How to tan a goat skin at home: a description of all stages

As you know, raising goats involves obtaining not only milk and meat, but also high-quality warm skins. Naturally, in order to get good fur you will need certain skills and knowledge. In order for even a beginner to be able to repair a goat skin the first time, we offer the following material, in which we will tell you how to correctly perform this procedure at home on your own.

Characteristic features of hide products

The demand for goat skins is very high today. Compared to sheepskin, goats produce denser, stronger and more elastic products. The resulting products are warm, light and beautiful.

The skin obtained from young animals becomes chevro, mouflon and other fur and leather semi-finished products.

The weight of paired products is up to 6% of the total weight of the goat; other indicators will depend on the breed characteristics and age category. From an adult animal you can get a canvas that will have an area of more than a hundred square centimeters (in young animals it is approximately ¼ of the indicated size).

Based on thickness, paired skins can be divided into the following groups:

1.8 – 2.5 mm – adult goat;
2.2 – 3.5 mm – adult goat;
0.9 – 1.4 mm – young animals 60 – 90 days;
1.3 – 2.2 mm – young animals 150 – 180 days.

The quality of the raw materials depends on the conditions provided to the animals. With a lack of food, the skin becomes thin and flabby. If there was an infectious or parasitic infection, then the skin is dry and the fur comes out in clumps.

What is made from goat skins?

Animals of any age group can be used for skinning. The lower the age limit, the easier it is to carry out the dressing. Hide products are divided into the following types:

Whipping - obtained from unborn kids.
Opoek is a newborn goat.
Outgrowth – animals 90 days.
Neblyuy is the skin of 180-day-old animals.
Half-skin – 365 days.

The first two types are purchased for the production of thin husky for gloves. The third type is an expensive chevro. The remaining two are valued for their softness and strength.

The quality of hide products will depend on the breed, living conditions, age group and feeding diet.

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How to skin

Goat skins are removed using a certain technology called “plastic”. Initially, it is necessary to hang the carcass and make three cuts:

Transverse. Starts from any of the hooves of the hind limbs to the second hoof (the incision goes along the anus).
Transverse. It starts from the metacarpal joint on the forelimb and extends to the same joint of the second hoof through the sternum.
Longitudinal. From the throat part of the carcass through the sternum and belly area, ending at the middle part of the tail.

After completing these steps, you can remove the skin, adhering to these simple rules:

the skin is pulled away from the carcass, starting from the neck region, and then from the forelimbs;
You need to pull carefully with your hands until it comes off, avoiding sticking of fat and lard.

In some areas, the skin and the body may have a very tight bond: here you can carefully trim the problem area. It is very important not to damage the valuable fur. An additional incision is made near the anus and around the loop (in goats). After the removal of the skins reaches the hind limbs, the pulling stops until additional cuts are made, then continues again.

In areas where lard and fat accumulate, you can also use a knife so that they do not come off, but remain on the meat.

After the goat is finally skinned, it must be laid out or stretched using a special frame, which allows the raw material to dry without losing its configuration.

In the following table you can see the characteristics of hide products depending on the time of slaughter:

How to properly perform fleshing and breakdown

Scraping Sticky Meat
Residual subcutaneous layer and fiber must be removed from the skin. To produce the material, special equipment is used in the form of a machine, which has a shaft and blades in the form of screws. You can also use a sharp scythe.

The technology looks like this:

It is necessary to install a deck that has a slope of 35 degrees.
Place the skin skin side up.
Using a sharp knife, carefully begin scraping off the entire top layer.
Scrape from the middle to the left hind limb.
From the central part to the right leg.
After the back of the skin has been processed, you need to turn it over and repeat everything.

Goat skin dressing

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First of all, remove the skin

This manipulation is carried out in the same way as when cutting sheep. Initially, you need to hang the goat by its hind legs on a spreader bar. Tie each limb tightly separately from each other. Next, we make cuts from the knee joint down to the genitals. Then we perform exactly the same manipulation with the other leg. Then we make a cut in a straight line from the genitals to the end of the neck, while pulling the skin back with one hand. Then you need to make another incision in the area of the forelimbs: from one knee joint to the incision in the middle, and repeat the same actions with the other leg. Then, using gentle movements so as not to damage the fur, remove the skin using a knife, leaving excess fat on the carcass. Next, you need to stretch the skin on the frame so that it dries and straightens.

In order for your product to be very durable and strong, winter is considered the most suitable period for skinning. It is at this time that you can get the highest quality goat fur. Skins that are cured in the summer, namely from March to mid-summer, are not so warm and dense. This is why they are most often used as linings rather than as the main product.

