How to Tan a Buffalo Hide - Not So Easy | HISTORY | 1700s | REENACTING | 

Thank you. I'm enjoying your channel. My first hide buffalo, you make it look easy, haha. I, by chance, Valentine's Day eating elk with a friend, mentioned I always wanted a buffalo robe. The next day and $40.00 was the proud owner of a fresh buffalo hide. It's on my bed now it has a nice winter fur. It was well worth all the hard labor that was put into it. Thank you for your dedication and keeping old traditions alive

Man I love watching your videos and all the history. Thanks

Can't wait to see the finished project thanks for sharing.

Ah, I was waiting for this one Peter. Great subject! Like the story about the three year old riding the trampoline hide. Bet he was tickled pink and didn't want to leave!

Appreciate your efforts and dedication! If only I had the time. I have tanned hide, but small scale. It takes a watchful eye to be sure, to produce quality. Nick the hide get a hole, over wet or soak and hair slips, over scrape , too thin, over heat while smoking and shrivels up. We learn by doing though. Quality tools will last for generations! Thanks again and keep your powder dry!

Fascinating, what a journey through the Tanning process, is no wonder that Buffalo Jacket’s were popular. Never would have thought it can take so long.

I’ve just finished my first skin following your tutorial. The bucking pole made all of the difference. It has been a few years since I’ve done one and I can’t even remember how I held the skin in place while I worked, but it took forever. I’d forgotten how messy the job was so my first project was an apron. Looks pretty crude but its 100% functional. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. I’ll be utilizing every skin I harvest from now on.

Hi Peter, thanks for the great info and presentation! As been said before great job take care and see ya on the next friend👍

Thank you for the video, as always very informative and quite humorous.

Thank you for making a mention of how the Algonquin and Ojibwa tribes and their Hunter gatherer shelters. I have a little bit of them in my blood and so I am excited that someone mentioned them. Thank you sir.

There is a lot of hard work to tan the hides. You will even hone your trampoline skills. Lol. Thanks for another great video.

I love u thx for all ur time and wisdom I will pass it on. I got my first buffalo hide

Mr Pete...how do you know so much!!!!!! Incredible!!! Stay well...Robin

As ive ready many books ive often trued to visualize this process. Thanks peter. From paducah KY

Unbelievable how large of an animal those are. We have several scrapers from this area. Lots of mounds around here and on my farm we have artifacts. How much fun those kids were having a jump on those too. Well done once again.

Good afternoon from Syracuse NY USA brother and everyone else thank you for sharing your live history videos

Peter I can not believe you teased us with this. That was amazing funny stuff right there now using the hide for a trampoline LOL. Be Safe Out There

I knew I was going to enjoy this one from the very first. Must have been even harder for the Native women of the day. Thanks to you and your helpers.

I see you're at Martin's Station. I gotta run down there and see you!

Nice Video Peter, I enjoyed watching it and listening to you. Your tool looks like everything you do, it's built right, handy and worthy of an attaboy. About pesky flies....I accidentally found out that by placing a dab of VICS VapoRub on the tips of my ears and by rubbing a dab on my forehead and uncovered forearms while sitting at my computer, houseflies and mosquitoes would not bother me. I think the Eucalyptus in the VapoRub is what chases them off. I have given thought to putting a hanging basket of the plant by the doors if it is possible to grow in a hanging basket or in containers set by the doors.

Informative as always Peter thank you the video!!!

Another excellent video!

What a process!! You must have some sore arms from scraping those hides!! Must have been fun having those extra reenactors at the cabin! Blessings to you and Cathy!!

This guy is so relaxing to watch. A lot like asmr, educational as well. Wonderful, thanks.

Nice work Peter. No wonder a buffalo hide is so precious.

Unbelievable, never realized how much work there was to this. Makes a person wonder how the people did it hundreds of years ago. Thanks Peter. Keep your powder dry

As usual I enjoyed another of your great videos. I have one question about the smoking, it looks like it might take a really long time to smoke that hide with the wind blowing the smoke to the side instead of it rising straight up under the hide. Would covering the hide with a canvas tarp that comes down closer to the ground hold in more smoke and make it easier to keep more of the smoke on the hide?

It's good to see that the hides are nearing completion, those are some big hides! I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out and what you do with them when they're done.

Love it, Peter!

Hey Peter! I had read where making a buffalo robe was "Labor Intensive", but I really had no idea how MUCH effort, time, & planning went into it... until now! WOW! Since the hair is being left on, is the plan to make them a ground cover (insulation) for the blanket roll when sleeping outside? Will the strip of hide that was left on the frame be used as straps (tugs) as well?! I was plumb worn out... and I was just watching! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Tanning those hides has certainly been a process. Fascinating to watch and to learn throughout. Be careful jumping on those things...it could be a hip!

Man, that’s a lot of work! Very cool to see it done. I love your channel!

