A tip for preparing deer hide

[DDRRedneck500]

well, earlier today, a friend gave me the hide of a deer he shot and so all day today, i was working on scraping it clean. i tried to cut some smaller sections out of it and discovered something. deer hide is a lot stronger than people hide. as i was brutally putting all my strength into slicing through the hide, the knife unfortunately did not penetrate and instead slipped and gently inserted itself a couple milimeters into the skin on my finger. i got the bleeding to stop and cleaned it out good and it wasnt to horrible, but afterwords, i realized the irony of the situation. i couldnt for the life of me, cut through this dang deer hide but then it easily slid through my own skin.
so as some advise to the more fortunate, youre skin is not as strong as a deers. SO BE CAREFUL WITH KNIVES

that is all.

[Eight Thumbs]

I prepare my deer hair by carefully sliding the package off the peg board in my local fly shop. I carefully inspect the package to make sure the hair is the correct color, texture and length. Then I walk to the register and pay the propriator of the shop. The hair in question always comes out in top condition, clean and bug free. Time spent on the preparation process is generally less than 10 minutes. This process also works for larger animals like elk and bear or smaller animals like squirrel. 8T

[flybinder]

I guess I'm getting "OLD", because I also agree with your, method, 8T!
Of course, as soon as REE mentioned that; "You also need to smoke the hide", I knew I'd stick to buying it, over tanning my own. Ain't no WAY, I'm stuffing a bunch of dead animal fur into one of my expensive briars!!
(must, also, be a real hassle to keep it lit I'd think?)

[Kaboom1]

If you guys want to tan a hide the easy way, try this

http://www.wbplace.com/

They do great work and the prices are not too bad. I started using them after I had been through what you all are trying now. Tanning a hide is hard, back breaking work.

Brad

[DDRRedneck500]

quick question, when soft tanning a squirrel hide, how long should you wait before it is dry enough to start breaking and working the hide?

[Ron Eagle Elk]

When I get stuck doing bigger hides I start working them when they are still damp. Working them not only softens the hide, it helps it dry.

REE