Tanning
Tanning
is the process of preparing an animal skin to be
worked, but also turning the skin into something useable.
While Rangers
have a knack for tanning, any person with the right skills
and desire to do it can use these principles to make the
very same things.
To start with, you need to have some sort of animal hide,
skin or pelt. You do not have to have skinned the critter
yourself, as any useable skin will do (there are also shops that sell animal hides, skins
and pelts). While the quality
of the pelt is important to the final product you will end
up with, this is by no means the only
important piece of the puzzle.
Before you can work this skin with a pattern, you need
to cure it. Curing the skin preserves it for longevity.
To cure the skin, you need a hide scraper, and either leather
lotion for skins and hides or pelt potion for pelts. The
tannery has these supplies, as well as the items you need
for cutting your skin into a certain shape.
Holding your animal skin, SCRAPE it WITH the SCRAPER.
You can do this CAREFULly, NORMALly or QUICKly.
How fast you choose to scrape your pelt and how successful
you are
will depend on a number of factors, including your Mechanical Lore and Skinning skills. Keep scraping until the skin is cleaned.
Whether you have a skin, hide or pelt will determine what
you use for the next step. You need to POUR the LOTION
ON the SKIN or HIDE, or POUR the POTION
ON the PELT. This will
start the curing process. Now the item can be put aside
for 24 to 48 Elanthian hours. Time to cure generally depends on the size of the
hide, pelt or skin. A rat pelt will take much less time
to cure
than a crocodile skin. You can even
leave Elanthia if you need to, as it will continue curing
until
it is
done. You will need to LOOK at the item to determine
when it is finally done, so keep an eye on it.
When your pelt, hide or skin is done curing, you can turn
it into usable item. This is when you will need your other
set of tanning items. For this you will need tanners’ shears,
a bodkin, and some stout thread. All of these items, including
patterns, are available at your local tannery.
PUT your PATTERN on the SKIN, or the item you are using.
If you change your mind, RUB the item to remove the marks
before you cut it, and you will be able to reuse the skin
for a different pattern. Patterns are also reusable, although
they will degrade with use.
Next, using your tanning shears, CUT the SKIN. This will
give you pieces. Some patterns will require more than one
skin, so you will have to put the pieces aside until you
have enough of them. You can BUNDLE the pieces to determine
if you have enough in the set to make what you want, as
well as keeping them all together until you are ready to
use them.
Once you have enough pieces in your set for the item you
want to make, you are ready to sew the piece together.
PUT the THREAD IN the BODKIN to begin. Using the bodkin,
POKE the SET to outline where you are going to stitch.
Lastly, STRING the SET to sew it all together. You may
have to do this a few times before the piece is finished.
Once you are done, you have a completed tanned and functional
piece that you made yourself!
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