That’s a ton of work Peter!!!! Really gotta give credit to those native women that did this every Summer. Im gonna attempt tanning a buffalo this summer. Do you know how old those buffalo were?

What an incredible channel...this guy is awesome

Having tanned deer hide, I was curious about how difficult a Bison hide would be to tan. Many thanks for answering a decades old question of mine!

Wonderful! Thank you for living out this dream for me!

DEAR LORD! WHAT WORK!!! Found a page called; 'Colonial Sense' on Tanning = VERY Interesting! They basically fill in what you Emperor Peter have so well instructed/visualized 4 us! I thank U and dear Empress Catherine 4 her artistic hand in filming! WELL DONE! The page I site said that 'this profession' was usually located on the outskirts of town and oft downwind! IMAGINE! And THEN...that the profession (tanning) itself was the 'smelliest', most 'physically demanding' and 'hazardous' jobs in early America! = YIKES! EVEN IF U were strong physically...U could well have your health well impaired for doing so habitually. Personally, if I'd had the 'brawn of Samson', I would have fought to 'clean barns' rather than THIS! Your perfect tool Peter speaks volumes of your work ethic as this proverb proves; "A bad workman never finds a good tool." ~ French Proverb. Can't recall how many times a teacher would 'offer' to tan mine own hide? LOL! Health and God Bless! :)

Toujour heureux de vous revoir le bien que j ai de partager avec vous derrière ma tablette ❤🎉😊merci

Nice! Where will you display these hides Peter when finished ? Maybe you can send Rod a picture in an email when they are finished he would probably like that 😊

What I have learned through the years is to keep warm Is to use the tools. Asking as your working you will stay warm

Another great video! And I dare say some of that looks very familiar. Almost like being there in person! Cheers to both of you!

Lots of time and effort there interested to see what you use those hides for

Just saw you on Townsends Live at Martin's Station.

Great video, I would love to have that cow hide,

Thank you

Thank you, Mr. Peter. Always enjoy tannery works. I think maybe they soaked my head to long and that's why some of my hair has released. Couldn't be an age thing. lol!

Always wanted a buffalo robe for the cold nights on the farm .

Another great video, you talked of black flies, any info on how the early settlers withstood them, I visited Thunder Bay years ago, they were the only negative aspect of the whole experience, loved the country and the people.

Peter this is awesome this will help me with processing my own Holstein! Keep up the good work!

That's quite the project..! Question... What is your tanning solution recipe? Is it the same for both hair on and hair off? Thanks for the video....

great

Nice! I would be interested in helping out next tanning time. I started my 2 pig hides at the cabin! They were stretched out like the Buffalo hides. I thought they would be fine.... I have never seen them again!

I saw you in the Townsend video at Martin's station!

Cool. Did i miss what the smoking does?

That's a iot of process. Would love to see the finish product of the hides.

A fascinating process Peter...and what will you be using the hide for after it's finished?

Howdy Peter A lot of work and a great work out .... Do you do anything to the fur side ? Just wash it and dry in the sun ?

Well there's a sense of scale. Dang Buffalo or biguns!

What was done prior to stretching ? Was it fleshed ? Salted? I under stand cold scraping works good on beavers

I’d like to make a flintlock squirrel rifle. Any suggestions about where to buy a kit?

Hey just so you in Kentucky

What are you going to make from this hide Peter? Hope you do a video of it. That would be taking the hide from start to finish.

Hello what type of salt you use

Lot of work that!! I can imagine your First Nation people spending heaps of time on this process with less advanced tools - the old rock excluded!! Speaking of which, happy birthday & welcome to the biblical club!! Lol

Sure is a lot of work, and the thing is days we would just walk to a market and purchase what we want, that’s kind of sad.

Hello Peter, I've got a buffalo hide about the size of the one in your video here. Is there anything that needs to be applied to the tanned side from time to time to keep it from becoming too dry? I sent it to a tannery in Wyoming about 10 years ago and they used some type of oil on the tanned side. I just want to take good care of it. Thanks, Dan

How would you do the scraping if you live in a place where it doesn’t get that cold?

Where on earth do you get raw buffalo hides? And how do you know if you’re getting too thin on something that big? Just sort of by feel I guess?

Is that trampoline period correct?

I have always wanted to try one of these but it looks too daunting. I see why they are so expensive.

Hi Peter, What is the reason the hide has to be smoked? (And the reason for all the steps maybe?)

Itsusoocoool sunuvabissssh

Whats your tanning solution

Imma tan your hide, boy!

I brain tanned an elk hide about 20 years ago. Up till then I thought roofing was hard work.

Such an effort . Nice job though

Can you imagine an old Indian woman scraping those hides with a flint, antler, or stick scraper? We just think we know what work is today. I can only imagine how bad their hands and wrist were by their 50’s or 60’s

Hiw much would you charge to tan me a buffalo hide??

I hope you will save the hide scrapings for making hide glue.