As Eric was busy doing something else today we didn't work on the forestry project so I checked on the deer hides that had been soaking for 2 or 3 weeks. The hair was still not pulling out easily but I decided to give it a try anyway. The first hide I scraped was actually very easy. It reinforced my suspicions that when the water is very cold the hair will not pull out even though the grain is ready to be scraped off.
It felt good to be working hides again so I went ahead and scraped the other one. That one was a bit harder and the neck impossibly hard so I ended up cutting it off. It's interesting considering that the two hides have been soaking for the exact amount of time.
I hung the hides to dry under the car port. It's supposed to be below freezing at night but I don't think it will be enough to dry-freeze the hides, which would make the softening easier. But I'm happy enough to let them air dry and then age them for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment