How to Skin & Tan Animal Hides

Skinning An Animal

• 1

  Lay the animal on its back on an incline, with its head toward the top. Large animals such as deer and cows require more space, such as a hill.

• 2

  Tie off the penis of male animals. This protects against urine touching other parts.

• 3

  Make a small incision that only breaches the skin next to the tail. Use a rounded or dull-tipped knife to prevent accidental punctures. Cut up to the chin. Cut lightly to ensure that you only cut skin deep and do not sever organs, which may spew toxins and contaminate usable parts of the animal. It is better to cut too lightly at first than too deeply.

• 4

  Cut lightly from your center incision down the inside of the animal's leg to its hoof, paw or claw.

• 5

  Peel off the skin by hand. For smaller animals, you can do this gently and remove the skin with little resistance. For larger animals, you may have to more aggressively separate the skin with a fist or, in rare cases, your knife. Use your knife again only as a last resort, as you risk damaging the hide.

• 6

  Skin the tail and cut along the underside of the tail to remove tailbones.

• 7

  Wait until skin is cool to the touch, then salt the entire hide. Use a lot of salt --- three to five lbs. for a deer.

• 8

  Allow hide to dry completely, which can take one to two days. Keep the animal salted.

Tanning an Animal Hide

• 9

  Remove all fat and flesh diligently from the inside of the hide. Stretch the hide out along a tree or board until it is taut, then scrape the side of your knife along the inside. Bits of fat and flesh will ruin the tanning process, so take great care in performing this step.

• 10

  Make a tanner. Dissolve 1 lb. of alum powder into 1 gallon of warm water. In a large barrel, pour 2 1/2 lbs. of salt into 4 gallons of cold water. Pour your alum solution into the barrel.

• 11

  Place your hide into the barrel for six to nine days, checking frequently to ensure that the hide remains fully saturated on all areas during the entire session. Leave your hide in the tanning mixture until it is clean, soft and pliable.

• 12

  Dry the hide outdoors, preferably in direct sunlight, flesh side out. Rub Neatsfoot Oil on the skin to moisturize and maintain pliability. Neatsfoot Oil is available online or in leather specialty stores. Flip the hide over and repeat.

• 13

  Sand the skin of your hide to remove any tool marks and perfect smoothness.