It is not so difficult to repair a goat skin at home, especially in the modern world. Now, if you think about the fact that this craft was practiced in ancient times, without the currently existing tools and preparations, then you can imagine how difficult it was. It is very good that a completely improved method of curing goat skins has reached us. And now it’s absolutely not difficult to complete this procedure.

If you want to get high quality skins, then you need to start dressing them immediately after removal.

Tanning hides using salt

When you have a skinned goat in front of you, the next question is: where to start?

First of all, you need to lay out the skin on a large hard surface, with the inside facing up. Afterwards, using a knife, you need to carefully remove excess fat and chaff from the skin. This procedure is carried out very carefully so as not to damage the product. Then you need to leave the skin for a while to cool. After complete cooling, you can proceed to further actions. The cold skin must be sprinkled with non-iotized salt. We will need approximately three kilograms of this mineral.

Why is this procedure done? If you do not treat with salt in a timely manner, you can allow the skin to rot. Then consider her missing. Skins that have not been treated with salt develop an unpleasant odor and the fur begins to fall out.

If you completed all the procedures in a timely manner, you will receive a good fur product. The skin will take a long time to dry, about 14 days. All this time you need to ensure that the product lies evenly on the surface, without wrinkles. It is very easy to recognize a completely dry skin. It crunches a lot when squeezed. That's it, now you can make it further.

Soak

When you have a salted, dry skin in your hands, you can begin further work on it. First of all, it needs to be softened. This process has its own name - soaking. Soaking is carried out in large containers, for example, a deep pan or bucket, with a special solution. The purpose of this process is to return the skin to its original soft state.

If this procedure is not carried out in compliance with certain standards, then you can get very hard fur. Therefore, this process is very responsible. It needs to be taken seriously.

For soaking you will need:

water, temperature 15 degrees, no less;
salt;
soda ash, borax;
deep container;
wooden stick or tongs;
gloves.

In order to calculate the exact amount of water, you need to multiply the weight of the skin by 6. This is a special formula for this process. Table salt will need approximately 40 grams per liter of water, and soda 1 g per 1 liter. The latest drugs are antibacterial, they do not allow rotting. The skins should be soaked in this solution for two days, but they must be constantly stirred so that they do not suffocate. Afterwards, you need to rinse the product thoroughly, changing the water several times until it becomes clear.

Pickling and tanning

After fleshing, the next stage begins. It involves treating the skins with special solutions. This is the final stage of dressing. After this, the skins are ready for further use and sewing of fur products.

At home, peking is carried out using acids such as sulfuric, acetic or hydrochloric. It's best to use the first one. When preparing the solution, it is necessary to add table salt to prevent acid from damaging the skin. You need to combine the following substances: 9 g of sulfuric acid and 55 g of salt per liter of water, temperature 25 degrees. The skin should be soaked in the resulting solution for about ten hours.

What is the essence of fattening?

Here the skin is given even greater softness and elasticity. To carry out the process, you need to make an emulsion that has a temperature of approximately 45 degrees and consists of the following ingredients:

pork or lamb lard – 450 grams;
fish oil – 50 grams;
ammonia – 25 ml of 25% concentration.

A thick layer of ointment should be applied to the entire surface of the skin and allowed to be absorbed. The process takes up to 8 hours. Then the skin needs to be dried and stretched in length and width using special brackets.

Drying the skin

After pickling, the skin must be dried for approximately 8–10 hours. Then, in order to return the product to softness, it is necessary to carry out fatliquoring. On the dry skin, from the inside, you need to evenly apply hoof oil or pork fat. Then dry again for ten hours. After this, you need to make a wooden device for stretching the skin, on which it must be firmly secured. Every day you need to check whether the product is dry. If you find whitened remains of hymen or fat, it must be carefully removed using a stiff brush. Final drying lasts five days. Sometimes it may be a little less.

As you can see, tanning hides at home is a very labor-intensive process. It is necessary to spend a lot of time, money and make every effort to obtain the finished product. But, if all the procedures are carried out correctly, then you can make good money selling goat fur. Once you have successfully tanned hides a few times, you may want to make this craft the main occupation of your life.

Fatliquoring and finishing works

After curing, the skins are treated with a homemade or factory-made fat emulsion. The skins are stretched on a wooden frame using twine and the fat is applied to the skin with a brush. Then the skin in this form can be left to dry in a warm room or in the wind on a warm sunny day. Within a day, but no more than two, the skin should dry and the fat should be absorbed into the skin. When the skin dries for a long time, the fat remains on the outside. Therefore, the benefits of such fattening will be negligible.

