Customer Reviews

Deerskins Into Buckskins: How To Tan With Natural Materials - A Field Guide for Hunters and Gatherers

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has many virtues, but the one I was most grateful for is that Matt make it impossible NOT to understand how to wet-scrape braintan. He anticipates the reader's every possible wrong turn. So many skilled craftsmen are tongue-tied. Even if they know what they are doing, they cannot put themselves into the mind of a newcomer to their craft. Matt not only has a rare knack for doing just that, he also knows how to keep the nervous newbie calm. Anyone who follows Matt's directions will have a beautiful piece of buckskin, soft as velvet but tough enough to turn the meanest thorns...

Writing a regular outdoors column for four SC newspapers and having been involved with primitive skills for over ten years, I can honestly say that Mr. Richards' book on hide tanning with the brain-tan method is one of the best I have seen. I first learned to tan hides with this method when I was still in high school and have enjoyed making my own buckskin ever since.

When I got my copy of Deerskins into Buckskins in the mail, my learning started with the picture on the cover and didn't stop until I reached the back cover. Specifically, the front cover photo shows a skin sack smoking, but the hide is hung from the rump not the neck as I had been doing. Mr.Richards goes on to say that this allows the hide to hang with fewer folds and so, prevents streaking from the smoke. He's right!!

Probably the best bit of knowledge I gained from this book is glueing the seam with regular elmer's glue, instead of sewing it shut or using clothespins. The glueing makes a tighter seam, is faster than the other methods, and because it is air-tight, it forces the smoke to penetrate the hide instead of rushing out of the gaps. Due to the pressure, the hide balloons, further reducing any folds or wrinkles in the hide. This is the fastest method I have ever tried.

These two bits of knowledge alone make the book worth the price asked but when you combine it with the author's easy, simple style of writing, you have a true gem. I've read it from cover to cover at least twice and will undoubtedly read it again. Take it from an experienced tanner, you won't be dissappointed.

This book shows, in great detail and easy-to-understand language, the basic steps for natural tanning. Compared to other books I have read, this one really covers all the bases in a clear and concise way. Where other instruction books leave you saying, "Huh?", this one caters to those of us who REALLY have never done this before!

Excellent step-by-step directions. I highly recommend this book.

I tried for fifteen years to successfully brain tan a deer hide. I read every book I could on the subject. I usually made rawhide chew bones for the dogs.

Since buying "Deerskins into Buckskins" I have successfully tanned about 65 hides,and the dogs haven't had a chew bone.

If you want to be successful at brain tanning, buy Mr. Richards' book and use his simple method. You won't be disappointed.

I review many books for one medium or another, centering on rendezvous crafts. This is the best book on the subject, along with clear instructions and well done photographs to highlight one process or another. The only thing that I can write about this title is GET THIS BOOK! Layout is outstanding. I have seen too many books with good information and **horrible** layout. This book represents a perfect combination of outstanding layout and excellent textual presentation. You **will not** get any better.

I found this book very interesting and informative for anyone who wants to learn how to tan hides for making clothes. For that purpose I don't believe one could find a more useful guide. It covers in detail, everything from how to skin deer in order to get the most out of the hide, to sewing methods. however, the book only covers tanning hides for making clothes and apparel from buckskin. I found no mention of tanning hides with hair on. If you are looking for information on tanning hides with the hair on, it might not be what you are looking for.

When I recieved my copy, I did not know anything about brain tanning hides. With this book, I learned how to tan, and successfully completed 15 of 30 hides this past summer (the other 15 were tanned in a different fasion). I am so confident in my abilties to brain tan with this book and personal assistance from all the folks at braintan.com, that I have already placed orders for 80 hides this season, plus panning to pick up additional hides along the way.There are other books and videos available on the market dealing with this, but my personal recomondation for you is to get "Deerskins into Buckskins" to guide the beginner and refresh the advanced tanner in brain tanning deer skins.

This is the most in depth and comprehensive book on the subject of brain tanning that I have purchased. The Author does not hide any of his secrets. I have already done a couple of smaller skins and am satisfied that the methods that Matt Richards teaches are what I was looking for. I am now ready to move on to a deer hide, and I have also purchased two fresh buffalo hides, one to rawhide, and the other for a braintan robe. My freezer is filling up fast. Thank you Matt Richards for putting your knowledge into print.

This book is truly a must have for the person who wants to learn to make their own high quality buckskin. It will help the seasoned tanner as well as the beginner. buying this book is money well spent.

This is really an excellent how-to and reference book. It is easy to read and explanations are very clear. Matt writes with an easy sense of humor that draws you into the subject.

Tanning skins is a subject that is treated superficially in a number of books on outdoor and primitive survival, with the result that if you follow the loose instructions you may just end up with stiff, high-protien-cardboard.

Been there and done that.

After following Matt's method I ended up with soft buck skin the very first time with significantly less effort.

Matt's book covers the subject in very good detail, covering the bucking/wetscrape tanning method, theory of how brain tanning works, the tools necessary including primitive tools, and the basics on how to make garnments.

I think that if you are going to try brain tanning deerskin, this book is a must-have.