Mule Deer Tan Using NuTan 

We are happy to hear this was helpful!

We are thrilled you saved the hide/fur skin and tanned it!

Thank you Brad! Yes, Rick does a great job "teaching". Glad it was helpful.

Agreed! Thanks for the step-by-step. Time-lapse and cut-to's are appreciated.

We are happy to hear the video is helpful. Tip on the Buffalo hide, be sure to use an angle grinder with a coarse grit to shave it. These hides are so thick and so large, getting it thin will help NuTan penetrate better and make breaking easier - to help keep it soft.

Happy to hear it was helpful!

Roger, glad it was helpful for you!

A thick layer of salt is key for sure. You'll be ready for the next hide!

@@TanningYourHide great video! I subscribed!

@@TanningYourHide mine has been sitting stretched on the makeshift rack I made for the last year, I need to rehydrate and finish the process, that's why I looked for this 😅

We are excited to hear this! So many hides get wasted - tanning them allows you to use and enjoy the hide. Some tips for first time tanners on Buffalo: - pick up the hide as soon as you can from the butcher, then get it fleshed and salted - when you get to the shaving steps, definitely use an angle grinder with a coarse grit, shave twice to thin the hide as evenly as you can. This will help the tan to penetrate better and make breaking easier.

Thrilled it was helpful for you.

A dog brush with soft bristles on one side and wire on the other!

Happy to hear it was helpful! Share photos of your tanned deer hide.

Happy to hear it was helpful - thank you for sharing!

Glad you liked it! In the process of creating additional videos for case (tubed) skinned tanning.

@@TanningYourHide Fantastic!

Glad the video was helpful!

For sure! A pressure washer will strip the flesh and membrane while also cleaning some of the blood off. Just be careful not to get the water pressure too high so it won't go through to the hair follicles.

@@infoinfo3050 yeah they work good i only use them on big game because it takes to long otherwise.

Glad you found it useful!

@hondosmith3172 - Thank you for the feedback! Yes, this one is a bit long. It is really geared towards the first time tanner wanting to know everything. You can always fast forward to certain steps. We do have additional videos in the works that will be shorter.

Good question. Yes, when making buckskin, apply the "normal" amount of NuTan to the flesh side. Let this soak in for 1-2 hours, then fold flesh to flesh and apply a "thin" layer of NuTan to the de-haired side. Fold the hide again and put in a plastic bag overnight. The next day, open and hang. Be sure to start working the hide when it is semi-dry to keep it soft. Thank you.

Thank you for watching!

Thank you and glad it was helpful.

Good questions. There are different perceptions on using iodine vs. non-iodized salt in tanning. The concern has been that iodine may stain the hide/skin, however, there is so little amount of iodine in salt, that this insignificant amount will not cause any discoloration. Yes, table and canning/pickling salt are fine to use. The ones to avoid are rock salt - because the crystals are too large to break down, and any salt that has a high mineral content - such as feed store salt. The minerals added to salt can discolor the hide/skin.

@@TanningYourHide do you have to make a fresh pickle solution each day? I have seen things that talk about pH and am unsure how it works

⁠@@TanningYourHideAlso, do you tie the hide to stretch it? If so, at what point do you tie it up for stretching?

@@katelync8495 You can stake the hide. There are pros and cons of doing so. It will dry flat, but often stiffer as you aren't able to work and stretch it as much. If you choose to stake it, do it after NuTan has been applied since the hide needs to be folded.

I used angle grinder with 85 grit. Be careful it is aggressive especially at first before you grt a little build up on disc. After it got "dirty" it was easier.

Or is that just if your using a stronger pickle like citric acid or safetee acid or something of that nature? thanks

@@rileywilson6123 Great question! This video and process is geared toward the 1st time tanner, so we simplified the process to make it easier. We made it so the pH is pre-adjusted and doesn't need to be tested. The vinegar pickle bath used here is a weak pickle, so the pH will run aprox. 2.5-3.0 which is in-line for NuTan. Thus, the reason for the shorter soak time. You are correct, if another stronger acid is being used (which you can do), then the pH would need to adjusted accordingly before apply the tan. Thank you for watching!

