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I figured if we were going to talk price in one Forum why not tackle this issue too over here in the Tanning Forum.
I only use tanned skins and this is my take on a DP skin. When I started out I only knew of one way and that was dry preserving as I started learning more I realized that DP does not tan a skin. Now with that being said The Taxidermist that use DP has alot less cost than someone like myself that tans. Just looking some input on this subject I will continue to tan all my skins but just wondering if there is anyone up here that uses DP and what is the reason for using it, cost or you just like it better.
i’ve seen some great dp mounts and some not so good.i have never used it though
I think we’ll find this is the price diferential area. There is a difference in the amount of time needed to mount a head. I know a guy who can mount 6 deer heads in a day using dry preserve. I believe that is part of why he is so much cheaper on his mounts. the other part is he also knows it’s lower quality that he gives & therefore his reward for his effort should be & is less. And he has a lot of happy customers. It’s not quality that is most important to them.
hey tuggy i also started out with dp. i only use it on the small stuff now like tree rats . IMHO dp deer look bad after a couple of years.
Don’t use DP.I have always done the quick tans,Like Krowtan And now using TT581. I am also starting on a pickled skinng and using the HD 5000.I see there is a couple extra step invovled in the 5000 but the hide is Better (only my opinion).
I do both, Tan and DP, a dp hide done right is a well mounted deer, I have one I mounted back in 96 when I first started that looks as good today as it did when it was mounted…My customers can’t tell the difference. I normally do dp because of the time involved…I can send a deer out the door from start to finish in four days if I have to…I normally luf-tan, I am getting ready to try hq fast tan…I have used Krowtan with mixed results..its ok for little critters but I don’t like it on deer….DC
hackleback wrote: I have never seen a old Dp mount look good.
X2 hackleback!
So true Hackleback. So true. Many many moons ago I started with DP & when I switched to tanned capes I found it easier to mount, the shrinkage during drying time was greatly minimized, which I liked not having to pin up so many areas & drying time was actually less with the tanned capes. And the finishing was so much easier due to minimal loss of color in the fleshy areas especially the ears.
The flip side to Dp is I get to remount someone else’s work from time to time, and I get a new customer .
hey hackleback once they see the difference in dp and tan its like you said a new customer and mo money mo money mo money!
OK for the sake of argument I am going to ask this question and maybe Jeremy or D can answer this. IMO a dry preserved skin is a raw skin with DP on it and there is really no chemical change to the skin where a tanned skin is Pickeled and then tanned so there is a type of chemical change. Maybe I am not wording this right but maybe you can see what I am getting at. I have also heard that a tan skin will not have bug problems like DP skins will and I have seen that first hand as far as bugs in dp skins.
The chemical process of a tanned skin, turns it into leather. With climate changes, it can flex to some degree keeping it from cracking and breaking. A dp skin is a raw skin that is dried out. RAWHIDE is what it becomes. It never stops drying. Most that I have seen can be stretched to ungodly proportions. It will crack, bust, and sometimes literally explode. I’m sorry, but our coastal deer do not have 25in necks. It’s not even in their DNA. And i haven’t ever seen one that was glued down. Round tubed necks is what they become around here.
I choose tanned skins for a nicer, cleaner look. And charge more for my services.
I’m no chemist by any means. In my opinion i think salting, pickling, degreasing removes the fats and proteins that was in the hyde which is food for bugs. But then the hyde is tanned then oiled. I’m wondering if the tan itself is a barrier. I have some scrap deer Hyde’s from years back with no insect damage.
Any thoughts on this?
Tanning doesn’t stop bugs. Dermistids and moths eat hair and horns, not skin. Never had a dermistid issue, but have had some moth problems. Also had a little bug that looks like a tiny ladybug get on some stuff. If you have any heads on panels, take one off and check behind it. They love that spot! I will use Protex from Knoblochs on the mounts to help with the bugs after their done. I think it’s a concentrated cedar smell that helps with keeping them at bay. Spray your stuff annually with it.
PAGE wrote: The chemical process of a tanned skin, turns it into leather. With climate changes, it can flex to some degree keeping it from cracking and breaking. A dp skin is a raw skin that is dried out. RAWHIDE is what it becomes. It never stops drying. Most that I have seen can be stretched to ungodly proportions. It will crack, bust, and sometimes literally explode. I’m sorry, but our coastal deer do not have 25in necks. It’s not even in their DNA. And i haven’t ever seen one that was glued down. Round tubed necks is what they become around here.
I choose tanned skins for a nicer, cleaner look. And charge more for my services.
Really, I disagree, A properly prepared DP hide is thinner then a tanned hide, so less shrinkage. I have remounted alot of DP and tanned deer. They both shrink.and bust..If they are not properly glued its called drumming. And as for our coastal deer non haveing 25 in necks, I take in two or three every year….Heres one mounted seven years ago sitting in my non air conditioned shop. It has both a 25inch neck and definition…as I stated before if it is done right it doesn’t matter. You still have a quality mount…..DC
Dc, let me re-word this. I said that dp around HERE are stretched to ungodly proportions. We do not have 25in deer. But guys are stretching them that big. They bust and crack. Our deer average 17-18 with a couple of 19inchers thrown in. I’ve seen one that was 22in, but he was from inland, not on the coast. And I’ve never seen a dp skin that wasn’t drumming. I know that buckeye has a dp glue, but I haven’t heard if it actually works or not.
I am not an expert or chemist either but time and experience tend to educate. I am no way arguing with the DP guys but just from what I see and experience. I personally believe no matter how much you glue, stretch or thin a DP skin mount it will not last like a good tanned skin. I have customers that have DP mounts done by other taxidermist in my area and without fail the question of cracked skin comes up over and over again. One of the things I love about what I do in this business is the freedom to make my own choices and I chose to mount a deer with a good tanned skin. I do not know about the thin skin issue. I pickle, shave and tan my skins and seeing that the pickle plums the skin allows me to thin it a lot more than I ever could a green skin. Seems to me the skin is thinner. When my skins dry they are thin and I am definitely no expert at shaving a skin thin.
I have a friend thats all he uses is DP (and he shaves his thin) and like I said that is what I started out with but IMO DC I don’t see how a properly shaved tan skin is not thinner than a properly shaved DP skin. IMO you can only shave a raw skin so much before you get into the roots of the hair, a pickled skin swells where you can shave it a little closer and yes you can shave them to close as well but I still think you get more off of a tan skin than you would a raw skin.
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