You will need to do some fleshing before you salt your hide. Do not skip this step! The condition you receive the hide in back from the butcher will NOT have enough flesh removed. It is up to you to do the final scraping to ensure a successful tan.

If you will be fleshing many hides a year, you may want to consider building a designated fleshing beam. It will save you a lot of time and frustration.

The videos above display the fleshing beams we use at Driftless Tannery.

You do not need to build a beam to do a good fleshing job, however. Find a well-supported, softly edged structure that you can place the hide on and, ideally, scrape downward on. A wide section of PVC would work, as well.

Note: The stability of the beam is very important. The more wiggle or play in the surface the more energy you waste balancing the hide on the beam.

Using a fleshing tool, remove excess muscle tissue and fat from the skin by gently scraping.

The two handled fleshing knife is held at a slight angle as you push the flesh off the hide. The ulu is held used in the same way but has more concentrated contact points with the beam.

Fleshing tools like the ones pictured here will get underneath the fat and meat and scrape the hide clean without cutting through the skin.

Remove all flesh and fat thicker than 1/8 inch. Any thicker and the salt will not be able to penetrate; the hide could spoil and the hair will slip.

Scraping tools, like this ulu knife, can be purchased online from a variety of carriers. Simply search for “ulu knife” to find them for purchase. We sell our favorite fleshing tool, the european style fleshing blade, in our shop.

Salt inhibits bacterial growth. Bacteria cause the fiber or hair to let loose from the hide. This is known as “hair slippage”.

In order to avoid this, a fresh hide must be salted the day of slaughter after the meat and fat have been removed. Place fleshed hide, skin side up, on a pallet, and rub salt into the entire hide. We recommend barn salt purchased from a local feed supply store. Please avoid mineral salt or Redmond salt as the minerals in the salt will discolor the hide.

Once fleshed and salted, we like to put the hide, flesh side up on a tilted pallet in order to allow excess moisture to drain. Place a collection bin at the corner if you don’t want a mess on the floor.

Be sure to avoid any metal, as metal will leave permanent black marks on the hide. A shed or garage is ideal, to keep the hide out of the sun and inclement weather until properly cured.

Depending on weather conditions and humidity, salt curing a hide can take several weeks.  If your salted hide pools moisture, clear the existing salt, and salt again with fresh, dry salt. 

If you cannot flesh the hide the day of slaughter, keep it in a cool dark place and put a layer of salt on for the night before fleshing just be sure to get it fleshed that next day. You may also freeze the hide until a later date. When freezing do not fold the flesh side in as the wool will act as an insulator and the flesh will not cool quick enough.