Trad gang member sent me. I'm not sure whether to tan or dry them?
I recently skinned a tail, fleshed it and let them air dry. They are really thin. I saw some for sale at the Classic and they were thicker than mine. They almost felt like leather. What I have is more like snake skin thickness. I haven't tried them for a handle wrap yet.
I have seen them for sale online and they say that they are tanned. Mine too are thinner than I would like but I think that it is becase of the fat that has dried up off of the skin. I hope somone has some good advise on this so I don't spend $30.00 plus SH when I can get them for free from a friend who traps.
tandy leather sell a tanning compound, it works quite well, and easily i believe.
If they can be dried and used that way, I know that Borax will dry out anything. I've used it on mounting turkey fans, coyote tails, and other critters. You just scrape all the fat and flesh away that you can, then put a nice helping of Borax on the area and rub it in good. Put it somewhere out of the way and forget about it for at least 2 weeks. Then dump the Borax off, and I use an air compressor to blow away all the remaining grit from the Borax. It is an excellent degreaser and drying agent, also gets your laundry nice and clean. :thumbsup:
I would not bother tanning them. You can just flesh, dry and use it.
When you make the grip just soak it in warm water for about 20 minutes and it will soften up to form the grip. When it dries it will shrink around the handle and keep its shape very well. It saves time and money by not tanning them and it makes a great grip.
Thanks, I'm gonna thaw em out and try at least one of them and see how it turns out.
Saw article in Traditional Bowhunter magazine that prepped a beaver tail for a bowhandle. A recent issue. Don't think it was tanned.
dried beaver is fine on self bows, but you won't like it on your custom's. Kind of crispy.
bigjim