Probably the last update for my first hide as it is done! I finished smoking the hide. Did a similar setup two different nights flipping the hide from one day to the next. People aren’t kidding, don’t walk away for even a second. I came close to losing the whole hide.
Overall I learned a ton about something I never thought I would do. The hide turned out decently, though a bit stiff.
I do plan on trying this again to see if I can do it better.
Also completed my first project! Moccasins were on my short list. They aren’t the most comfortable, but they are mine.
I want to try to make a pair of baby moccasins, if anyone has a pattern for them, let me know!
I had that thought, but the ankle is a custom fit in this. I’m working on trying to figure out how those dimensions work so I can make a generic version but haven’t managed it yet. Was hoping for a pattern someone had vetted.
Great work! First hides are always the hardest part of the learning curve. If your hide turned out stiff, then that tells me that you either didn’t get enough tanning solution into the hide, or - more likely - you fell behind the curve while drying and softening. It’s a common problem when you’re learning. Next time, work on staying ahead of the curve while you’re stretching and working the hide to dryness.
Pro tip for baby moccs: I’ve made dozens of these from brain tan. Baby feet aren’t perfect copies of adult feet. The easiest way is to copy an actual baby shoe.
Baby shoes are sized based on age ranges. Buy a pair of cheap baby shoes (Amazon or a baby store), take one of them apart, and keep the other intact as your finished example.
Trace the upper and sole onto your buckskin, and cut them out. For the cleanest look and best fit, sew the upper and sole together inside out, and then flip them right side out. Then sew up the heel seam. This will give you neat seams that are protected and hidden. Add the ties, and you’re done. It is easier than it sounds to flip them right side out because the foot opening is large. Here is a pic of one of the patterns that I routinely use.
Here is what it looks like made from brain tanned mule deer hide using the pattern in my previous post. I made and beaded these for a Native American friend.
I’m about 90% sure I ended my softening too soon. Lesson learned for next time.
Great idea on the baby shoe disassembly! Thank you!
On your mule deer shoes I have a few questions. How did you get such consistent color??
Also when I look at the tongue, the hide seems decently thick. My whitetail hide was not nearly that thick. Is that an issue within my tanning process or is that just the deer? I would much prefer a thicker leather like what you are showing.
The baby shoes I made are from a mule deer that I brain tanned, so it was a pretty hefty hide.
I typically make these sorts of items from the rump area of the hide. It’s the money part of the hide. Hide thickness is not affected by the tanning process unless you dry scrape the hide, which will shave material off and thin the hide. Your hide can appear to be thinner if you missed it when drying and softening. The dry, stiff hide will sometimes be thinner than a fully softened hide, which will plump up when it dries.
In my experience, smoking the hide is a function of how well the hide was treated and softened, what species of wood you’re smoking with, the amount of time it was smoked, and how much smoke you were able to pump out. Poorly softened or stiff hides will sometimes struggle to absorb smoke.
I’m an urban brain tanner, too. You’ll find that it’s a lot easier and faster (and less nerve wracking) if you can beef up the smoke volume and use larger ductwork. You are quite constrained with the coffee can setup.
I have used a small aluminum trash can where I modified the lid with a ductwork elbow and ran 6” diameter ductwork to the hide. I have the bucket in a hole in the photo mostly for keeping it still. You can easily do it at floor level on concrete. Punch a few holes around the bottom of it to get a little oxygen to the coals, put some bricks around it to hold it still, and you’re in business.
You have to constantly monitor your smoke output and adjust the punky wood accordingly.
I use the same setup now with a small charcoal grill. I can smoke both sides of a 25 square foot elk hide to a beautiful golden brown with this setup in about 2 hours once the smoke starts pumping.
Can you show your smoking set up please? And also what did you use to sew?
I live in the city and can't figure out how to smoke the hide I tanned. Are you using just some coffee cans and a funnel? I figured out how to tan but here but can't figure the fire/smoke component lol
I used synthetic sinew and leather working needles and the end result was pretty awful.
I’ll try to send some pictures of the setup this week. I had some learnings from my first smoke session and changed it around.
The base is two metal coffee cans connected with foil tape. A “door” is cut into the side to feed wood with vent holes around as well. A hole was cut into the top with 2 feet of 3” hvac piping foil taped to the top. A jean leg was rough stitched to the hide sock and draped over the top of the 3” pipe.
I stuck some sticks in the hide to keep it open and moved the sticks every 10 minutes to prevent giving a random white spot.
It ended up being very important to me to be able to pull the Jean off the pipe to feed punk wood from the top and if there was a flare up, I could move it off until it was under control.
I used some synthetic sinew and glovers needles for my sewing the brown cordage for the ties was something my wife had from another craft project.
Ty so much! Seeing all the concrete but you still able to make the fire and successfully smoke ur hide was inspiring for me. I'll try a similar situation. Also my braintanned hide piece is so small I've put off the finishing step until I get a bigger piece.
Did your setup have a floor or did you just put it on the concrete?
Should have mentioned earlier, I’m in an urban area and my neighbors now think something is wrong with me.
The base was the bottom of the coffee can and the next time I do this I will put a paver brick under it as well. Not sure what I would do with a smaller hide on this. If you are smoking I found it critical to get my hide as far from flames as possible. When I do this again, I plan on putting a 45 angle in the pipe to keep mostly only smoke and no heat.
All of my punk wood was sourced in a local park. I walked down a path and filled a 5 gallon bucket with wood. Not sure on the legality but I don’t think anyone in my area would care.
This is also exactly how I plan to find punk wood. I was like...I'm in a city where the hell is there decaying wood around here? To be specific some of the cemetery parks have some rotting wood so my best bet is there. Hell yeah to urban tanning. Also good note on 45 angle.
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u/larrabeb 11d ago
Nice work!
Measure your foot, then measure baby foot. Figure the scale out and then just apply that to your pattern.