How to cure Snake Skins

[Harold in CR]

Hi
I have a couple of Snake skins that I have salted and put in the freezer. I just bought Glycerin and rubbing alcohol. Is this the best way to treat the skins for Pen Blanks, or other projects ??

We have 4 of the most deadly snakes here, and, I have noticed interest in Coral Snake skins. As we cut the tall grass and weeds under our plantation trees, we occasionally hit a snake with the Weed Whacker. That was the case with both that I have. Look up Terciopelo, Velvet Snake, or Fer-De-Lance. That is the 3 names here for what I have.

I would be willing to sell some pieces, along with the wood I am about to show, in another thread, and, would appreciate knowing what the correct way to treat the skins would be.

Thanks for any info offered. Harold

If need be, PM me.

 

[el_d]

On the front page Seamus has a tutorial on snake skin prep.

Im not sure if you would be able to get a coral but I am interested in one.

 

[seamus7227]

when tanning my skins, i use 99% isopropyl alcohol and 99% glycerine that i buy from CQ concepts online. The mix is 50/50 , properly skin snake, then flesh it, rinse with water, wring out gently and put into solution(i just use old cleaned out jelly jars) Let sit for 3-5 days, pull skin out of solution, rinse again with water to get excess solution off, wring out gently and dry with a towel, lay out skin on a flat board, apply a light coating of glycerine to the underside of skin(non scale side) and lay flat on tanning board(scales facing outward). the board i use was someone's fireplace mantle that is made from Cedar so the skin will have a pleasant aroma when done! I let that sit for 24 hrs and then peel it off and you should have a soft and supple skin with which to work with or sale. I DONT NOT RECOMMEND EVER USING SALT OR YOU RISK RUINING THE SKIN. In a situation where you cant tan it right away, skin the snake and roll up the skin, put it in a ziplock baggie and put in freezer until ready to tan, or just throw the whole snake into a bag and put it in the freezer, whichever is easier. I tanned a skin that sat in the freezer for over 2 years and it turned out beautiful, so the myth of "it ruining the skin" if in the freezer too long went out the window for me. Hope this you or anyone else. If you need more detailed answers, feel free to PM me.

 

[Harold in CR]

Thanks for the Tutorial, Seamus. I used to do Animal and Bird Taxidermy, so, figured salt would be OK.

Isopropyl down here, I don't see on the shelves. We get Denatured for rubbing alcohol.

I will take them out, wash them off REAL good, and put them in a mix and see what happens.

IF I put the word out, I could probably get covered up with these things.

They love to steal eggs, so, are regularly killed in Chicken Coops, and, they are pretty dangerous to young children. Our dog is constantly killing snakes.

While I was in Florida, a couple weeks ago, my Wife killed a large Coral Snake. YES, we know the difference between them and their look-alike cousin.

Thanks again for the info. Harold

 

[workinforwood]

I use a tanning solution, soak them in it a few hours, then stretch and tack to a board. Now if you haven't skinned the snake yet and it's in the freezer...have fun with that! It won't damage the skin, but it is much harder to remove the skin from a frozen snake..yes I know you will thaw it first, but it will be much harder to get skin off, it's like the freezer cooks the meat and you will have a lot more work pulling it free and a lot of meat to scrape off. If you skin the snake after you kill it the skin peals right off easy and there's not much meat to scrape off.

 

[Harold in CR]

Thanks Jeff
These were skinned minutes after they met their demise. As you stated, they came off with minimal meat and fat. You could see the attaching membrane being pulled apart, leaving everything attached to the carcass.

 

[el_d]

Awesome Harold. I've been looking for a coral snake but all I ever see around here is rattlers.

Have you ever tubed the snakes? It's fairly easy with the thick skinned rattlers.

 

[Harold in CR]

No, never worked with anything Pen related. Too many other projects.

That's one reason the Wood Pen Blanks is slow taking off. Just too many things going on.

 

[its_virgil]

In my best Homer Simpson "doughnut" voice: "AAAHHHHGGGGGAAAAHHHH coral snake" Woo Hoo!

Do a good turn daily!
Don

 

[Dan_F]

For those who don't know the id rhymes to differentiate Coral (venomous) from a King or Milk snake (harmless):

Red touch black, good for Jack;
Red touch yellow, kill a fellow.

Dan

 

[el_d]

No, never worked with anything Pen related. Too many other projects.

That's one reason the Wood Pen Blanks is slow taking off. Just too many things going on.

By tubing the snakes I mean not cutting the skin. Usually when a snake is skinned its cut down the belly scales, when its tubed the skin is pulled off like a sock without getting cut.....

Let me know when you get some ......... Mmmmmm..... Coral snake.

 

[Harold in CR]

Actually, not Snakes. When I was Fox trapping, many years ago, I would strip the tail without cutting the skin.

My Uncle used to skin salt water eels that way, also.

How would a person dry the skin, while stretching it out and tacking it to a board ???

Enlighten me, especially if that's the way you would prefer one, el_d.

 

[el_d]

Hi Harold,
I haven't had a chance to do it. I usually split it down he belly, from what I've read you just tan it in the solution and while it's drying work it every once in a while across a stick or bar or something, kinda like buffing shoes, to keep it soft and flexible.

 

[Harold in CR]

I worked a Deer hide, one time, using that method.

I would be afraid of loosening the scales on the snake skin, using that method.

 

[its_virgil]

If you plan on clear casting the snake skin then you will want to remove the scale covers...the clear flaps that cover the scales. I think we actually consider the scale flaps to be the scales but I think that may be incorrect. The scale covers I have seen are clear and cover the scale patterns which seem to be part of the skin, not separate flaps themselves. The scale covers need to be removed because they trap air underneath them. I also don't know if all snakes have these scale covers or not...but the rattlesnake skins I use do.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I would be afraid of loosening the scales on the snake skin...

 

[seamus7227]

If you plan on clear casting the snake skin then you will want to remove the scale covers...the clear flaps that cover the scales. I think we actually consider the scale flaps to be the scales but I think that may be incorrect. The scale covers I have seen are clear and cover the scale patterns which seem to be part of the skin, not separate flaps themselves. The scale covers need to be removed because they trap air underneath them. I also don't know if all snakes have these scale covers or not...but the rattlesnake skins I use do.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I would be afraid of loosening the scales on the snake skin...

Of all of the snakes I have tanned, they all have these scales that need to be removed. After all, a snake does shed its skin.:biggrin: I have tanned snakes that have been skinned like a sock and use the same method, you just need to a little more careful when fleshing the skin with a knife. But Don is right about making sure you get all of the "scale caps" off, and sometimes it is hard to see, so i typically use my air hose to blow them off of the skin, and after I have applied them to the tube, I very gently(using a scraping motion) run my x-acto knife over the skin to double check full removal. Hope this makes sense

 

[Harold in CR]

Well then, in the case of being a supplier of skins, would one be expected to remove those scale before mailing ??

Toldja's I knew nothing about this.

 

[seamus7227]

No, if you are only selling the skins you do what you want, in my opinion if I buy a skin from anyone, its still my responsibility to remove any remaining scales, especially before I cast blanks.

 

[Harold in CR]

OK. Thanks. I might do some testing on a damaged skin. Weed whackers and Machetes are hard on the skins.