SC - Deerhide help (kinda-sorta on topic)

[Stefan li Rous]

Vicente asked:
> By a stroke of good fortune, a friend of mine bagged a 120-pound buck this 
> weekend.  He is making me a present of the hide, as is, no curing or 
> treatment. He plans to skin the buck tonight, and I'm at somewhat of a loss. 
>   Are there any steps that should be taken immediately after the hide is 
> removed (e.g. packing in salt, scraping, etc)?  

Yes. Check this file in the CRAFTS section of my files for some details:
lea-tanning-msg   (57K)  1/17/00    How to tan leather. Types of tanning.

This one might also be of interest:
lea-bladders-msg  (15K)  8/ 3/98    Tanning, cleaning, dressing animal
bladders. 

> What price can I expect to pay a taxidermist to tan the hide for me?  

Having a professional do this is probably a very good idea. If I remember
rightly, tanning a full hide like this even for something as small as a
deer compared to a cow, is a lot of work and the professional will have
the equipment already.

> What other inedible parts of the 
> deer can be used, assuming that my friend wants to keep the antlers as a 
> trophy?  More specifically, which bones can be used for buttons or other 
> jewelry, and how should they be treated?

See this file, also in the CRAFTS section:
bone-msg          (46K)  6/24/98    Working with bone and antler.
 
> (Oligatory food content) Are there any tasty bits that I should ask for, 
> aside from the usual roasts and steaks? (I'm going to try to talk him out of 
> the shanks.)

See these files in the FOOD section:
organ-meats-msg   (85K) 11/ 3/00    Period cooking of organ meats.
venison-msg       (45K)  7/26/00    Medieval and modern recipes for venison.

This is a wonderful opportunity. Other than some farm-raised venison 
in a resturant, the SCA is the only time I've been able to enjoy venison.
- -- 
THL  Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas         stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****