Thread: Possum Skin Blanket

I’ll share my experience, a few tips and things I found out the hard way although i’m far from an expert.

It used to cost me $1 per skin to tan. 2017/2018
Each cycle took 20 days total
I did 4 cycles.
Hand tanned circa 150 skins total.
Finished article was still a long shot off the shops finish/quality but I would say it was 100% fine for personal use.
I learned by watching youtube videos and researched how to do it all.
It does take up quite a lot of time and you need to tend to it daily.
Use a water blaster instead of scraping the meat/fat/membrane from the skins (dont blast too close to the skin tho or it will go through it)
Use a stapler gun for stretching them instead of making boards with nails
Make sure an apply the liquor that comes with the kit. I ruined a lot of skins by not taking it seriously enough
Basically don’t cut any corners during the tanning process
Practice your first few cycles with poor quality skins keep the best ones for when you ready
You can use a fine grit sanding machine to tidy the skin side up

Alternatively you could buy skins tanned already.

All the best and I hope you go for it as it is totally doable!!