Eric,
Oil tanning and braintanning are the same thing basically in braining a hide you are using emulsified oils from the brain that can be replaced by murphies oil soap, liver oil, I've even heard of lard being used with with success followed by smoking the hide for several hours.
You will need a stretching frame, wood ashes and a large container to soak the hide a fleshing beam and a smoker, I basically use a tipi like structure made from a tarp. Salt was used to preserve green hides to be sold to a tannery it doesnt tan a hide and will readily wash off.
when you get your hide your first job is to thouroughly flesh it get all that meat and membrane off, I prefer to pull hides because it makes the job easier, very little fleshin with a pulled hide.
Now mix your container with wood ashes and water until an it will float an egg, put your hide in there and let it set until the hair slips easily keep it cool and be vigilant this is known as bucking and a hide will rot in the buck if you aint careful
Next get the hair off if you want a grained hide leave it at getiing the hair if you want traditinal buckskin the epidermal layer has to go too be careful a little nick makes big holes later. then rinse the hide to wash out the buck leaving it in a creek for a day or two aint a bad idea but I will just rinse and ring it out repeatedly then scrub with some baking soda to be sure and move on, too many dogs runnin loose to risk my hides becomin a chew toy
now frame your hide, cut your lacing holes about an inch or so from the edge around the perimiter of the hide. once its on the frame and stretched use an axe poll and start stretching it some more, as the hide gives crank down the laces do this until the hide dries, for those interested in rawhide the job is done, but for finishing the hide the work is just starting.
Now we get to applying the solution mix the brains in a pot of water and boil, mix the brains real good your after the oils and just for the record murphies oil soap smells better, but brain dont smell as bad as some say as long as your quick and dont let it get rancid. I liked to smoke a wet rag for a bit and wring it in the solution the smoke water seems to help a bit, any way let the solution cool and apply really work it into the hide, I like the hide off the frame for this to really wring in that oil but you can leave it on the frame many do.
what your after is to get that oil in every fiber of the hide and at this point you cant do too much, **really work the neck and rump of the hide these are the hardest parts to soften being the the thickest and usually this is where you run into problems so pay attention to them as you work**
Now stretch the hide again and work in more solution and keep cranking those laces work in more solution, and leave it to stretch over night
Next we're going to smoke the hide, if the hide has by some miracle dried I like to dampen it with solution before I smoke I'll work in a bit more on the frame before I take it to the smoker. Now heres where you decide what color you want your hide to be using cedar to smoke a hide will give you a cream/yellowish colored hide, I've noticed yellow locust gives a more tan colored hide these are the only two I've used so experiment if you want, let the hide smoke all day and watch for flare ups that might scorch your work.
the final step is to work the hide soft on a beam or cable, if a certain section refuses to soften brain it again and use more smoke water IE do it again
This is what I've used and it will work your ass off but i've got some really nice hides this way.
Good luck on your hunt
The frontier moves with the sun and pushes the Red Man of these wilderness forests in front of it... until one day there will be nowhere left. Then our race will be no more, or be not us.
My Sword Is my Troth.
~Iron Wolf Forge~
