bear rug cracking

[chef viktor]

Curious if any one knows a way to fix this. I have a twenty plus year old grizzly rug and the paws have cracked and the skin is cracking. Has anyone had any sucess refurbishing them or getting the leather back to a pliable state. I handled it carefully but is till cracked and i want to prevent more. Thanks Chef Viktor

 

[sharksinthesalsa]

dont' touch it

dont' touch it

it was probably not tanned well twenty years ago.....i see lots of these...there is no way to get it back to being pliable...but you can hot glue the pieces back down and hope it doesn't fall apart any more....my advice is to put it somewhere like on the wall or whatever and leave it there for another twenty years .....or go shoot another griz....and get a new rug....tanning today is much better than it was twenty years ago....but that depends on who tans it too

 

[stid2677]

I found this info while doing some surfing.

It may need to have the back taken off and a layer of fabric(like denim) glued to the skin side to hold it together. This has to be done very carefully as the skin is most likely in a very fragile condition. It usually is expensive. The problem is most likely dry rot or possibly acid rot, caused by improper neutralizing during the tanning process. Modern Tanning is much better.

Just giving you options, the leave it alone may be the best advice.

Good reason to go look for another.

Good Luck

Steve

 

[moose-head]

I have a deer head with a similar problem.

leave it alone may be the best advice.

That (+ a little shoe polish on the nose) is the approach I am taking. Is there anything to do to stop it from deteriorating any further?

 

[TradBow]

why not buy a new hide and just redo your deer? moscow hide and fur has them for cheap......or you canf idn one on taxidermy.net

Another good place to post questions like these.........

 

[SoggyMountain]

Vik... where has your bear been for 20 years?

I have never witnessed your problem with dead flesh, but, I have experienced it with living tissues.

I've been on the slope, I've been in the Alaska Range. Both make my hands crack and sometimes bleed.

If you're in an arid climate, moisten the hide with Bag Balm. - that's what I'd do.

If you're in a humid climate place your rug in a room alone with a dehumidifier for a week or two.

 

[Eddie]

Chef.........I do taxidermy and depending on the overall condition it may be somewhat fixable. As already mentioned the tanning method could be the problem and so could the elements your rug is exposed to. I have hides I tanned back in the mid 70's with no problems. It's doubtful that the hide can be made soft but getting a little moisture back in may help. A good taxidermist should be able to decide if a softing / hide relaxing agent could help. There's several types of these on the market today; some can be gentle rubbed in from the hide side. Either way with some of the materials of today the broken areas may still be able to be refurbished. If the hide has some sort of backing it would be best to very gentle remove it, fix the cracked / broken areas from the hide side and then glue on a new backing using a good quality hide paste. There is excellent "fake" hair that can be then used to fill in from the hair side if needed. If the rug means a lot to you then I'd recomend taking it to a good taxidermist and discussing solutions and price. Hope this helps.
Eddie

 

[Eddie]

Moose...........you can read my reply to Chef. Cracking around the nose or eyes of deer heads are not hard to repair. Get you some antler repair epoxy (you can order this from van-dykes or most any taxidermy supply) It's a 2 part epoxy much like the consistance of clay. Mix these together good with your hands (small amounts...the 2 parts together should be about a half inch ball). Apply thin layers to the cracked areas around the nose or eyes. Have a cup of water handy....dip your fingers in the water and smooth the epoxy around the areas. The grainy look of the nose can be put back by using a nail or other....use the nail to tap the epoxy as it dries untill you're satisfied with the look. Repaint or finish as you desire.
Eddie

 

[moose-head]

why not buy a new hide and just redo your deer? moscow hide and fur has them for cheap......or you canf idn one on taxidermy.net

Thank you for the reply. I have considered it, but it has a lot of gray in the face that I like and the split ear dosen't really show too much if you are not looking for it.

Moose...........you can read my reply to Chef. Cracking around the nose or eyes of deer heads are not hard to repair. Get you some antler repair epoxy (you can order this from van-dykes or most any taxidermy supply) It's a 2 part epoxy much like the consistance of clay. Mix these together good with your hands (small amounts...the 2 parts together should be about a half inch ball). Apply thin layers to the cracked areas around the nose or eyes. Have a cup of water handy....dip your fingers in the water and smooth the epoxy around the areas. The grainy look of the nose can be put back by using a nail or other....use the nail to tap the epoxy as it dries untill you're satisfied with the look. Repaint or finish as you desire.
Eddie

Thank you I will try this on the nose and around the eyes, do I want to let the thin layers dry before adding the next layer?

 

[Eddie]

Moose
The 2 part antler epoxy is like a molding clay, not a liquid, and can be applied fairly thick. It sort of sets up like a plastic. You should be able to cover in one application. You can go over the whole nose if desired. After you mix the parts together just pinch off little pieces and press them on the nose areas and use the water to smooth. A finish type nail using the head to tap in the nose grain works well.
Hope this helps.
Eddie