I’m sure there is information about this on the website, but I can’t find it. Today I received a large patch of deer hair from a deer harvested this morning. It is still covered in blood and I would appreciate the proper method of cleaning it and preparing it for tying.
Thanks,
Joe
You can wash it in water and dish washing detergent. This will remove the blood and any other dirt along with helping to remove some of the oils. Next scrape as much fat from the hide as possible and then tack it fur side down to a piece of plywood or something similar and hang it to dry.
A few weeks should do it and you should be in business.
Warren
Joe do what Warren said wash rinse clean the flesh off and AIR dry. You will be told to use salt a no-no and borax. Those will dry the hide but not as clean and soft as air drying.
Bill
Thanks very much for the help. What is the best way to get the flesh off? Do you scrape it with a knife or something else? Is it easier to do after it has dried a little or better to do it when it’s still wet?
Thanks again,
Joe
Joe,
I just did this to an entire hide and it turned out just great!
I used a Buck knife, pretty sharp and scraped the remaining meat/fat off of the hide.
At first the task looks daunting but once you begin you’ll find it really pleasurable! Really, it comes off really well!
Begin by setting yourself a good work surface. I stood on my lawn, put an old door on some seats attached to my outside deck so the height was right and spread the hide out on that.
Clean it ALL, righ tto the edges! Mine took me 2 hrs so take your time. Scrape using a slicing/scraping motion and you’ll see the hide will scrape down to the skin w/o cutting thru! Start with the hide being very moist, as it came off the animal. If it’s dry them soak it overnight!
Once done, I cut my hide into about 8-9 pieces and got a 5 gallon bucket of hot, soapy water (dish washing liquid) and wash and rinse under the hose.
Then I nailed the hide to a sheet of plywood with 3" nails to keep the hair off the board. Pull it up close to the nail head, stretched tight!
Sprinkle liberally with Boraxo…liberally, as in 1/8" thick and let stand for a few days. Re-Boraxo if needed.
Wait a full week. Remove (vacuum) off the majority of the Boraxo then take a stiff brush outside and scrub the remainder of the hide, skin side, to get rid of the extra…
You should have some wonderful hair. Nice and clean and clean…Did I say CLEAN?!
Cut into smaller pieces and store in gallon sized sealable plastic bags!
Vwallah!!! Awesome fun! I’ll do it again next season but give that hair away as I have soooo much for myself!
Have fun man. It’s a blast!
Jeremy.
Thanks alot!
I’ll start on it right away!
Joe
Joe you can use a draw knife – one that I know that did 30 hide so far this fall said a power lawnmower blade can work–off the mower of coarse. He cleans his on a round pole.
Bill
A draw knife is the way to go, but they aren’t cheap. A good sharp long blade knife should work just as well.
I like the lawnmower blade idea, I wil have to give it a try as I loaned out my draw knife and forget who I gave it to.
Again, thanks for all the help.
What exactly does the borax do for the skin? Does it get more of the fat and blood stains out?
Just curious,
Joe
Joe the 20 Mule Team Borax will only dry the hide-faster than salt and the air dry I mentioned. I think Chris Helm air dries his because it would take a lot of Borax to do 30 hides. You will also have a little more work dusting out the Borax. The blood should wash out.
Bill
i am just getting into tying . found a deer hide in the stream while fishing . brought it home and am wondering why you can’t just cut and save the hair ? i am sure there is a reason for leaving it on the hide . thank you . keith
Keith,
It is much, much, much easier to handle attached…grasp what you need and cut it off with a scissors…also cut the hide into nicely manageable sizes…