How We Tan Sheepskins into Beautiful Rugs

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Then it was onto the actual tanning . . . the process that converts hide to leather. Supposedly there’s a method that uses something called glutaraldehyde and works very well. Since we were being “old timey”, however, we wanted to try a solution mentioned by Farnham, and chose one that called for alum, saltpeter, and bran. Well, the FDA must be getting suspicious of saltpeter (sodium nitrate), because our local druggist’s order for the chemical hadn’t been filled and the pharmacist in another town told us he could no longer sell the substance. Finally we had to chuck our first formula and try another.

The tanning solution we eventually settled for is made by adding 1 pint of salt and 2 ounces of oxalic acid to each gallon of water used in the curing process. Oxalic acid-which is used to clean copper-cost us $1.39 a pound. It's not toxic to handle or inhale, but is poisonous when taken internally. Don't get it in your mouth or eyes, keep youngsters and pets away from the chemical mixture and the wet treated hides . . . and do give a lot of thought to where you pour out your spent tanning solution so you won't contaminate water, wells, or growing areas.

As to the effect of the acid on human skin. . . do you remember the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies? In one episode, Mrs. Drysdale commented to Granny with horror.. "Granny, your hands are just like leather." "Nice, ain't they?" replied Granny. If you don't share the old gal's taste, wear plastic or rubber gloves inside a cloth pair when you use the oxalic solution.

Anyhow, back to the tanning process. The acid mixture was painted on the skins, which were kept moistened with the solution for four days. Between applications, four of the hides were stacked up in pairs-inner surfaces together-and the fifth was folded skin against skin.

The next step was smelly and backbreaking but very satisfying. Because oxalic acid is just that-acid-it must be neutralized by laundering the hides with lots of washing soda (sodium carbonate). You could do this very well outdoors in an old-time washtub. The sheep and ponies were drinking out of ours, though, so I did the job in the laundry tubs.

I let each hide soak for an hour in a tubful of lukewarm water to which I'd added two cups of washing soda. Wet, the skins seemed to weigh about 50 pounds apiece (hence my remark about "backbreaking") . . . but I still managed to rinse out the soda, launder the future rugs individually three times in a low-phosphate detergent, and rinse them again until the water remained clear. While washing, I picked dozens of pieces of timothy hay, corn, etc., out of the wool (various teeny cruddies came out later during the drying process). What a change! The unbelievably filthy hides (yes, we do clean our animals' stalls frequently... white sheep just, don't stay white) were now snowy, with the characteristic yellow glow of natural sheepskin in just the outer inch of hair.

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