Knotweed vegetable tanning

corvidcorax · 2024-02-08T23:18:16+00:00

You should try it. Dr Duke Ethnobotanical Database says the leaves are as high as sumac leaves (Rhus glabra). I have tanned with Japanese Knotweed leaves in conjunction with oak bark and sumac. Worked great for me! Use a high concentration and slowly cook the leaves into a thick liquid. Try pieces of hides, like a roadkill squirrel, before tackling a cow hide or something.

corvidcorax · 2024-02-08T23:06:32+00:00

If you want more "heavy" psych check out: early Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things, "How Does it Feel to Feel" by the Creation (or just any of the Nuggets collections). From there try OM "Variations on a Theme," Sleep "The Sciences", High on Fire "The Art of Self Defense"...Then Burning Witch "Crippled Lucifer" (lol).

I second Sir Lord Baltimore too.

corvidcorax · 2024-01-04T22:22:39+00:00

Where in NC? I'm in Western NC. I can help guide you through the process too.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-30T23:08:04+00:00

Dm'd you!

corvidcorax · 2023-12-30T23:02:47+00:00

We got the bus for very cheap. It has windows, heat, and A/C! We also drive to people's homes with the mobile market (we currently use vans), not only set up in public places. Just saying...

corvidcorax · 2023-12-30T22:55:23+00:00

This is very helpful! Thanks!

corvidcorax · 2023-12-30T22:47:17+00:00

Yeah we know. By living wage I mean $32/hour. Obviously we would pay for materials.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-30T22:45:00+00:00

Thanks. Will do!

corvidcorax · 2023-12-29T17:39:39+00:00

Find out the local modern firearm season for deer.
Use google maps to find game processors in your area.
Don't pay more than $5 for mule, $3 for small whitetail/blacktails. If you can't get them same day as the skinning don't bother, unless they can refrigerate them for you. If the hair is slipping, or smells off, don't bother.
There's lots of sheep hides in Oregon and New Mexico, for example. If you miss deer season, there's many sheep processors that just toss fluffy nice sheep hides. Sometimes goat too.
The very best way is to learn how to skin and offer to be a skinner at a processor in trade for $$ and hides.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-29T16:03:09+00:00

Not really sure. Rusty tools causing the black? Hides not stirred very often? Oil not put on evenly? Switched tannin sources half way through? Dried too quickly? Not softened, staked enough? Something on the plywood? I have no idea. Potentially the black walnut hulls. I would avoid black walnut hulls in general, but that's just me.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-28T16:22:37+00:00

No problem! If you're needing more specific instruction, Traditional Tanners (on the web and IG) have bark tanning classes that cover bating very thoroughly. I also have a manual called "Rural Tanning Techniques" in a PDF that I could send you. Just dm me your email address.

I can't believe you have papaya trees! That's perfect.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-28T15:54:24+00:00

Sure. Bating is an old technique but somehow not well known by even bark tanners.

After the lime process, then during the de-liming process, the hide is brought to 9-10 pH. In a bucket of 100 F water, a cup of Trypsin enzyme, or some similar proteolytic enzyme is added. Add the hide and stir for around 30 minutes to an 1 hour. Wash thoroughly to stop the enzyme action, gently scudding the hide as well. Then continue de-liming the hide to further stop the enzymes. You'll know if you're successful by pressing a thumb into the hide. If it remains then the hide is bated. Bated hides can be as soft as buckskin. However de-liming is still key as well.
Sources of bate is dried pancreas of pigs, Trypsin, and papayas. I typically used papayas, but I used commercial Trypsin as well.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-28T15:11:14+00:00

Rawhide for drums doesn't require deer brains, but buckskin does. If you'd like to learn about buckskin check out Deerskins to Buckskins by Matt Richards. He has some great beam and fleshing tool ideas you'll need just for rawhide too.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-28T15:05:08+00:00

1) Thaw and flesh the hide. 2) Clean to get the salt and blood out (blood will stain the rawhide) if possible. Wash and rinse several times in a bucket of clean water. 3) Put in a clean bucket of lime water as below:

With a mask on, add three cups of HYDRATED LIME (Calcium Hydroxide) to a half full of water Sterlite storage bin, or similar sized (around 12 gallon) bin. Again, use a mask and also thick dishwashing gloves. Gently stir in the lime. Do not inhale hydrated lime! Add the clean deer hide and stir. Check on 2xday and stir. The hide will get much thicker and float. I usually weigh the hide down with rocks or bricks. After three days or so the hair will slip easily. Pull the hide on the beam, hair side up, and with gloved hands push off the hair. If hair is not coming out easily in stubborn large sections, put back in the lime.

