Hide Tanning Weekend

Join Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival in this highly requested and popular class in learning how to make buckskin from locally hunted deer hides. In this 3 day class, you will learn everything you need to know to get started on your hide tanning journey. You will learn how to obtain and process hides usuing all natural materials and phycial labor. Deer skins will be provided from hunters who hunt for meat and donate the hides for this class. Students will get to go home with part of the buckskin they worked on through out class (usually 2 students work on 1 skin together, and cut it in half at the end of class). All materials will be provided, however, we will send links to students before class on recommended equipment so they may bring their own if they wish.

Schedule: November 7th- 9th

Friday: 12-8pm

Saturday: 8am-8pm

Sunday: 8am-whenever we are done

This class requires a lot of physical work and persistance. Please know that the process of making buckskin is a project that requires determination and commitment. The end result is a VERY soft piece of buckskin and is quite the exciting and rewarding experience. Class will happen rain, shine, warm, or cold so we ask that you arrive planned for any weather. Please provide your own food and if you are coming from afar, we ask that you find housing accomodations and we can recommend a few hotels or campsites around where we will hold class. This is not a campout class and we will try our best to get you home for dinner, but class ends when the work is done for that day.

We find it neccessary to let you know that we will be using REAL animal skins from locally hunted deer. A good number of hunters hunt for meat and either do not want to do the work on hide tanning, or simply don't know how. This usually results in the deer skins getting put into the trash or the woods for the coyotes. We get a good amount of skins donated to us during hunting season and work on these throughout the year. In this class, you will be scraping off meat, blood, fat, hair, and everything else from the skin. We keep our hides fresh and frozen and they are never smelly or rotten. If you can handle cooking fresh raw steak from the grocery store, you can handle the work we will do in this class. These deer are not from "fur farms" and are ethically hunted for food in an area where the density leads to unhealthily high deer populations. We will provide gloves and aprons for students to use, as well as a hand washing station throughout class.

Class will cover the overall topic of hide tanning using the "braintan" method. This involves obtaining a skin, storing, drying, scraping, softening, wringing, smoking, and using your buckskin to make crafts and clothing. All of these topics will be covered extensively in class. Please arrive hydrated, well fed, sober, and ready to work hard!

This class will be taught by the Owl Eyes Wilderness Survival team, for more information, please head over to owleyeswilderness.com.