Raw processing is the easiest way to tan leather. It is done without any tanning. This is a well-worn and well-washed raw skin without hair. It is done in a very simple way in any rural yard.
It is necessary
a log, a sharp knife or scythe, white hare, hazel, Don crumb, one or two tubs, flesh, beef or horse lard
Instructions
Step 1
Take a skin that has been stripped from an animal, dense cow or bovine. Wash off dirt and blood, knock off the bulk with a wooden spatula and cut with a sharp knife into strips up to 18 cm wide or into belts of the required width. Then with a blunt knife, and best of all with a scabby (blunt wooden scraper), knock down all the meat, bacon and hymen from the bottom of the strips on the deck. Then, from the top side, trim the entire hair evenly with a knife or oblique, while scraping lightly the topmost layer of the skin.
Step 2
Hang the shaved strips on the drying poles. In summer - in the air under a canopy in the shade, but not in the sun. In winter - in a bathhouse or in another warm room. After drying, it is necessary to warm the strips, that is, evenly moisten them with a wet rag and fold them one on top of the other. Cover a bunch of matting or canvas and wait until they are damp equally, but not too much. Press the strips into the pile with some weight. Then pull out the strips one at a time and stretch them out on a hare (a structure consisting of a lower thick wooden board and two wooden posts).
Step 3
Place the strip across the hare and press it against the edges of the uprights with your palms. Use your knee to press and stretch the skin stretched between the legs of the hare. From this, the skin is kneaded and smoothed. Then work the strip with flakes (two sturdy wooden sticks tied at one end). Attach the strip at one end to the hook that is driven into the post. Grasp it with the flakes, press firmly with both hands, and pull the flakes towards you. This pulls the skin out. Repeat this processing several times.
Step 4
Knead and groove the leather strip with a Don crush (the structure is made of durable wood, has a length of 1.3 meters, a slot is made in the middle, where an iron rod is inserted). Pass the leather strip through the slot so that it folds over the iron bar inside the slot. Then stretch the strip, securing the ends to two hooks that are tied to two posts.
Step 5
Take your partner and, grasping the handles of the crush with both hands, drag the crush along the strip. Apply melted beef or horse lard to the strip periodically. The skin is considered almost done when it becomes soft and whitish. Also, it should not show through. In the case of a lumen, the skin needs to be washed again.
