Hide Tanning 101 - How to make Leather from Animal Skins, NATURALY

Looks good! I'm impressed you processed enough of that old fir bark to get a good tan. As a long time bark tanner, I have some suggestions for new tanners re: this video. Use fresh materials if you can. Old bark that has been rained on is typically low in tannin and you will need a lot more of it. Rain takes the water soluble tannins just like cooking does. Fresh barks that have not died and then been rained on are best. It already takes a lot of material,, even using fresh stuff. I don't mean green, it is better to dry it once before cooking to break down the cell structure. Iv'e seen a lot of mistakes and the mistake nearly everyone makes at first is not using enough tanning material and soaking in weak liquors. https://youtu.be/jjkm_uK0x_k?si=3Dy0aGTL_MrAMAFl Another thing is that if you are going to end up cutting large hides in half anyway, do it before tanning. Large hides are a lot more work and inconvenience to handle. Half hides are easier to find containers for and easier at every single step. I typically split anything big like elk and cattle down the middle. I will only do a large one if I need a huge piece of leather or it is going to be left whole permanently. The process of rolling to soften can be done by drying the oils into the skin in the shade, then damping the hide back. Damping back puts a low and even moisture through the skin fiber and will dry much quicker while still allowing plenty of working time and softenability. The real work is done when the skin reaches a damp state. Working very wet skins really does not do much anyway, so you skip all that drying part when using damping back. Wrap the skin in towels that are wetted and then wrung out as much as possible and allow to sit overnight in a plastic bag. If you want stiff, smooth leather for sheaths and such, you can just nail it out and dry the oils in. One last advice, start with a squirrel, not an elk! Seriously, cut your teeth on a smaller project to test the process, your tools and tanning materials. If you just have a large skin, you can cut off a leg or two and run those through first. Here is my tanning video playlist. Caution, rabbithole ahead... playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PL60FnyEY-eJA7D2FJhI5AvW…

I genuinely love the fact that there isnt music playing and the sounds of the process are .....great video

I never realized traditional hide preparation and tanning was so complicated, long and labor intensive. I have a new appreciation for those frontier skills.

Wow. Where´d you learn all that! So here´s a man who goes into the forest and brings back a piece of wood and makes a bow and hunts and kills an elk and processes the meat and tans the hide and makes a pair of boots and puts them on and goes into the forest... Love your style. Looking forward to the boots. Kudos! And congrats to 400.000!

This was by far the best tanning video i have ever seen thanks for not talking our ears off about irrelevant info

This is the most to the point instruction on making leather I’ve seen after some years. Thank you!

I live in the Adirondack Mts, hemlock bark was stripped by loggers and stacked in the would for tanneries, up until 30 years ago or so I would still find a stack of bark in the woods that was never picked up for one reason or another. Always made me feel a connection to the past when I found one, I'm 67.

Wow. Now picture all these tasks without bins, barrels, and cans. Primitive folks were pure badass. Really good video.

absolutely a great presentation , i never stopped to think how much was involved in old school leather production

I would love to see a video on making some of those boots. Great video!

Excellent video! We should all get back to producing our own stuff instead of relying on buying them from the store. Self-reliance is so important.

Truly a teacher and a library of deep seed knowledge thru which humans have thrived thus far. Respect and love for you…

This is really well shot, no fuss and very informative. Much appreciated thank you.

I did this for the first time a few years ago, I really respect anyone who tries this out its a very long and arduous process. I think everyone who hunts should try to use at least one skin even if they just buy the chemical tanning solution. It is so cool to have a material that you made from an animal you killed.

Living naturally without all the stress with goals & tasks that keep you healthy, satisfied, at peace, & content. To a lesser degree this was the direction of my childhood - making things, trapping & fishing, all of the familiar sounds & smells of the woods & the seasons. Looking back I marvel at how peaceful it all was. Just watching this work & listening to the sounds is so relaxing & gratifying. Thank you for sharing.

I almost cried when you split it right through the best part😢...time we'll spent...tks much !!!

Wow.. I will have to treat leather with more gratitude in the future... I was blown away by your hard work. Thank you so much. 👍

I don’t know whether to say you are a hardworking man or a dedicated man 👏👏👏👏

So far the best video I’ve seen on the tube about this method. Lots of little tips and things that makes a huge difference in quality. ❤

Man thank you for this great content. I'm in the process of becoming more of what I call a "woodsman". I'd love to learn this skill and make my own leather products from game that I harvest. And to top it off, it's sustainable. God bless you, sir.