Hide & Seek - A Comprehensive Traditional Tanning Course

Due to logistical difficulties, we are currently not accepting applications for the mentoring program for the 2012 tanning season. But feel free to read on and if you are interested, send us a note to let us know, so we can keep you in mind when the program becomes available again.

For the beginner, the art of making traditional Buckskin can be an intimidating and confusing one. There are as many methods of “tanning” hides as there are people who tan them, and each tanner has his or her own opinion on which is best. With endless variations stemming from thousands of years of innovation, and the dynamic nature of this skill, successfully tanning hides is often a “hit or miss” process, even when working with instructions from books or videos.

In this program, you will explore deeply the skills and resources necessary to become a well rounded traditional tanner. Learn how to tan in a detailed, long-term, course that will leave behind the trial-and-error process that most people commonly experience when learning how to make traditional Buckskin. With careful, professional guidance, and a process that will yield reproducible results, you will gain a better understanding of what it means to “tan” hides, and the confidence that comes from knowing you can make your own clothing from one of the best materials nature has to offer.

Here's what one of our students had to say about the program:

"When Kfir Mendel describes his Hide and Seek mentoring as a comprehensive tanning course, he is right on the mark. Before starting the program I had dabbled with brain tanning with moderate success. I read what I could on the subject. Soon it was apparent that with all the explanation a book could give it could never point to a problem I was facing while working a hide and say “this is the reason” and “this is the solution.” Having a mentor was the only way I was going to get this kind of knowledge.

This program gave me the right amount of one on one time needed to understand and master the underlying principles of brain tanning. Understanding these principles allowed us to study different methods used by traditional tanners both modern and primitive to take a green hide and turn it into a work or art.

Perhaps the greatest testament to the quality of this course, for me, is in knowing that from Kfir’s tutelage I will be able to confidently pass on these skills to the next generation.  That said, I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in the art of brain tanning."

Requirements

Simply, there are no minimum requirements or skill-levels. Whether you have never even touched a raw skin before, or have a few hides under your belt, you will benefit from a deeper exploration of this art, and taking your skills to the next level. All you need is a willingness to learn and work hard.

General Program Details

This program is designed to allow the student to incorporate tanning into their daily lives, no matter their schedules or living situation. There's always a way. As such, the program has no set schedule, only a maximum alloted time of 7 months (March-September). It is entirely possible to complete the entire curriculum in a single month, but most likely it will be spread over a longer period of time.

• Each apprenticeship program is in essence a “one-on-one” course. However, there may be times when schedules of different students will coincide. In those cases, no more than 2 students will be taught at the same time.

• Course schedule will be tailored to the student's specific needs.
• Course meetings will convene at our home facility in New Jersey. Meetings at the student's residence will require compensation of travel expenses.
• Students may stay on-site if necessary, with full access to facilities.
• Students will receive optional homework projects and will get unlimited guidance by phone or e-mail.
• During the duration of the program, students will be free to use all our tanning related gear (excluding chemicals, brains, and hides), to work on their “home work” projects, while on the premises.
• Each student will receive their own complete tool kit, including instructional books.
• All materials (except for optional home projects) are included in the tuition cost. A deposit is due upon acceptance into the program, with the balance due on or before the first day. This deposit is non-refundable.

NOTE: A limited number of Residential spaces are available for an additional fee.
For more information on the residential aspect of the program please e-mail mail@twowolves.org

Program Description

From almost the dawn of human evolution, when the first of our ancestors lost their fur, human beings wore skins to cover themselves in modesty, or protect themselves from the conditions of the environment around them.

One of the most universal methods of turning skins into usable material was what is known today as “Brain Tanning”, but in reality involved not only brains, but several different “tanning” agents that achieved the same end result – A luxuriously soft, durable, and comfortable material commonly known as Buckskin.

The utilitarian use of Buckskin as clothing has ranged from simple, rough, designs such as loin-cloths used in tropic regions, and all the way up to the highly tailored and specialized fur clothing used by the Inuits of North America or the Orochen people of Russia. Beyond clothing, animal skins were used for a virtually endless variety of other items such as footwear, containers, bags, cordage, shelter, and more...

In fact, use of animal skins was so universal, that all of us bare the common thread of ancestors who used, and wore, skins on a daily basis even as recently as a century or two ago.

Today, millions of animals are killed every year by hunters, and millions more die on our roads in collisions with vehicles. Only a mere fraction of these animals' hides ever make it to a tannery, and of those the overwhelming majority is tanned overseas using toxic chemicals that contribute to the pollution of waterways in some of the worst ways possible.

Apart from the pollution that modern chemical tanning methods produce, they also create a far inferior leather to that made in traditional, natural ways such as Brain Tanning.

The ancient arts of turning animal hides into useful leather in general, and Buckskin in particular, offer us an opportunity to use a mostly wasted resource, in a natural and healthy way and make a superior product that will last for decades to come.

In recent years, these arts have been undergoing a revival. More and more people are learning the ancient skills of hide-tanning, whether searching for a connection to their past, as a survival skill, or as a way to become more self sufficient.

Whatever the reasons may be, many people approach this art through experimentation on their own, through books, videos, or at best a short class on the subject. The “Hide & Seek” program is designed to take the students further into the art of Braintanning by delving into various methods of producing Buckskin, both in modern and primitive life styles, and then to the final stage of making use of the Buckskin by turning it into practical, useful, and beautiful items – even clothing.

Clothing is one of Man's most basic needs. We all wear it (for varying reasons), and we tend to take for granted its part in our lives. But the skills of making clothing are known only to few, and even then there is often a separation between those who produce the material, and those who fashion it into clothes.

By immersing yourself into the whole process, “from skin to wearing it”, you will gain an amazing sense of self-confidence and pride in your own ability to provide for yourself one of your most basic needs, using one of the best materials nature has to offer!

During your program you will:

• Tan at least 6 deer hides into finished, smoked, Buckskin.

• Work with the two most prevalent methods of “Brain Tanning” - The Wet-Scrape and Dry-Scrape.
• Explore variations of the methods mentioned, and build a mental “tool box” that will allow you to adapt your work to any conditions.
• Learn how to, and tan a hide in one day, “from skin to smoked”.
• Tan a hide using only “primitive tools”.
• Learn how to make raw-hide
• Learn how to sew clothing and other items, and turn your buckskins into beautiful works of art.

Tuition: $1850 (There is NO application fee. A $925 deposit is due upon acceptance to the program.)

Program Length: Maximum 7 Months (March – September)

Application Cutoff: March 31^st.*

*If the application deadline has passed but you are interested in completing the program in a condensed amount of time, contact us to discuss your needs.

To apply, please send a letter of interest to mail@twowolves.org. Please include your full name, address, contact information (phone and e-mail), and any previous experience you may have in traditional tanning. We will contact you soon after receiving your information to discuss your needs, and to tailor the program to your particular life style and schedule.