The ancient art of tanning animal skins and pelts goes back to our Mesolithic Stone Age ancestors. Hides, furs and leather provided comfort, warmth and shelter, essential
for human survival in the cold winter climes of the North. Tanning is
the process of turning a hide or fur into a durable and usable
material, for shoes, clothes, bedding, shelter, strapping and countless
other uses. This traditional knowledge is slowly vanishing, as the
modern world increasingly turns to mass produced, chemically preserved
leather from factories.This course aims to re-capture the atmosphere, knowledge
and skills of our Neolithic ancestors using the tanning methods that
would have been employed in these early settlements. Many aspects of
this course will be physically demanding, smelly and very real - but
you will be rewarded with a soft tanned deer skin and more importantly,
a practical understanding of the tanning process so you can make your
own buckskin.
You will learn:
- Knife safety and sharpening techniques
- Skinning and butchering
- Methods for preserving and cooking venison
- Fleshing & scraping hides
- Using bones as tools
- Bone needle carving
- Natural glue
- Making sinew thread & cordage
- Antler buttons
- Buckskin: smoke preserving
- Making a leather pouch with your pelt or hide
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Our Mittens and Mukluks course is the perfect companion course, and a great opportunity to use your wonderfully soft buckskin to create beautiful and useful clothing (perfectly suited to be worn on our Northern Winter Bushcraft Adventure.
Please Note: This Course is Fully Catered. We'll have a full Red-Deer carcass in camp, which will slowly be devoured throughout the week...!
Please Note: This Course is Fully Catered. We'll have a full Red-Deer carcass in camp, which will slowly be devoured throughout the week...!