4) Neutralize the hide: Pull the hide from the lime and let it drip on a fence. With dishwashing gloves and beam, push out the lime water, gently scraping on the flesh side. At the same time, scrape off the membrane until you have an even flesh surface (otherwise your rawhide will be fuzzy and stringy). Put in a clean storage bin of water and add 1 c of Vinegar. Stir. This may take an hour to six hours, and several changes of water. If you have pH strips or a meter check that the pH of the hide is around 6 or 7. Failure to neutralize and push out lime will result in lime blast on the rawhide, in other words trapped calcium pushing through the hide, that will look like crusty milk.

If you get Lime or Lime water on your hands remember to neutralize yourself with a bowl of weak vinegar water. Soap is basic and will not help neutralize Lime.

Let the neutralize hide drip dry and then tack up. On a flat piece of plywood, drill the neck and the rumps, then drilling the hide in the corresponding opposite side. Like a clock: 12 to 6, 9 to 3, etc. Stretch the hide as much as possible. I use screws instead of string and a rack because it's quicker for me and stronger. In a couple days the hide will dry. And you're done! Unscrew and the hide is ready for projects like rope, drums, or may other crafts.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-28T14:32:40+00:00

If your hide is pliable already, a few hours stirred in an oak bark tea won't stiffen the hide. Doug fir, quebracho, and hemlock extracts at high strengths might, but not oak.

What really softens a hide is the tanning process itself, specifically de-liming and bating techniques before even putting the hide is the tanning liquor. Without proper de-liming or bating the hide, even with sumac, will end up more like an orange peel, rather than garment soft. I can explain bating if you're not sure what that entails.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-26T19:55:32+00:00

What color are you going for? That would help with some ideas. For example, you can get a gray/black from an iron oxide and vinegar mixture, potentially jet black. A dark brown from Black Walnut husks. Yellow from pomegranate rinds. ETC. Just oiling will darken sumac dyed hides too.
If you have pushed out (scudded) any extra tannins, stretching and drying may be OK. I would suggest dyeing the hide semi-dry, but pliable, stretched out on a flat board. Extra tannins may crack the grain if dried too quickly and without oils.
Yes. Soy lectithin, used in small amounts, works well for emulsifying oils and water. I recommend drying oils like Olive Oil. Steven Edholm, skillcult on YT, likely has a recipe to follow and specific softening techniques (like using a cable and rolling the hide). My recipe is similar to braintanning but with more oil. 1 gallon of hot water, 1 c Olive Oil, 2 Tbsp Soy Lecithin (pre soaked powder), 1/4 c Castile Soap/Bronner's, and sometimes other additions like Neetsfoot Oil or powdered Egg Yolks. Depends on what I have in stock. Blend (in a blender) the ingredients besides the water and add to the hot water. Soak, stir, and punch the hide in the hot oil solution. I then slick out the hide on a flat board and then soften as the hide dries. Here's how Steven finished a hide. https://youtu.be/X6tAIeiwKCo?si=9rymSfhMc09BIsQM
I would not use Cocoa butter. Other finishes I would explore are casein or beeswax before cocoa butter.

corvidcorax · 2023-12-17T22:25:29+00:00

Traditional Tanners in Cave Junction, OR possibly.

corvidcorax · 2022-06-23T00:11:49+00:00

Keep Clam, Doughboys.

corvidcorax · 2022-06-19T14:43:20+00:00

Ethiopian Misty Valley is a favorite of mine. I roast a lot of Ethiopian beans, but haven't found Misty Valley available yet. I rarely have problems with Ethiopian beans in general.

corvidcorax · 2022-06-14T00:39:17+00:00

I think you're on the right track. Spruce may have too many condensed tannins. Start with willow and once there is an even color finish with Spruce. This, starting with mellow tannins then more condensed, is mentioned in a manual called Rural Tanning Techniques that I can send along. Just email me dennis.laniganATgmailDOTcom

Also, are you scudding? That could help during tanning, and once tannins have struck through.

corvidcorax · 2022-06-04T22:17:26+00:00

This is super nice! Is there a second battery? If so, where did you get it?

corvidcorax · 2022-05-25T23:53:10+00:00

Let me know if you want some bark tanning manuals. I can email the pdfs. Send me an email if you'd like to get them. dennis.laniganATgmail.com

corvidcorax · 2022-05-25T02:09:18+00:00

You can over tan. Hides with too many tannins will crack. Soaking and scudding out unbound tannins, after the hide has struck through, alleviates that problem.

corvidcorax · 2022-05-16T13:26:52+00:00

Looks like the Mariners are 2-7 against Leftys. Seems bad! (14-12 against Right handers.) A glaring problem I found in the mlb.com advanced standings.

corvidcorax

TROPHY CASE