The Craftsman’s Hide Tanning Manual

Achieving a soft, commercial tannery-quality, garment-tanned fur has been a struggle for many home tanners for years. The Craftsman’s Hide Tanning Manual: Garment Tan Edition is a detail-oriented, illustrated, step-by-step guide that goes beyond recipes, explaining the why behind each process so results can be repeated, problems diagnosed, and methods refined.

Inside, you’ll learn the critical processes involved in using modern, commercially available tanning agents used by commercial tanneries and home tanners to produce soft, garment-quality furs without relying on heavy equipment such as tumblers, agitated vats, and staking machines.

While the principles outlined here apply broadly to most modern synthetic tanning systems, the book includes specific references to widely used, readily available products to make it simpler to follow the steps while tanning.

This book is meant for the meticulous craftsman who cares about quality and takes pride in their work. This is not a casual read, a set of instructions, or a list of recipes. It is a working shop manual—meant to live in the shop, collect stains, and be returned to again and again. To support that role, the book also includes several quick-reference appendices.

Through attention to detail and an understanding of each process, it is possible to achieve commercial tannery results in your own shop. Let this manual show you how!