Bari Caton on brain-tanning

What a buckskinner does. Well, for a hobby I enjoy making brain-tanned buckskins from deer hides. So I'm a buckskinner. Actually, I don't skin the deer myself, nor do I go hunting to kill them. I don't kill anything. I get all the deer hides for free from the local butcher during deer-hunting season, since the hunters only want the venison meat. Brain-tanning is the native, primitive, aboriginal way of preparing hides, practiced around the world for thousands of years. Modern chemical tanning is a poor substitute. It's done by scraping the fur and the layers of dermis and epidermis off the animal skin, and then soaking the skin in the brains of the animal for anywhere from 20 minutes to 24 hours. Every animal has enough brains to tan it's own hide: squirrel, deer, buffalo, you name it. Every animal except teenagers, of course. After soaking in brains, the skin is then pulled and stretched until it becomes like soft pure white flannel. Then it is smoked over a punky, smoky wood fire, which turns it that nice honey color buckskin. White buckskin will stiffen up like rawhide if it gets wet, but for some unknown reason, the smoked hides can get wet (even in the washing machine), and when they dry, they remain soft. Then you can use the hides to make clothing, bags and pouches, or anything you want. It's wonderful to do beadwork on. West Jefferson NC If you want to learn more about braintanning, try www.braintan.com http://www.braintan.com http://www.braintan.com which is run by Matt and Michelle, two of my teachers. Happy tanning! Bari Caton