leather
In the past, natural hides and animal skins were collected; Such as cow, horse, snake, kangaroo, lizard, and ostrich skins, and then treated using chemicals; So that it is dried and tanned until it becomes possible to use it in the manufacture of clothes, shoes, bags, various types of home and office furniture, and sports equipment, and then the world turned towards the manufacture of imitation and artificial leather. So that the rights of animals are not violated and abused further by slaughtering them to use their skins in various industries, and also that the cost of artificial leather, manufacturing and selling it is lower than natural leather, and both of them are very similar in appearance and durability to the point that it is almost difficult to differentiate between them.
Methods for tanning leather at home
Animal skins are tanned to prevent them from decomposition, damage, and rot, and to make them durable and water-resistant, suitable for use in various industries. There are a group of different methods that can be applied to tanning animal skins at home, including:
Use egg yolk
- Required materials and tools:
- Rabbit skin.
- yolk.
- salt.
- Solid board.
- Borax.
- Container.
- Cloth.
- Water.
- Action Steps:
- Clean the rabbit's skin from any dirt or blood stuck to it by washing it with clean water.
- Spread the skin on the hard board; So that the inner side of the skin is facing up, and the outer side that has the hair on it is on the surface of the hard board. It is possible to attach the ends of the skin to the table using nails so that they remain stable and free of any wrinkles.
- Cover the skin with a layer of salt ranging in thickness from half a centimeter to approximately one and a half centimetres. It is best to leave it soaked in salt for several days.
- Completely remove the salt from the skin, then bring a regular knife or spoon and begin removing and scraping the meat and fat stuck to the skin, and this may take a long time. Depending on the type of skin, and if the individual faces difficulties in removing them, it is best to re-soak them in salt again.
- Beat one egg yolk until it becomes a smooth mixture, then rub the inner side of the skin with the egg yolk, making sure it covers the entire inner side, and you must avoid touching the area containing the hair.
- Take a cloth, wet it with water, and then cover the skin with it. To prevent the eggs from drying, leave them overnight. You can put a little borax on the cloth to avoid the accumulation of insects and flies around the skin.
- Remove the skin from the hard board, and wash it well with water to get rid of the salt and eggs stuck in it.
- Place the hide on a rope or smooth surface while the hide is still wet; To soften the skin, leave it to dry.
Use deer brain oils
- Required materials and tools:
- Deer skin.
- Deer brain.
- scraping tool.
- Garbage bag.
- Water.
- Soap made from vegetable oils.
- Drying board.
- Sharp blade.
- Saucepan.
- Storage bag.
- towel.
- Needle and thread.
- pregnancy.
- Action Steps:
- Place the skin on a garbage bag, and then scrape off all the meat and fat stuck to the inside of the skin using a scraping tool.
- Clean the skin well from all dirt, blood, and small pieces of flesh using clean water and natural soap.
- Spread the leather on a drying rack and leave it for several days until it dries completely before soaking it with the tanning solution, making sure it is stretched so that the ends do not wrinkle.
- Gently remove hair from the skin using a sharp blade so as not to tear the skin.
- Place the deer brain with a cup of water in a pot, and cook it on the gas stove until the brain decomposes and the mixture becomes soup-like, and mix it well until the mixture is smooth and free of all lumps.
- Wash the skin with water to ensure that any hair or flesh stuck to it is removed, and to make it more flexible, and then dry it well by pressing it with a dry towel.
- Cover the entire skin with the deer brain mixture, then wrap the skin in a large storage bag and place it in the refrigerator for an entire day; Until the skin absorbs the mixture well.
- Take the leather out of the refrigerator and spread it out on a drying board. Wipe off the excess mixture with a clean towel, and pass a large stick over it back and forth to soften the leather and make it soft and flexible.
- Fold the leather over itself in half and sew on both ends; Until it becomes like an open bag, then make a hole in the dirt twenty centimeters deep and thirty centimeters wide, and hang the skin over it using a rope. So that the open side of it faces the hole.
- Light the fire inside the hole until the smoke begins to rise into the skin for half an hour, then turn the skin over and repeat the step until the skin is smoked from both sides, making sure to keep the fire burning and the smoke rising while smoking the skin from both sides.
Use tree bark
- Required materials and tools:
- Animal skin.
- amount of salt.
- A few drops of disinfectant.
- Quantity of lime.
- Tree bark.
- Water.
- Rain water.
- Big drums.
- Metal blade.
- Action Steps:
- Soak the skin with a mixture of salt and several drops of disinfectant for sixteen hours.
- Soak the skin in a barrel of water for several days; To get rid of salt, fats, and all the dirt and impurities that cover it.
- Soak the skin in a barrel filled with a solution of clean water and lime; To scare away hair.
- Clean the skin of any hair or dirt stuck to it using a metal blade.
- Wash the skin of the lime stuck to it by placing it under running water for no less than twelve hours.
- Grind an amount of tree bark equal to twice the weight of the skin until it becomes a fine powder, then put the bark powder in rainwater and boil it for several hours, or it can be soaked in cold water for several days. To extract tannin from them and use it for tanning the skin.
- Mix the tannin extract in water so that the same amount of water is used as was used to boil the tree bark powder.
- Hanging the skin on a stick or peg, then immersing it in a solution of tannin and water, turning it and stirring it once every ten minutes until an hour has passed since it was soaked; To ensure that the solution reaches all parts of the skin, then leave it to soak for several hours.
- Remove the skin from the solution, and dispose of the solution; To remove all traces of lime and get rid of them, then make a new solution, the same as the previous one, and soak the leather in it again for a period ranging between four to six weeks, making sure to gradually add a little tannin to the solution while soaking the leather in it, and turning the leather from time to time.
- Continue gradually adding tannin powder to the solution until the color of the solution becomes dark, and then the skin is left soaked in the solution for a period ranging from four to six months, stirring it several times daily.
- When all the tannin is absorbed by the skin, the color of the leather becomes dark, and the tanning process is finished.
