We tan our own skins for clothing, mittens , hats, and mukluks
We sell tarditional clothing to museums, and wear it out at -40 as it is "Best"
Good tanning starts with good skinning; I use my hands and after making the basic cuts, along the legas and butthole to lower lip, I peel the hide off and use my hands to kep the fat on the meat.
Then we lay it onna ground and put pebbles along the edges to keep them from curling, and let the hide dry out. Then we hang it up and air it, then roll it and tie it up nice and hard dried for storage.
There is quite a process of breaking up the fibers for a sofet skin, as well as scraping off the memebrane. Theres also several steps to condition and streach the skin , using an "Ichun", basicly a copper pipe pice mounted on a handle and chamferd on the inside for a sorta dull scraper that will push off meat, fat and viscara.
People around here will use the dull edge of a milk can, with milk and all in the can, and push /scrape off all the junk.It also streaches your skin a bit.
If your gonna make things from an animal, the basic cuts will determine what the end product will be...if the wife wants something special, I will cut and skin it a certain way, at a certain time of year.
we dont use brains or tanning solutions, as we are in a rather cool, skin friendly place; The Arctic.....
Down there, Id go for the brains or chemical ideas, but if your gonna tan hides, start with a clean skin.....