and the blades protected with guards I 've made. I also clean my tools and keep them rust free. So when I go to help my friends do anything.I take my own tools.LOL ( some guys do this also) but this seems to me to be mostly a female thing.Ive observed. at the energy they expend.with stuff that won't cut butter. How they accomplish anything just escapes me.and I have to scratch my head. whether it be a knife,a hoe ,a shovel or scissors. One of my pet peeves is my female friends who do so many difficult tasks with dull tools.
etc.worked for a meat packing place right out of high school and learned there to put a good edge on a tool. so since I know i can create good braintan by dry scraping. Yes I would agree it would take more brain power than I would care to devote to switch to wet scraping.and more effort than I would care to commit to at this point in my life.also more muscle power. "The world needs both perfume-makers and tanners happy is he who is born to be a perfume-maker, woe is he who is born to be a tanner." Rubber gloves take care of most of that risk. It was from skinning funky animals and handling stuff bare handed that had been sitting around too long. Wet scrape or dry scrape would have made no difference. I never got it from the scraping process. I have had a few nasty infections in the years that I've tanned hides. One persons con may be another persons pro. Do you want a wet mess or a dry mess.įor any persons given situation there will be pros and cons to each method. People who live in very wet humid areas may have a hard time getting their hides dry enough to dry scrape unless they can work indoors.
I've often heard dry scrapers say they like being able to work on the hides a little at a time when they have a few spare minutes. One method may fit into the tanners schedule and lifestyle better than the other. Big old bucks, big bull elk, and moose are often easier get properly grained by dry scraping. Very thin hides can be tricky to dry scrape. In different situations one way may be more suitable, or easier. An understanding of the differences can really only be gained through using both methods enough to get proficient at them. One way is not better than the other, but they are different. I think it has helped me a lot over the years to be a more versatile tanner. My interest is in learning about as many of the old ways as possible.
America you will find there are tons of different variations of how to get the job done. It will give you more tools to work with. I suggest that if a person is interested in learning all about brain tanning and all the ins and outs of how "primitive" tanners produced the whole spectrum of buckskin, furs, and robes, learning and practicing both methods is a very worthwhile thing to do. They can dryscrape a hide in about the same amount of time that it takes me to wet scrape one. They are very familiar with their tools and how to use them.
I know a number of professional brain tanners who use dry scrape and they produce beautiful buckskin and lots of it. In my opinion, the idea that one way is a better way is a pointless limitation that only makes the tanner less versatile. This is a discussion that I've heard and participated in for years.