The fat emulsion must penetrate deep into the skin in aqueous form and lubricate the collagen fibers with fat. When the skin dries, the collagen fibers do not stick together, the skin remains elastic and soft, otherwise it simply becomes stiff. After drying, the skin is removed from the frame and begins to be crushed either on a disk along the edge by hand or on a wooden masher. If there is a retractable drum, the skins can be immediately dried to dryness. And when you have free time, moisten the skins with warm water and beat them in a drum using sawdust and rubber ingots. The broken skins are sanded, crumpled again and combed.

Video - Dressing goat skin at home:

Source

How to remove the skin correctly?

The skin of a goat, like that of a sheep, is removed in a layer. To do this, you need to make three cuts on the hanging carcass:

the first transverse - from the end of one hind leg to the end of the other hind leg through the anus;
the second transverse - from the metacarpal joint of one front leg to the metacarpal joint of the second front leg through the chest;
longitudinal - from the throat through the chest and belly to the tail in the middle.

You should start removing the skin from the neck and front legs. To do this, you need to pull the skin away from the body and pull. It is important to note that with a knife you can only slightly trim the strong ligaments that connect the skin to the carcass. But be careful not to damage the fur itself. If the animal has a lot of lard and fat, it also needs to be trimmed with a knife so that it remains on the meat.

When you reach the hind legs, around the anus, and in females around the genitals, you need to make cuts and only then continue to tighten the fur. Remove carefully with your hands so that no meat or fat remains on the skin. After removal, the material must be spread out or stretched on a frame so that the skin dries and does not lose its shape.

Step-by-step instructions for dressing

The highest quality goat skin is obtained if it is tanned immediately after removal, when it is still “warm”. However, this opportunity is rarely provided, so its primary conservation is often carried out. Let us note that dressing the skin is a very complex and labor-intensive process. This is why many owners of fur-bearing animals most often hand over their material to a specialist for dressing, rather than try to do everything at home themselves. But there are not so many of them and not all regions have them. Therefore, knowledge of how to properly carry out this entire process will also be useful.

Conservation

The most popular method for preserving skins and skins until dressing is dry-salted preservation. What does it mean? This is a kind of salting of the skin. To do this, the fresh skin needs to be laid out on the floor or on a table with the fur inward, that is, the flesh (skin) facing up. If there are any remaining meat, they need to be scraped off with a sharp knife. Then we take salt and sprinkle it over the entire skin, especially the edges. Then we fold the material into an envelope so that the core is on the core. And once again fold the skin in half and leave it in a convenient container for about three days.

After this, the material must be hung horizontally with the skin up along the ridge line and stored in a dry room. It is best, as practice shows, to go into the attic. In this form, the skin can be stored for a long time, however, you need to be careful not to get moths.

Initial conservation

This method will help preserve the hide products until dressing, and dry salt is used here. In simple terms, banal salting is carried out using the following technology:

After removal, the skin is laid out on a flat surface, skin side out.
Use sharp tools to scrape off stuck-on meat.
It is necessary to cover the entire skin with dry salt, not forgetting the edges.
Then place the workpiece in an envelope so that the skin lies against the skin and not against the fur.
Fold the skin in half and place it in any container for three days.
As soon as this time has expired, you need to unfold the skin and hang it on a horizontal bar with the fur inward so that the fold goes along the ridge.
Hide products are stored in dry rooms.

This primary processing allows you to store the workpieces for a very long time, the main thing is to ensure that there are no moth attacks on the wool.

General recommendations and processing steps

To learn how to tan a hide professionally, you need to familiarize yourself with general recommendations that will help you organize the process correctly. Necessary processing of hides usually includes:

cleaning and fleshing;
salting;
soaking and tanning;
pickling;
oil treatment;
drying

In order to begin processing the skin removed from the carcass, you need to wait until it cools down. In the meantime, remove debris from the wool. Resin stains can be removed with alcohol.

Then you need to spread the skin on a flat surface so that its inner surface (the inner surface) is on top. Scrape off any remaining fat and meat fibers. Sprinkle salt on the skin while it is still damp. If it is goat skin, then you will need approximately 2 kg of table salt. This is done to prevent decomposition and rotting from starting. After a few days, the skin will dry out and will crunch when folded. This way it can be stored for several days.

Before curing the salted goat skin, you need to soak it in clean water for several hours. As a result, it should become elastic.

Brew 250 g of bran in 3 liters of boiling water. Leave for 1 hour. When the bran has steamed, separate the liquid from the grounds and boil. Then pour it into a 25 liter plastic container with boiling water, in which you first need to dissolve 4 cups of salt. Stir well with a wooden spatula. After the liquid has cooled, add 150 g of car battery acid to it.

