# tanning hides



## RIP (Jun 4, 2002)

Sorry I didn't get back to you. I'll have to keep this short as they do pay me here.

Bobcat and coyote/ fox you said. If they're precious and you want them to last, take them to a taxidermist and pay the price.

You can get great garment tans done from the big tanning houses 
for cheap, but you will loose the ears over time on longhaired animals. (mites)

Beaver, rat and mink look great when done garment quality.
Otter's are amazing. No taxidermist will do anything that will spruce up a tanned otter any better than you will get from a well done garment tan. 

Somebody asked about gloves. Definitely garment tan by a tannery. Not the taxidermist. Tabari is okay, but I wasn't sure they were still in business or we had bad luck with them or ,something. I've used three big tanning houses and the best results have been through a place called Moyle (Moyle Mink Farms). Don't have the number or contact info, but see if you can search them out on the net. They definitely put the best care in to my pelts. You could tell they cleaned and degreased them better. We had very few unexpected tares if any. 

Home tanning. I've used it all. Borax, Alum, tan in a bottle.
Preserve okay, but I havent found any tan process that helps in the breaking process. Thats just plane hard work with so so results.

Then theres the good old brain tan. Historians say just squish it on to the pelt and throw it on your back and your ready to go.

Well, let me tell you, Indians were extremely good at what they did, they didn't care how it smelled and they had a free labor resource called women and children. Once you done a brain tan, you've reach the end of the tanning mystery and your finally full circle back to sending them out to somebody else to do the work and you can go out in the great outdoors. 

If you enjoy spending time working on these things, you can do both of your pelts (fox and bobcat) with good results for display. They won't be soft and they might oil out on the hide side over time, but they will hold up and the fur will remain in good condition
as proven by the years old beaver photo as mentioned earlier. You would have to learn how to split the ears on fax and cats. 

I just finished a coyote that I started back in December. Honestly, I would have sent it out, but it was an out of prime road kill and I couldn't justify the money for a mediocre quality pelt. It looks good, but I anticipate problems with the ears over a couple of years. I used a bottled tanning formula out of VanDykes, but I havent found any bottled formula that was considerably better than the rest. IF it comes in a bottle and it looks like pancake syrup, it will do the Job. Borax is fine for preserving a stiff flat display fur as well. 

Look up Vandykes and see if they can send you a catalog. You will have at your fingertips every single product ever used in the tanning, mounting and preserving of animals. You will have access to every product that any taxidermist has. You just won't have the experience required to use it. For that you must work your way to the Indian Brain Tan and back home again.

Sorry for getting of the subject. I don't know when I'll be back and I just wanted to share as much as I could quickly about tannery's, home tanning and taxidermy in regard to fur bearers and pelts. 


Answer: Moyle for garmet tans. And taxidermist for that nice cat. You can do it yourself, but dont expect a savings if you value your time.


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## RIP (Jun 4, 2002)

Here ya go.

http://www.moytown.com/

Take a look. They do really good work and I can attest from experience. Turns out the're also the official tannery of the National Trappers Association. 

Link has a quick tour of their operation. I see prices have gone up just a little since I sent pelts to them last. Still the best I've found. 

These people seem to not mind taking small orders.


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## mmw52880 (Jan 21, 2003)

I am sending my two hides to Moyle today. Best Ive found and have seen some of their work and it looked nice.Gonna give em a try.


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## mmw52880 (Jan 21, 2003)

Well Ive just recieved my two hides back a couple days ago. I am very pleased, they did a quality job and in a very reasonable amount of time. I would definately reccomend Moyle to anyone. Very Pleased.


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