Happy the video was helpful for you!

Thank you for watching! No, we do not carry ammonium alum. I am sure your hides will be just as nice using NuTan!

Something to try on the next hide. :)

Thank you for watching! Excited you are tanning your first hide!

If the hide is rolled up with the hair facing out, it is best to thaw it in 1 lb of salt per gallon of water. Open up the hide as it thaws.

After the hide is fleshed and salted, you can let it sit flat overnight in a cool, dry area (not in the sun). The salt will absorb the moisture and fluids from the hide. The next day, if the salt is still wet, shake it off and apply a new layer. Let this sit overnight again and shake off the next day. Then you can go to the rehydration step or hang the hide to completely dry and finish the tanning process later. The hide will keep this way.

Use fine salt (table or canning salt) as coarse salt (like rock salt) is too large and will not break down all the way.

Thank for the info

Thank you - Let us know if you have questions!

Jassam, what type of tan are you using? NuTan won't make the skin tear. Give us a call and we can go over the process and what type of pickle was used. It could be a pH issue.

Never mind it was not mold just excess oils turned white in a dot pattern. It's all dry now and looks great just need to break it more to soften. This is my second hide and I was concerned my first didn't have enough nu tan but I'm sure I put to much on second so I think my next one should be perfect.....

Yes, after NuTan is applied and the hide is folded for 24 hours, it will be damp. Let it hang until it is semi-dry, then start working it to break the fibers and keep it soft.

Yes, the salt is still drawing the moisture/fluids out, so shake off the damp salt and reapply a new layer. Be generous with the salt, approx. 1/2 inch thick.

Rusty, thank you for watching! You can let the second salting sit overnight or until it is no longer moist (not drawing out any more fluids). Then proceed to the rehydration bath.

NuTan does not waterproof the hide, so yes, smoking it or applying a waterproofer would need to be done.

@@TanningYourHide So after applying the tanning Solution, i can smoke the hide as normal? ive been trying to figure this question out for quite some time now and i got alot of skins im waiting on doing until i figure out that answer =]

@@addisonlastname7756 Yes, you can smoke a hide tanned with NuTan.

Yes! Next up tanning a raccoon skin.

Yes, we will add that one to our list! In the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to reach out to us.

Frank, the rehydration and pickle baths can be make to hold several skins - just depending upon how large of a soak tank you have. We have a chart with the directions that gives the estimated amount of NuTan needed to treat each type of skin. For example, a 32 oz (quart) bottle of NuTan will treat 3-4 medium life size coyote skins or 5-6 medium life size raccoon skins. Will need more NuTan if they are larger and less if they are smaller. Thank you!

NuTan is applied to a hide that is damp. After it has been fleshed, salted, rehydrated and pickled.

It is an Ulu fleshing knife. We have them on our website.

Yes, it is OK to get to the blue when fleshing the bear skins. The concern though is working for a while on raws skins - to avoid bacteria growth, we recommend the skins should be salted right away. Then you can rehydrate and flesh/shave prior to pickling OR after pickling. Yes, NuTan tanned hides can be smoked to waterproof them. Thank you!

Awesome much appreciated thank you for your knowledge and now I can pull the trigger and buy a few gallons.. lots of hides to do =]

@@addisonlastname7756 Happy to help anytime.

Skins are stretched on frames or boarded to prevent shrinkage while they are drying for storage. People do this when they are running a line or hunting too much to have time to process the skins. After the season is over they process them in batches. This method never lets the hides dry out entirely so you don't have to worry about them shrinking until it's already time to break the hide.

@@adrianricker thank you!

