# Making your own Rabbit strips



## silverbullets (May 18, 2009)

Has anyone ever shot their own rabbits, and tried to tan and dye the hides themselves, then cut their own strips? I tried last year to cure my own hides, but didn't really know what I was doing, and it didnt turn out. It would be nice to be able to figure out how to do this on my own. 

Has anyone done this, or have any tips? I have never tanned my own hides or anything, but I did try to use Borax last year, but the hides just hardened up on me.

Any help or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

You didn&#8217;t do anything wrong. Borax will dry a hide, but it will dry stiff. But, so will any sort of tanning agent. The only way to soften a skin is through &#8220;breaking&#8221; after it&#8217;s tanned. This can be accomplished a number of ways, most are more difficult than it&#8217;s worth at home. However, a rabbit is very thin skinned and you could probably soften it enough by hand. Scrape the hide, skin side down, back and forth against the 90 degree edge of a piece of plywood, or any sharp edge for that matter. It&#8217;ll take quite a bit of working, and there&#8217;s a better than average chance that you&#8217;ll rip the skin. But, it won&#8217;t be like cardboard any more. Just a question, how soft does it really need to be? If it needs to be as flexible as a piece of cloth, it&#8217;s probably not worth your time.


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## silverbullets (May 18, 2009)

The fur would just have to be soft enough to flow a little bit in the water. I will try it again this year with the advice that you have told me. I never worked the fur, so I'm sure that was my problem. But I figure it is worth a try, since It is about $5 for 5 strips 10" long at a store. I figure if I get a couple good pelts, I could be set for a season or two. 

Once they are tanned and dyed, I can cut my own pelts, I have done that before. The hard part will be getting the pelt to that point I guess.

Thanks


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## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

In that case, borax isn&#8217;t the way to go. Borax is a desiccant and will dry/preserve skin, but when water is applied it basically turns back into raw skin. For that you&#8217;ll want some sort of synthetic tanning agent, as some of the more natural tanning agents aren&#8217;t waterproof. Rittel&#8217;s EZ is a good choice. I think you can get a small batch for around $20, but that&#8217;s just going from memory. A small kit will tan a LOT of rabbit skins. It will come with some simple directions, though for what you need I&#8217;d probably skip the pickle step. Once tanned, the breaking process is the same.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

silverbullets said:


> .. But I figure it is worth a try, since It is about $5 for 5 strips 10" long at a store...


Where are you getting yours, and are they the black barred zonker strips for that price? Netcrafters has the solid colors for about 2$. Not sure on actual length tho, if you want I can measure what I have for you. Here is a link to them on their site - Zonker Strips

I needed the product # to find the solid colors, they also have the barred strips and crosscut as well.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

I cannot see going through the tanning and breaking process when you can purchase three feet of strips for $1.89 as in the AtticaFish link.


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## dacrawdaddy (Aug 31, 2008)

You need to check out some videos on You Tube by Alaska Fly Fish. They show how to dye rabbit skins and also have a video on how to make an inexpensive zonker strip cutter. Hobby Lobby also sells whole rabbit skins for about 5 bucks which you can cut into a bunch of zonker strips.


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