Flesh

You can remove one or two goat skins in any way: on a scythe, on a staple, on a block. In the case of a large number of skins, the fleshing process needs to be mechanized. For these purposes, a disk peeling machine or a roller machine is used. The skins are cleaned of fat and meat trimmings, thick parts are cut to thickness. After such an operation, the penetration of chemicals in liquid solutions is accelerated.

The stripped skins are washed in a solution at a temperature of 35 degrees with 2 g/l powder for 30 minutes. Then rinse in clean warm water. After washing, the pickling process begins.

Fleshing the skin with a scraper

Processing leather at home

Armed with knowledge and supported by practice, amateurs successfully cope with this work on their own. You can prepare sheep skin in the same way as you can prepare goat skin at home. Products made from sheepskin are very practical.

For soaking you need to take 10 liters of water:

20 tablets of furatsilin;
400 g table salt;
50 g acetic acid.

Sheep skins are treated with acid to kill germs. You can additionally prepare a decoction from the bark of oak, willow or birch. You will need 500 g of plant per 10 liters of water. Pour the total mixture into a large vat and soak the workpiece in it for 12 hours. The liquid concentration must be calculated for the entire volume of the vat. After the sheep's skin is sufficiently wet, fleshing is carried out. Using a dull knife, remove all unnecessary residues from the flesh, cleaning it.

The product should be dried in the shade

The treated item should be washed in warm water with a solution of salt and washing powder. For 10 liters of water, take 200 g of table salt and 30 g of powder. The washed skin is squeezed out and placed in another pickling vat for another 12 hours. The solution in this vat contains for every 10 liters of water 500 g of table salt and 150 g of acetic acid. The latter can be replaced with formic acid at the rate of 50 g per 10 liters of water. As a result of this action, the product acquires elasticity, its fibers become softer and more viscous. After this, rinsing with clean water is required.

The next stage is tanning. For this, some craftsmen use chrome tanning agent. The skin is soaked in a hot solution containing 60 g of tanning agent and 500 g of table salt for every 10 liters of volume. The process takes place within a day. You can use oak or willow bark. For 1 liter of water you need to take 50 g of bark, boil the solution for half an hour. Then you need to cool it and add it to the salt solution, where for every 10 liters there is 0.5 kg of salt. Leave for 2 days. During this time, the fleece should be completely saturated.

Processes of degreasing, neutralization, coloring

Kerosene or gasoline is an excellent means for degreasing. One and a half liters of solution with water will be enough for one square meter. They lie there for about two hours, then they will need to be washed three times for half an hour in warm water.

For neutralization, use soda ash (soda ash) dissolved in water. The procedure is carried out twice for about twenty minutes.

A certain color is given to the skins by dyeing, for which various (synthetic and natural) dyes are used.

The final stage is fatliquoring. When substances are injected into the skin, covering the surface with a thin film of fat.
Only in this case the fabric fibers will not be able to stick or curl. The skin acquires a pleasant softness, along with strength and plasticity.
For this purpose, mineral oils, as well as animal or vegetable fats can be used.

Rules for drying the finished product

The skin should be dried in the shade with the inside out, periodically kneading and stretching it. Air drying takes about 3 days. In total, dressing sheep skins takes several days. To speed up drying, household appliances are sometimes used. You can spin the item in a centrifuge. Drying is carried out in a drying chamber at a temperature of about 40°C.

To improve the quality of the product, it must be treated with a mixture of glycerin and salt, ammonia and egg yolk. For 25 g of glycerin you need to take 100 g of salt, 20 g of alcohol and 70 g of yolks. The mixture is evenly applied to the flesh. The surface becomes soft and shiny. Products made from skins tanned at home can be proudly used later.

To obtain finished leather, the process must begin in the same way as tanning hides. But after cleaning and salting, the wool is removed. To do this, use a mixture of sodium sulfide and quicklime. The lime must first be quenched with water.

Drying will dissolve the hair and the fur can be scraped off the skin with a dull knife. The chemicals are then neutralized using ammonium sulfate. Everything is washed thoroughly. Tanning occurs with chrome plating, which gives strength to the leather, and sulfur gives softness. Chromium plating involves potassium chromium and acid. Next, neutralization with borax is carried out. Again a good rinse with soaking is required. Dry the resulting products and soak them in fat. People acquired the skill of how to repair a hide through experience and passed it on from generation to generation.

Why do they clean up?

After the skin has stretched, it must be removed and inspected for uneven spots and film that can affect the plasticity of the product. To correct identified deficiencies, use a block and a sharp knife for stripping (it can be replaced with sandpaper). Properly cleaned leather has a soft and smooth surface. All that remains is to carry out the stage of combing the fur.