Good answer @Adrian Ricker. To add to that, for our process (starting with a raw/green hide), we find that fleshing hides (and fur skins) on a hard surface is most effective. And salting requires the hide be laid flat so the salt doesn't fall off. Of course they need to free of the frame for the rehydration and pickle baths. Once the NuTan is applied, the hide needs to be folded flesh side to flesh side so the tan can activate. Staking or stretching on a frame during the drying process can be done - Pro: the hide will dry flat, Con: you aren't able to work it as much to keep it soft and pliable, so it will dry stiffer.

@@TanningYourHide thanks, there really isnt a lot of information out there about this stuff, so your videos have been really helpful. Im rehydrating my hide now.

Once you remove the hide from the pickle bath, drain and dry it until it is damp. If the hide is too wet, the blade will just glide over the flesh. The drying time will depend upon the thickness of the hide. No, you do not rinse it after pulling it from the pickle.

Sorry for the late reply. Some hair coming out could be normal shed. However, significant slippage (down to the bare skin) is caused by bacteria. Reasons for bacteria growing could be: *if the hide was not skinned right away, *not fleshed/salted or frozen.

@Advanced Tanning Solutions gotcha. Thanks for the response man. I had a house fire right at the time I was breaking it in and lost the hide. On the plus side my brother shot a buck and I took his hide so I got a second chance

@@MINIHAHA1 Oh no! We are sorry to hear that and glad that you (and no one else) were not injured. Also glad you have another hide to tan.

@@TanningYourHide thanks man I appreciate it

It depends what pickle you are using. If using the vinegar pickle suggested here, you do not need to adjust the pH. If you are using an acid pickle, yes, bring the pH up to 4.0-4.3 prior to applying NuTan.

Thank you I'm just using this video

Isaiah, the directions we have for the pickle in this process, the pH is already pre-adjusted for accepting the NuTan. So you do not need to adjust it.

Yes, after fleshing, a fresh hide can be put in a salt bath, use 1 lb of salt per gallon of water. This will wash out any blood, dirt and body fluids. Leave the hide in the salt bath for several hours agitating it periodically. Then it can go into the pickle bath.

We recommend you pickle whether it is a hide with hair, or a skin with fur. Yes, pickling helps to set the hair/fur and by shaving we mean thinning the flesh side after pickling (not shaving the hair/fur off). Having a thinner hide or skin, will help the tan to penetrate better, and also keep it softer at the end of the process. Fur skins are thinner than hides so they will not require as much shaving as a deer or elk that have thicker areas (like the neck and rump).

@@TanningYourHide Thank you for clarifying that. I am doing 2 deer pelts currently. I was under the impression shaving meant to remove all hair. I understand now shaving means to thin the hide. This is my first time doing anything like this. This video has been amazing, thank you!

@@kreykesfarms1467 No worries, we understand that the process can be daunting the first time.

The vinegar in the pickle is based on normal household vinegar with a 5% acidity level. This equates to 1 1/4 cups per gallon. If the acidity level is different, adjust the amount accordingly.

NuTan is not a chrome tan. It is a combination of tanning resigns and polymers plus a softening oil.

Yes, getting the hide wet will make it pliable again. You may need to re-break it though so it doesn't dry stiff. The process of waterproofing leather is pretty extensive and usually done at multiple stages of the tanning process. Feel free to call us to discuss this more.

@@TanningYourHide Thanks a bunch! for a beginner what fleshing tool would you suggest?

@@jacksonwilhelm2420 Our Ulu hide fleshing/shaving knife works well for all experience levels.

@@jacksonwilhelm2420 We have an Ulu knife that is great for beginners as well as experienced tanners.

Thank you for your comment. This is an interesting view. We are only showing tanning here, but that is what is so special about Dale Knobloch, our founder. He is a pioneer in the industry (45+ years) and has always shared his knowledge of taxidermy, sculpting and tanning to those who were as passionate about it as he is. "If you have knowledge, let others light their candle in it" - Margaret Fuller