Finished Brain Tanned Hides

You can order brain tanned deer hides direct from the tanners here at Traditional Tanners. We sell only genuine brain tan. We guarantee not only 100% satisfaction, but that these will be some of the best hides you'll ever see. Our customers include a wide variety of American Indian tribes, historic re-enactors, outdoorsmen and craftspeople.

We have worn, used and sold brain tan for 15 years and have a very good understanding of what size and thickness of skin works best for various projects. When you give us a call at 888 Hide-Tan (888 443-3826) and tell us what you need we will use that experience to select the best possible hides for your project. If they aren't perfect, return them at our expense (we've had 3 returned of the 1000+ we've sold). We strive to always have a good supply of tanned hides in stock, so that we can send them out to you immediately. Larger projects and more specific requests will often require some lead time.

Deer are the most versatile and most widely used hide. They come in a wide variety of thicknesses, and have a very strong, durable fiber structure; yet are extremely soft.

Elk hides are about twice as large as deer and usually thicker. They are excellent for any project that requires a large swath of material (such as coats).

Moose hides have the size and thickness of elk, but with the durable fiber structure of deer, making them ideal for moccasins.

Prime buffalo hides with plush winter wool make a stunning and comfortable addition to your home or lodge.

Caribou hides are a little larger than deer and typically thin-skinned.

Antelope is thin, small fibered and surprisingly strong. They are our favorite for summer clothes.

Water Drum covers cost $75 ea and are 16" circles free of knife marks and weak spots. We also sell whole hides that you can cut drum covers from.

Want to tan your own?

Raw skins available.

Gallery

Here's a sample of items made from our hides (most click for larger view):

Michelle Richards in a classic buckskin jacket with golden smoke.	Baby moccasins made out of a lightly smoked hide.
A gorgeous 'new west' style buckskin jacket made by Robin Moore out of white (un-smoked) brain tan.	Quillwork on dark brain-tan, by Pam Fry. A lot of Iroquois and Great Lakes quillwork was done on very dark brain tan. We've prepared hides for this by dyeing them with black walnut hulls. The color ranges from milk chocolate (like this bag) to nearly black. Walnut dyed hides darken considerably more with age and exposure to light.
Penny Thornley with a pipe bag made from a hide smoked 'golden'.	Some 'golden brown' hides on display at an event.
Two 'dew-claw' bags from hides smoked a golden to golden brown.	John McCoy in Colonial era brain tanned center-seam moccasins.
Michelle Richards in a contemporary buckskin dress. The yoke is smoked brown and the body of the dress is golden.	This brain tanned 'shield' was painted with acrylics by Penny Thornley.