Sometimes, fish leather that has been commercially tanned is not very soft. I think there is a genearl misconception or misunderstanding about how soft and flexible fish skins can be. The fish has great flexibilty and is able to turn, rotate and swim rivers and lakes. Fish skins are much more flexible than other animal leathers.

During the tanning process most of the oils of the fish skin are removed.. in order to remove the ‘fishy’ smell. When tanning the fish skin, those oils need to be put back in, to soften the leather and make it flexible again.

Way back when.. people were more knowledgable about nature, and their environment, they used the product that were close at hand and readily available to make things, to soften the skins etc. Lard or beef tallow was often used to soften the leather. The animal was killed for food, the skins were removed for clothing, and even the brains, intestines or other internal organs had their uses. Nothing was wasted.

Lard (the fat from pork or pig), and beef tallow made from beef suet (hard fat that is found around the loins and kidneys), can be used to soften the tanned fish leather.

This summer when I was visiting with my family in Canada, I had some commercially tanned fish leather (Tilapia).
I was not very happy with the softness of the fish leather, so I thought I would try massaging the skins with a bit of lard.

My grandchildren were visiting, so it seemed to be a good time to give them a short lesson on fish tanning.

We recorded a short video.