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How to Smoke Bull Leather

Untreated leather is much different from the leather that is available in stores. To transform hides into the soft, supple and durable stuff that most goods are made of, hides need to be treated, by tanning and preserving. There are many methods used to tan a hide -- with chemicals, oils, or traditionally, even animal brains. Once that step is complete, it is time to preserve the leather with woodsmoke -- a natural, traditional way of making the leather more durable.

Things You'll Need

Dry, semi-rotten wood
Moveable wooden frame
Nails

Instructions

- 1
  Nail the bull hide to the wooden frame. Make sure the hide is taut, as smoking will cause the hide to shrink and fall out of shape.
- 2
  Determine the wind direction, and place the drying rack downwind from where your fire will be.
- 3
  Build a fire, using dry and rotten wood. Rotten, dry wood burns at a cooler temperature while producing a lot of smoke -- which is what you need to cure the hide.
- 4
  Tend to the fire, keeping a low-temperature smoky burn. Pay attention to the direction the wind is blowing, moving the hide if necessary so that it remains in the path of the smoke.
- 5
  Continue this process for 3 to 4 hours, to allow the leather to thoroughly smoke.

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