After a month long wait I finally received my Ron Post fleshing knife. I wasn’t able to find a single one in the states. After finding one from a distributor in Canada, and some creative shipping and some help from a Canadian friend I was able to finally get my hands on one!

Full disclosure. I’m brand new to hide tanning, never fleshed hide using a fleshing knife. This particular knife has a sharp convex side and a dull concave side, and both sides are ground with a single bevel.

My question is when the hide is on the beam is it better to flesh with the bevel towards the hide or away? Also when it comes to de-hairing with the sharp convex side (using Ron Nail’s method) is it better to have the bevel facing the hair side or away to shave the hair? I’d like to have some success to start off with and hopefully cut as few holes as possible as a newbie ;)

Thank you.

I am tanning my first goat hide with Oak gall powder. It’s been in there for 3 1/2 days and this is what the cross-section looks like. I cut off a piece with scissors so I think that’s why it’s slightly purple. Looks like it needs a couple more days, but I’m curious if I can wash the hide after it comes out of the veggie tan? It still has a bit of goat smell. Or should I just rinse with water before oiling and stretching?

Title; about to try out tanning my first raccoon hide and for now really just looking for something that’s the most straightforward and has the best chance of success. Seen people recommend TruBond over the orange bottle. Agree? Worth it to get the whole kit vs. buying everything separately? Willing to pay a little extra if it truly makes the process as easy as I’ve heard some people say!

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some insight. I have been doing some traditional buckskinning/tanning using egg yolks. I have taken a class so I am familiar with the process but still new. I have a hide that I have now smoked and re-egged twice and it still isn’t soft, it does seem to be fully tanned and can be easily bent but there is still a stiffness to it. My first hide was similar and did eventually soften with time. But I am wondering why it’s not coming off softer. I think I might be smoking it before it’s fully dried but I’m not 100% sure. Thanks for any tips 😊

Getting ready to start on a cowhide I have salted and want to make sure I have enough acid for the pickle.
Hide is about 5’x8’. Hair on tan. Will most likely be using oak bark for the tan.
How much should I get?