Fishing Livestream
Chapter 800: 784: Traditional Tanning of Bearskin (Part 2)

Chapter 800: Chapter 784: Traditional Tanning of Bearskin (Part 2)

“Before tanning the leather, the first step is to clean it, try to wash off the blood and stains on the fur as much as possible! If it gets hard over time, it will affect the quality of the hide!”

The large piece of hide was directly thrown into the water. After pausing for a few seconds, it was then rinsed back and forth to clean off the mud and blood.

“After initially cleaning the hide, the second step is shaving, which involves using a small knife to scrape off the grease, residual meat, etc., from the inside surface of the leather! Making the entire surface as smooth as possible!”

This step requires a higher level of skill, and if mishandled, it will affect the quality of the hide! Excess grease and fascia will deteriorate over time, not only emitting an unpleasant odor but also reducing its storage and usage time.

However, the skinning part we handled earlier was pretty perfect, leaving little residue, so the difficulty is much decreased!”

While speaking, Yue Feng casually placed a small piece of round wood beneath the hide and started meticulously shaving it with a hunting knife. In no time, large areas of white grease were scraped off!

After being shaved, the hide’s texture became much smoother. Besides the few existing holes, its appearance had significantly improved compared to before.

“Damn? This works? Watching Feng Ge skin was already amazing, this hide-shaving operation is quite slick!”

“As far as I know, shouldn’t this require professional tools? Our village used to have a mink farm where the craftsmen processed mink hides with a special round-blade small knife and fixed devices! But here Feng Ge uses a straight-edge military knife and just props it up with some round wood, and that’s it?”

“Look at this hide, the appearance greatly improved after cleaning and shaving! It’s a pity about those few holes, otherwise, this bear hide would definitely be considered perfect!”

“What’s the next step? How does one tan a hide with wood ash? I’m so curious!”

Yue Feng read the comments from the viewers and felt secretly pleased, replying, “Actually, tanning with wood ash is quite simple! We’ve almost finished the hide-shaving process here, let’s go back and continue showing everyone!”

Yue Feng gave the bear hide a final rinse in the water, holding both ends and shaking it in the air, most of the water droplets fell off, revealing the bear hide’s outstanding hydrophobic properties due to its rich oil content.

Walking from the lakeside to the camp’s meat-smoking area took about five minutes, and the moisture on the fur side of the bear hide had dried by half.

Yue Feng casually draped the fur over a cut-down pinewood log and began the last preparation before tanning.

“Tanning with wood ash is actually a very primitive process! Those with some chemical knowledge know that the main component of well-burnt wood ash is potassium carbonate, and depending on the plant’s growing environment, it may also contain trace elements like silicon, calcium, sulfur, manganese, iron, magnesium, boron, zinc, copper, and molybdenum!”

These components, besides being good inorganic fertilizers, can also complex with some organic molecules in the leather, making the hide softer, stabilize its properties for long-term preservation!”

Before officially starting the tanning process, we must first simply process the ash from burning pinewood and needles, picking out the poorly-burnt impurities to achieve a better tanning result!”

As Yue Feng spoke, he sorted out the insufficiently burnt impurities from the ash, piling the well-burnt ash together.

During this busy task, the bear hide on the log almost dried, so Yue Feng casually spread it out on the ground beside him, fur side down, and the shaved inner side facing up.

“The tanning process is actually simple. If possible, you can mix the wood ash into a solution to soak the hide! But without the proper tools, we can use the dry tanning method! Simply put, it’s like this!”

In the next second, Yue Feng casually sprinkled the pre-selected wood ash onto the inner side of the hide.

As he sprinkled, he spread the ash evenly with his hands.

The moisture on the fur side mostly evaporated, but the inside still contained some moisture due to it being biological tissue, quickly becoming covered with wood ash! As the rubbing continued, the color grew darker, and in just a few minutes, his hands turned pitch black, resembling someone who cleaned a boiler.

“Next, it gets a bit boring! After initially combining and spreading the ash, the next important step is striking! We’ll need a thin stick to strike the tanned area evenly, allowing the biological tissue to interact thoroughly with the wood ash! This stick seems suitable!”

Yue Feng picked up a stick about thumb-thick, did some simple trimming, then sat on a rock and started striking.

Thud, thud, thud! A series of rhythmic thud sounds filled the live stream, gradually changing the leather’s state with consistent striking.

The tight rigid parts softened thanks to the dual effect of striking and reacting with the wood ash, making the stick sound more muffled as it hit the hide.

This striking process took over an hour, yet people enjoyed watching Yue Feng process the bear hide, despite its seemingly tedious nature.

Under Yue Feng’s meticulous care, the bear hide underwent noticeable changes, with most of the wood ash reacting with the tissue fluid, making the entire hide softer.

“Phew! Finished! The first processing done here is basically okay, the minor reactions will continue over the next few days, we’ll find time to strike evenly again, then the hide will be usable!”

“Every strand of bear fur is hollow, providing excellent insulation. Wearing a bear hide coat can withstand extreme cold of -30 to -50 degrees! It’s great for clothing and even for sleeping as a mat at night!”

Yue Feng spread out the hide by shaking it in the air again, and indeed, the sound was different!

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! All this effort really paid off!”

“Not bad, quite strong! Hardcore wilderness streamer, giving online lessons! Though carrying clothes doesn’t show the value of this skill, this bear hide significantly increases in value if there’s no winter clothing!”

“Thankfully, most of the holes are around the head and neck area, so the majority of this hide is still usable. Learned something new today, more bizarre knowledge added, fantastic!”

“Other challengers are busy every day just trying to get a bite to eat. If it weren’t for the constant live stream, I’d think he’s cheating, Feng Ge’s life seems too relaxed!”

“What’s next? There’s still a few hours until dark!”