Of Brains And Blood

Well folks, I haven't brain tanned deer skins since about 1989 or 1990 but I've decided that it's time to get back to it!  Now brain tanning may be simple in theory but it sure ain't easy; it's HARD WORK! Now for those of you who don't know the process, it basically follows these steps; fleshing, dehairing and graining, braining, stretching and drying, and smoking.  Now fleshing is the same whether you dry scrape or wet scrape to remove the hair and grain.  So you flesh the fresh hide removing all remaining flesh, fat, etc.

Fleshing a hide

Then you have to dehair and grain.  Now the way I did it years ago in Wyoming is dry scraping where you lace and stretch the freshly fleshed hide into a frame and let it dry, then scrape off all the hair and grain which is the epidermal layer of skin.  With the wet scrape method you soak the fleshed hide in a mixture of water and wood ash or lye until the hair slips and then scrape all the hair and grain off while the hide is wet using the fleshing beam.  After dehairing and graining the hide it's time to brain which involves soaking the hide in a mixture of pureed brains (if no brains are available you can substitute a dozen eggs) and water.  Once the hide has soaked in the brains it needs to be stretched and worked over a post or pulled back and forth over a tight rope until the hide is COMPLETELY dry. The object is to keep the hide softened and stretched while it dries.  When the hide is done correctly it will be soft and white at this point.

What unsmoked brain tanned buckskin looks like

The final step is to smoke the hide to coat the fibers with the pitch in the smoke which will have the effect of keeping the hide supple once it gets wet and dries out.  If it's not smoked it will turn back into rawhide when it gets wet and then dries out.  The color of the smoked hide depends on what type of wood is used to smoke it.

What smoked brain tanned buckskin looks like

So this past week I tanned a hide using the wet scrape method for the first time.  It did NOT work well for me!  The hide did not turn out well at all.  I've decided that I will just go back to the dry scrape method from now on.  I will keep you updated on the hide tanning.

Now, I've told you all of that so I can tell you this.  Last Sunday at Lahoma Baptist Church, Pastor Brent was preaching on 2 Corinthians 5, verses 17-21.  Verse 17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."  Now me being who (and what) I am, my mind immediately went to brain tanning buckskin!  So at this point you are probably saying "what the heck does brain tanning buckskin have to do with that scripture, Turkey Creek?"  Well, I'm about to tell you!

You see, when you turn your life over to Christ, what's the first thing He has to do?  He has to scrape all that stinking, nasty, worldly flesh off of you!  You know; all that stuff you did that was against God! ( I won't go into what that is here but if you really want to know, read Romans 1 starting with verse 18!).  He then has to take off that worldly coat of hair that you were wearing that made you look just like all the people that are still living in the flesh.  Then comes the best part!  He washes you in the Blood (just like you wash the deer skin in the brains) and you come out looking all white and fresh and clean just like the unsmoked brain tanned buckskin!  Remember that picture above of the unsmoked skin?  That's what Christ did on the cross; he washed us white as snow!  Then finally he smokes us in the Holy Spirit to make us usable so that we can take the Gospel into all the world!

So folks, that's what was going through my mind as Pastor Brent was giving his message, and a very good message it was!

If anyone wants to know more about being "Blood tanned" by Christ, please feel free to shoot me an email at turkeycreek1823@gmail.com. I would be glad to visit with you about it.

Well, that's about it from the old mountaineer's camp on Turkey Creek in the Year Of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Twenty Three.

Until next time, keep yer nose in the wind and yer eyes on the skyline!

TC