rabbit skins

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rabbit skins

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Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 2:21 pm Post subject: rabbit skins
getting some of them on saturday. sally- i take it that i can do the same with them though the tawning will be a much quicker one as the skins are much thinner?

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 3:58 pm Post subject:
should be exactly the same- if you felt inclined, because they are so small, rabbit skins would be good ones to experiment with different strengths of pickle (eg more alum in one, more water in another) and see whether you can improve on the basic directions, but otherwise just bung em in together

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 7:06 pm Post subject: rabbit skins
sorry if it seems a stupid question but what do you hope to achieve by varying the mixture? softness perhaps?

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 7:08 pm Post subject:
I'm looking foward to the results as I would love to use rabbit skins when I get my hands on some rabbits. What do you plan to do with the skins once they are ready?

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 7:43 pm Post subject: rabbit skins
i don't know...i still feel i am experimenting shall i make mr nanny a davey crocket hat? we have a racoon tail, a deer tail, a sheep's tail and a fox tail (road kill) so he could have a choice i guess..................or put them all on one hat and keep the flies off when they wobble give me some suggestions....................

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 7:57 pm Post subject:
I have thought about some form of slippers, I suppose fur inside. I was just talking to Bugs about a hat for her but we'd probably only be able to wear it around the garden in case people objected to the 'fur' without actually asking where it came from. You could always go a step further, rabbit skin thongs anyone.

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 8:08 pm Post subject: rabbit skins

oh my...............

rabbit skins thongs..........................

dont' know if mr nanny would run to that.............................

though i don't know.............................

mr nanny would like a hat even though he is really anti-hunt (we argue about it as i am a bit more pro-hunt) so if i get to that stage, i will perhaps try and work out some sort of pattern.

i stress here that i hate, loathe and despise sewing in any form.

maybe there is a pattern for a davey crocket hat somewhere on the web - who knows

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Thu Jun 16, 05 9:13 pm Post subject:

Somebody did post something about skins on the RC site last year and I suggested (but never had any response one way or t'other) that if you have enough to make a blanket/rug thing (which would surely be rather nice for the winter?) might you be able to get a punch through the skin and then just lace it up - it wouldn't, probably, be smooth enough to wear although you might manage moccasins - but you could potentially make one smooth (fur) side and one lumpy side, then have the blanket thing fur down?

I'm very interested in what becomes of all this too, Nanny!

Although I won't be asking for your thong pattern if you do go down that route

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 05 5:41 am Post subject: Re: rabbit skins

Nanny wrote:

sorry if it seems a stupid question but what do you hope to achieve by varying the mixture?

softness perhaps?

Merely that there is a lot of variation out there on how much alum to salt to water, and each of those authors must feel that their mix is the 'right' one, so could be interesting to use the same mathod and timings on several really small items (so could use economical amounts of alum and salt) and see which gives the best cure, softness etc. Just an experiment for experimentings sake I suppose

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 05 7:37 am Post subject: rabbit skins

looks like i might get another deerskin as well so i could do a bit of 2 different cures just to see what works and what doesn't with the rabbits and do the deer in the other....................

i searched for and found a copy of "deerskins into buckskins" which is an american book on the whole process of braintanning (though you don'thave to use brains )and will begin to look at if doing that is practical in my situation

then i can really start to look at moccasins and other things that can go outside.

but until then i will carry on with the pickling thing and seeing how i can refine that ie...getting mr nanny to make me a frame so i can stretch them properly.

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Fri Jun 17, 05 5:03 pm Post subject:
Ah now, when we were in the US last week himself bought a book on brain tanning, which I havent yet read, but basically they say you can swap lard for the brains and still have it work! They even attached a square of buckskin to prove it! I will try to find out the overall gist and will let you know the basic idea.

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 05 3:56 pm Post subject: rabbit skins

picked up the deerskin this morning but no rabbit skins enclosed so will have to wait for another try with those

in the second hand book store in fram this morning i picked up a bood called leathercraft by hand which describes stitches etc and gives a pattern for moccasins of all tihings..............

mr nanny has made me a frame for stretching but i reckon we will have eto just lash it to the frame with something- don't know what yet but i have a coupel of weeks to think about it

this is a nice skin to look at so fingers crossed............

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