Question 1

Do I need any experience to take this course?

Accepted Answer

None at all. Many participants arrive having never touched a hide before, and that's completely fine — the course is designed to take you from the very beginning to a finished, wearable piece of leather.

Question 2

Where do the deer hides come from?

Accepted Answer

They come from licensed hunters and game processors. It's part of a whole-animal, low-waste approach — using a hide that would otherwise often be thrown away.

Question 3

Is brain tanning actually done with the animal's brain?

Accepted Answer

Traditionally, yes — brain tissue is a natural source of emulsifiable fats and oils that help make the hide soft and supple. Alternative tanning agents that mimic brains are often used on international courses, so it's worth asking in advance if you would like to use real brains.

Question 4

How physically demanding is this course?

Accepted Answer

More than people expect. Scraping (de-fleshing and de-graining) and softening a hide is genuine physical work — think sustained arm and shoulder effort, similar to a long day of manual labor. You don't need to be an athlete, but come ready to move.

Question 5

How long does it take to tan a full hide?

Accepted Answer

The method of brain tanning taught here takes 3 days. Students go from raw skin to finished, smoked leather over several days of hands-on work, which is why it's taught as a multi-day course rather than a single afternoon.

Question 6

What will I take home at the end?

Accepted Answer

You will leave with a finished, smoked buckskin, as long as you put in the work. If you choose not to finish your own hide completely, you will leave with a hide at a specific, well-understood stage, plus the knowledge to finish it yourself afterward.

Question 7

Is this course suitable for vegetarians or vegans?

Accepted Answer

Some vegetarians and vegans do take this course specifically because it uses part of the animal that is often seen as a byproduct and thrown away. It is a personal decision, and questions are always welcome before booking.

Question 8

What's the difference between this and commercial tanning?

Accepted Answer

Commercial tanning uses industrialized, large-scale processes with heavy machinery, bulk chemical agents, and large batches to reduce the hands-on requirements of tanning. Brain tanning (emulsion processed leather) is a much older, traditional method using natural fats or oils to transform a skin into a distinctively soft, breathable, washable leather, using the same underlying chemistry and physics on a smaller, backyard scale.

Question 9

Is this course based on academic research as well as traditional skill?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the technologies and techniques taught on the course draw on both experientially acquired knowledge and formal research into hide-working methods. A list of published academic work on the subject is part of the teaching packet.

Question 10

What is Brain-Tanning?

Accepted Answer

Brain tanning is the process of using brain tissue to condition and transform a skin into a distinctively soft, breathable, washable leather. This 'emulsion processed leather' is the oldest known tannage technology in the world, practiced on every continent by people's ancestors at some point in history — one of the essential and ubiquitous skills that connects us all from pre-history to present.

Question 11

What is Traditional Tanning?

Accepted Answer

Traditional tanning is a process whereby consecutive people, sometimes over many lifetimes, pass down a sequence of steps for tanning a skin. What makes traditions important is that they connect the past to the present and reinforce feelings of community, whether cultural or craft-based.

Question 12

What does "using the whole animal" actually cover?

Accepted Answer

This course goes beyond meat to look at the full picture — bone and antler tool-making, sinew processing, skin preservation, organs and fat for culinary and practical uses, and the broader ethic of leaving as little waste as possible.

Question 13

Is this course for hunters specifically, or open to everyone?

Accepted Answer

Open to everyone. Some students hunt themselves and want to make full use of what they take; some raise animals or find road kill; others simply want to understand the traditional skills involved and feel more connected to the food they purchase.

Question 14

How does this connect to the archaeology side of things?

Accepted Answer

Much of what's taught reflects past peoples' use of animal products, with both archaeological and ethnological context provided. Aspects of experimental archaeology — recreating and testing how past peoples actually used tools made from animal products — are also touched on, with information based on research rather than personal opinion.

Question 15

What will I leave the course with and what will I be able to do?

Accepted Answer

You'll leave with hands-on knowledge of how to process an animal from gralloching and gutting through to preservation of both edible and utilitarian parts. You'll also be introduced to craft items such as bone tools, sinew and gut cordage, and the first steps of hide tanning, with ways to use as much of an animal as possible.

Question 16

Is there an ethical or philosophical side to this course, or is it purely technical?

Accepted Answer

Both. The technical skills are central to the course, but so is the mindset behind them — a genuine respect for the animal shown by making a deliberate move away from a throwaway approach to materials.

Traditional Tanning & Ancestral Skills Course FAQs

Ancestral skills, backed by research and 30 years of teaching

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