Kamloops area: Moccasins made from deer hide

[ScoobaSteve]

Can anyone recommend someone that can make a pair of moccasins out of a mule deer hide that I am potentially getting next weekend (fingers crossed)? I'm looking to get them made for my significant other and have never had them made before, anything I want to keep an eye out for? Do I just skin it normally in one giant chunk or do I want to keep a certain portion of the hide? Thanks in a advance.

[Argali]

The first step would be to skin it normally in one piece. Get the flesh and fat off but try to be careful not to puncture the hide with your knife or fingers. Then you need to take the hide to a tannery and they will tan it for you and give you back a nice piece of leather.

Any small holes, tears, or weak spots in the hide generally get bigger during tanning, so you want to be really careful skinning. Don't empty 3 clips into the animal either, for that matter, as every bullet makes a nice big hole in the leather, two holes if the bullet passes through.

[brian]

Most hunters do not know how to skin for buckskin so be careful with the advice you get.
#1 Use your knife as little as possible while skinning. Pull it off with your fingers, fists, elbows, body weight to free the hide instead of knifing it free. Little nicks and scratches that you can't even see while skinning will affect the finished skin.
#2 Keep the head if you want to get it brain tanned. Brain tanning the skin will result in superior leather, but it will be more expensive and probably harder to find someone to do it for you.
#3 For the skinning pattern get the book Deerskins to Buckskins from the library (if available). It'll give you a good overview of the process whether you brain tan it or chemical tan it.

[ScoobaSteve]

Thanks for the advice!

I usually skin the deer with the golf ball trick so no nicks on the hide. I didn't think of getting it tanned prior to finding someone to make the shoes. I just assumed it would be a combo deal. I will try to find someone to do the tanning and than I am in no rush to get the shoes made correct? Thanks.

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Steve, you are a genious. Think of all the money I can save and redirect toward fishing and hunting gear when I start giving the lady-friend homemade deer hide moccs instead of expensive store-bought gifts. This might be the start of something beautiful. Maybe make some for the kids and really squirrel some cash away. Think of how cool they'll be at school after Christmas when all the other kids are playing with their new toys and my kids will be mushing around in their new skins. Muah-ah-ahh!

[IronNoggin]

Just a quick word to the wise...

Tanned deer hide is rather "soft". As a consequence, it will not wear very well as moccasins. As in they will wear out fairly damn quickly UNLESS they are soled with some other heavier type of leather.

The Inuit I know make them out of Moose and / or Musk-ox hide for a reason. MUCH tougher / thicker, and much longer lasting...

Deer hide on the other hand makes excellent gloves. :wink:

Cheers,
Nog

[Rusty]

I had a great first nations lady make me a pair last December who lives in the Cowichan Valley. She did a super job for $50 and included and supplied the hide.
I had her grandma make me a wool toque to wear salmon fishing so I called and she had passed away but had taught her granddaughter over the years and she now made me great moccasins.
I also had a pair made in northern Manitoba and they I think are deer hide but maybe moose? and they have lasted real well.
my 2 bits.

[brian]

Tanned deer hide is rather "soft". As a consequence, it will not wear very well as moccasins. As in they will wear out fairly damn quickly UNLESS they are soled with some other heavier type of leather.

All mocs are meant to be disposable footwear from a primitive standpoint. They were fairly simple to make and there was no shortage of hides to make them from. That being said buckskin is very thin and light, is makes a decent mild weather moc and will be resilient with a good sole added to it. A traditional brain tanned moc will be water resistant and still maintain breath-ability which a chrome tanned leather will not have. However, any leather sole Moc subjected to pavement will be short lived unless it has an additional sole (like rubber) to handle the abrasion. The only exception i know of is a rawhide sole, but I imagine even rawhide would not last more than a season of regular use on pavement. The other issue is leather soles have zero traction in wet weather. This is why most modern moccasin makers are adding Vibram (or similar) soles to their moccasins that are intended for anything harder than casual use.