Chapter 193 Tanning Leather (4)
In fact, the technology of tanning leather itself is not difficult and there is no threshold. The key is patience and practice makes perfect. The more anxious you are, the less likely you are to succeed.
Fortunately, Xia Tian now has nothing but patience, so her movements look very agile, but her hands are very steady. She is fast but not rushed, and it makes people feel very satisfied just watching her.
Soon, the fur cleaning work was completed.
The next step is the most important and critical step - tanning.
As mentioned earlier, because saltpeter was not easy to find, the main methods used for tanning furs in primitive society were oil tanning and fumigation.
Oil tanning is the main method, and smoking is mainly used to cooperate with the previous steps to help further improve the product. It is based on the same principle as smoking bacon, which is to increase the preservation time of fur.
The materials used in oil tanning are also very simple, generally the animal's own fat. These are applied to one side of the leather, and then continuously beaten and kneaded to allow the fur to fully absorb the oil, and finally achieve the effect of softening the fur.
What Xia Tian used was the fat layer freshly taken from this strange beast.
She sat by the fire, simply heated the grease in her hands until it was half melted, and then applied it to every inch of the animal skin little by little like applying soap, and then beat it with round pebbles, repeating this process over and over again.
This step usually needs to be repeated dozens of times until every detail is confirmed to be evenly coated and absorbed by the oil.
The whole process is very tedious, not only consuming energy but also physical strength, and is no easier than grinding stone.
"When tanning, you must be careful and patient, and handle every corner carefully. This way, the leather will have a uniform texture and be soft enough to keep you warm when you wear it."
During a break, Xia Tian held up her half-finished product to show Si Ye, explaining the steps. "You'll need to repeat this process at least ten times. The more careful you are and the more repetitions you make, the better. However, overdoing it can damage the skin."
After taking a breath and resting for a while, Xia Tian continued with the tanning process.
At this time, Si Ye's stone had been polished. He brought the finished product to the kitchen, half squatted down and took a look at the mess on the ground. He didn't say anything, but just silently helped to clean it up.
Since she wanted to do it, he would support her.
[Lao Si is truly the most considerate male I have ever met, and he is extremely patient with females!!!]
[Look at me, little sister in front. I'm also very patient~shyJPG]
[It’s not that our little brothers are inconsiderate, but I just feel they are too overbearing, which I don’t like very much.]
[Hehe, I've spoiled you to bits. I'm nice to you, but you still think I'm too overbearing???]
Time always passes quickly after getting busy. Before we knew it, it was past noon and Xia Tian's stomach started to sing the empty city plan.
But the tanning action of the hands cannot stop, so this time Si Ye is the one who cooks, and he makes barbecue that every household eats.
However, the barbecue he made was different from the barbecue in the original tribe that Xia Tian had seen in the original owner's memory. It was fresh and oily, not burnt or raw, just the right temperature, and the heat was controlled very well.
Even she couldn't help but praise, "Wow, Lao Si, I didn't expect that your cooking skills are actually quite good!"
Si Ye was stunned when he heard this name, "Wait, what did you just call me?"
(End of this chapter)
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