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 Post subject: Breaking Tanned Pelts.
PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2016 4:55 pm 
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Veteran Fur Harvester
Veteran Fur Harvester

Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:24 am
Posts: 921
Province/State: Ontario
City/Town: NWO
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For those of you that have tanned your own pelts, how did you break them after tanning?


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 1:13 pm 
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Veteran Fur Harvester
Veteran Fur Harvester

Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:57 am
Posts: 7614
Province/State: Ontario
City/Town: Smooth Rock
Organization Membership: OFMF
Properly tanned pelts with a full stuffing of lube should not be that hard to break.
Timing is the key to having a good stretch to your leather.If you start to stretch the fibres(breaking) too soon you will take all the stretch out of the hide and wind up with rattly leather with no stretch.If you try to work the skin too late the fibres will have locked up and you will get boardy stiff leather.Working with the skins in a higher humidity environment(like a basement) will help them dry slower and your window will be better.I will dampen any skin on the leather(then roll up for a couple hours) that is too dry to break with a spray bottle of water\tan oil mix to give the skin just enough moisture to break properly.The skin needs to be properly tanned in the first place or breaking wont work in any case.
You need to start breaking when the skin is about 80% dry.Tanning is like any other aspect of fur handling-the more you do the better you will get at it.There is a learning curve.
Breaking small thinner skinned pelts can be stretched by hand,heavier pelts can be towsed over the edge of a tanners beam.You can also pad a fleshing beam with a towel and use a rounded two handle fleshing knife to stretch the fibres.For thinner skins you can put down some padding on a table and use a one handed rounded push type flesher to break skins.


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 18, 2016 4:23 pm 
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Veteran Fur Harvester
Veteran Fur Harvester

Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:24 am
Posts: 921
Province/State: Ontario
City/Town: NWO
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Thank you,

Im going to try tanning a few beavers, muskrats ect. this year. Lots of info on tanning, not so much on breaking. Do you no of any online recources or have any pictures of the process?


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 8:02 pm 
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Veteran Fur Harvester
Veteran Fur Harvester

Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 12:57 am
Posts: 7614
Province/State: Ontario
City/Town: Smooth Rock
Organization Membership: OFMF
Nothing on line that I know of.Sorry, I don't have any pics.
I don't know how to put pics on here even if I had any.


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